The
Singer, 80, on finding salvation, getting married twice, dancing in the street and being attacked by a rooster as a child
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We lived double lives as kids, raised in both city and country. I was born in
Alabama, but grew up in Detroit, returning to my grandparents’ southern farm every summer. They had an outside bucket toilet; we called it the slop jar. My earliest memory is of a rooster attacking me while I played by it. I could easily have been blinded for life. Ever since, God’s been protecting me.
Music was always a family affair. My grandfather played the banjo; Dad used a guitar to court my mum. When I sing, I try to imitate the powerful voice of my mother. My first performance was as a three-year-old at a church talent show with my two older brothers, which we won. When it comes to
music, I have my family to thank.