DARLENE LOVE

A lot of the people who saw me in the 'Lethal Weapon' movies didn't even know I was a singer.

Background singers who are any good have to be great imitators.

I am so thankful for the genius of Phil Spector, for his recognition of my talent to be the main voice of his Wall of Sound.

I love being married. I've been married three times.

I never pushed to be a star. I didn't want to. I had my home, my family. Session work let you do the music and leave.

I wish I started out as a solo artist.

If you listen to most songs, most people will not sing the words of the lead singer. They will sing the hook. The hook is what makes the record sell.

In church, they have the music where you jump and you shout, you know, and then you have the quiet music where you're sitting, you're meditating.

It means a lot to me, the sanctity of marriage.

My father was a Pentecostal minister; that's how I was brought up. So I never thought of having a secular career.

There's nothing better than lifting somebody's spirit with music.

When I was a backup singer, I enjoyed it.

When people come and see me, I want them to experience joy. I don't do any sad songs in my show. It's to lift the spirit.

When you hate people, it not only makes you hate that person, it gives that vibe off for everything around you. I really do believe that.

A lot of times, that's hard to capture: what you sound like in person versus what you sound like on record. If I had total control, I would do a lot of the old songs - not only my songs but Sam Cooke songs, Luther Vandross, melody songs. That's what I would really do if I had an opportunity to do a record.

I always say that when I was recording with Phil Spector, he would not let me really sing, you know? And even to make me sound younger, he would speed the track up. He still wanted that real nice, little, quiet, sweet little sound.

I enjoyed every minute of what I was doing with sessions, because The Blossoms, the group that I was singing with, they were the first black background singers. There weren't any.

I get such joy out of performing for people, and you can tell whether they like you or they don't like you the minute you walk out on the stage. And they don't even have to tell me that they had a good time. I know they had a good time.

I know God loves me. I tell people all the time I'm one of his favorite childs. I had to believe in something bigger than me - bigger than man. I had to believe that God would send somebody across my path to keep my dreams alive.

I think we did our first session in 1958. There were no black background singers - there were only white singers. They weren't even called background singers; they were just called singers. I don't know who gave us the name 'background singers,' but I think that came about when The Blossoms started doing background.

I think, for a long time, people thought I was a figment of Phil Spector's imagination because they knew The Crystals, they knew The Ronettes, they knew Bob B. Sox and the Blue Jeans, but had never had met Darlene Love.

I worked with Dionne Warwick, did shows with Bette Midler, and then I did the 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Springsteen at the Garden. It was all important stuff because you want people to know you can work, you can sing, and you can still look good!

I'm always happy to be a part of history. When you're a part of history, you live forever. 'The T.A.M.I. Show' will live forever because now it's brand new. We did that 40-odd years ago, and people are really starting to see it now. I was a part of history when I recorded that show.

I've always wanted to work with Barbra Streisand because she's worked with some of the best background singers in the world who are friends of mine, worked with them in concert or on movie soundtracks, and I always say 'Now, where was I? Where was I when she was hiring people to work with her?'

'If I Can Dream' is my all-time favorite Elvis song. It was a big record, but not as big as it could have been. It was one of those records where you'd think it sold 10 billion copies, but it didn't.