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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.

I left Motown because of the regime of people who were 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.

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.

Motown will always be a heavy-duty part of my life because those are my roots.

Once you're a Motown artist, you're always a Motown artist.

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.

I grew up in Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, and my mom and pop had an extensive record collection, so Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder and all of those sounds and souls of Motown filled the house.

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.

I've discovered that Motown and Broadway have a lot in common - a family of wonderfully talented, passionate, hardworking young people, fiercely competitive but also full of love and appreciation for the work, for each other and for the people in the audience.