I love the clips with your mother where she would recite a poem because they're so cornball, but your father just ate it up. When he drops his head and looks into her eyes, it's so sweet. You can really see the love they had for each other.
Yeah, they had a great love for each other, and her humor was probably one of the first things about her that sparked my dad's heart. So he had a good connection with her jokes and her spirit, and he loved her dearly in many ways.
Every time I listen to the prison albums, I'm struck by how he formed a bond with the inmates, in his song selection and in the stage banter. But what gets me is the gospel songs at the end, because he's offering the prisoners the idea of redemption. And it's done in a way that's not, for lack of a better word, preachy.
He could offer that redemption and his view and spirit. The magic of it was that he could sing "Cocaine Blues" or "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die." He could get them riled up with energy and make them take him in as one of their own, and then when he got them there, he'd lay out the Gospel for them. That came naturally to him, but not everybody could do that. It was his way of relaying the message, and it was unique.
Your parents were citizens of the world, loved everywhere they went. You never heard about them refusing autographs or not talking with the fans. Was it difficult to share them when you were growing up?
I think there might have been some jealousy. Looking back now, I see that there was this distance with my father going away. And not only that, later on, I got into a competition with him in an emotional, mental and spiritual level in my own life. It took a lot of struggle to figure out exactly what I wanted and what I wanted to do with myself. And I think that's probably pretty common with children of accomplished entertainers.
But right now, I'm happy where I am. I have a wonderful family, and a beautiful wife who's a talented musician. I have a purpose in my life to my children, to my family, to my God, and to my work. And I think all those struggles growing up were lessons to learn and processes to go through.
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