Tell us about your tour vehicle.
I used to travel by bus but now we fly everywhere. If a job is close enough, I have an H2 Hummer which I love. It has one hundred thirty seven thousand miles and still runs like new. If the job in within driving distance that’s the way I go.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
Well in a sense you could say that I’m very careful about what I eat. No meats!
Where do you rehearse? Any crazy experiences there?
With a big band there’s always some crazy experience dealing with a lot of people.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
“Lawdy Miss Clawdy” was my first song. It’s been recorded 178 times — you’ve had to have heard it by me or someone else. It started what we now know as rock and roll.
Describe your first gig.
The Apollo Theater. Thousands and thousands of people came to see me, I don’t need to tell you about being first.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
Actually I had one night job at the New Orleans Airport in my early teens. I’ve been in music all my life — my first global hit was when I was a teen.
How has your music-related income changed over the past 5-10 years? What do you expect it to look like 5-10 years from now?
Luckily I learned the business early and got to publish all my music as an artist and producer. I’ve been on the charts thirty times so the future looks bright.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Accounting – in business you must know how to count.