I was raised in the Methodist Church, which is a very Germanic, military kind of music they have there. I heard this other music on the radio: Pentecostal. That was right up my street.

I had a band with David Gates. There was just a lot of opportunity at that time. But I left for Los Angeles the week after I graduated high school, and I actually left to try to get into the advertising business. That was really why I went out to L.A. My music career was almost an accident.

My first job in a country band was after I moved to California.

I'm happy to have a job. I play a little, write a little, perform some. It's not like it's an engineered, well-manufactured plan or anything. I just do what I do.

I think us women need to appreciate ourselves, and I think we need to really go after our dreams. Us Latinas tend to sacrifice too much for our husbands, our families, and our kids. We sometimes give up on our dreams in order to help the ones we love. I think it's important to feel accomplished and achieve the goals that we set for ourselves.

We all know that Social Security is one of this country's greatest success stories in the 20th century.

Honesty is the most single most important factor having a direct bearing on the final success of an individual, corporation, or product.

Our region's economy was built upon their entrepreneurial spirit, and our economy still depends on the continued success of the enterprises they have worked so hard to create.