There was a time, actually, when I hadn't been singing, and I'd lost a lot of my ability. My range had shrunk.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
A lot of people would have loved me to keep singing... You come to a point where you have sung, more or less... your whole repertoire and you want to get down to the job of living.
And in singing, what my voice lacked in quality it made up for in volume.
I found it was really impossible for me to write songs when I couldn't sing.
I don't over-sing anymore, which I used to suffer from terribly because I couldn't hear myself.
If I cannot sing, I have the impression that I no longer exist. I mean it. I mean that I am not physically there.
I always knew I couldn't sing, but I also knew I had a voice that isn't heard by many, and that I could learn how to stretch it and make songs sound good.
But I was singing loud, and most singers weren't singing loud.
Singing is my entire life. I nearly lost that. I am so blessed to be able to do this. It's the only thing I've ever wanted to do.
When I started to record, I could sing in pitch, but that was maybe about it.
As I got older, I got Parkinson's disease, so I couldn't sing at all. That's what happened to me. I was singing at my best strength when I developed Parkinson's. I think I've had it for quite a while.