Jeffrey Osborne

My first job was with The O'Jays playing drums.

I think if you look back at the lead singers that left groups that didn't make it, you'll see that a lot of them were songwriters like Lionel Richie. I mean, they were able to control their own destiny.

A protest is supposed to be public. How can you do it if you don't do it in front of an audience?

With pop, it's pretty much straight up and down. It has to be simple. Everybody has to be able to walk down the street and be able to sing it.

Being the youngest of 12, I always had to wait my turn in line to play my records.

The beauty of all these years of singing the anthem is that I got a chance to meet athletes that I love, and there was a mutual respect.

If you really love your partner, then the relationship is worth fighting for in the end.

The only real satisfaction is live performances. That's when you can actually get some feedback from what you're doing. You get that artist-to-audience chemistry. I love it!

Everyone in the group sang when I joined them. That was one of the problems with L.T.D.: there was no focal point. It took until 1976, or about six or seven years, before I was put into the spotlight as a vocalist. That's when I recorded 'Love Ballad,' and it became a hit for the group.

I think I was affected quite a bit by musical and creative influences that go all the way back to my childhood.

I've always been active in working out and taking care of myself. I've been running two miles a day since I was 18.

Family is what I've leaned on for years; it's what I cherish the most.