Once you're a Motown artist, that's your stigmatism, and I was there from the very first day.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I knew I wanted to do music at eight years of age. I listened to a lot of Motown growing up, and it got to the point where I started mimicking people - Michael Jackson or whoever. People started to notice I could hold a tone. The bug was always there.
I grew up not far from where Motown was founded, maybe 300 miles from Detroit and I've always liked - I used to like the way they made records. I still do, I just haven't had a chance to hear as much. They used to entertain me.
Once you're a Motown artist, you're always a Motown artist.
Motown will always be a heavy-duty part of my life because those are my roots.
I don't ever balk at being considered a Motown person, because Motown is the greatest musical event that ever happened in the history of music.
I grew up when the whole Motown thing was huge. The charts in those days were dominated by groups more than solo artists at one point.
Even before coming into the industry, I was a big fan of Motown, the Jackson 5, Gladys Knight, the Temptations, Diana Ross and The Supremes.
Motown was the mecca. It was every writer's dream to work there.
I left Motown because of the regime of people who were there.
Motown was about music for all people - white and black, blue and green, cops and the robbers. I was reluctant to have our music alienate anyone.