Top 16 Quotes by Merry Clayton

Oh boy, I grew up hearing Sam Cooke, The Soul Stirrers, Mahalia Jackson, sitting on Mahalia Jackson's lap in my dad's church.

I always say that I went to the College of Blossoms and the University of Ray Charles.

You get royalties from certain songs that you do when you do background. It's according to the work that you put in.

My family is part Creole, and we're Indian, and we're also very, very black. My father was so black, he was blue.

I was signed to A&M, I was signed to Lou Adler, who had a company within a company, which was A&M Records, and everything - James Taylor, Rita Coolidge, Carole King - I worked on all of that stuff.

I was able to endure and play a special part in music history. And I always managed to keep working, even if I wasn't a big solo artist.

Back when I was working with the Stones and with Joe Cocker and Neil Young and Neil Diamond and all of those - 'the boys,' I call them - it was fun.

I have always said every good thing is divinely sent from heaven.

I got put out of my church choir because my pastor said, 'We can't have baby sister singing the blues and coming in here and singing on Sunday morning.'

I knew how to sing in choirs and sing in church, but I didn't know how to sing in a studio. That's what Darlene and the Blossoms taught me to do - to be a studio singer.