>> Teeny Tucker: I like blues although I can sing gospel.  And I got another song I just wrote called "Respect me and the blues." And it's actually a ridden, a vocal, how should I say it?  It's sort of like I'm talking the lyrics, not singing them.  But then I say (singing).  I mean you'd like it if you hear it.

>> Interviewer: I'm so thrilled that you wanted to have so many lines…

>> Teeny Tucker: And it's not about money or fame it's just, you know money can't buy peace or love or the things that you enjoy and life.  Sometimes the smallest little thing is priceless.  You couldn't get it if you traded something.  You know?  (Chuckling).

>> Interviewer: And that's what I've been really learning and loving about this project.  Is that we're meeting, you know just beautiful people.  Established musicians yes, but just so grounded.  I mean everyone is people, a person first.  It's never just "I'm just doing this because I'd like to make money off of it."

>> Teeny Tucker: If you think of it that way…  You won't be happy.

>> Interviewer: And it would just be a different type of music coming out of you.  You know?

>> Teeny Tucker: Well it's nice to, anyone wants to get paid, of course.  But if you're doing something that's a passion, or something that you really really enjoy, money comes last.  That's the way I look at it.  That's the reason I work every day.  (Laughter).  So I just hope that anybody that really gets to see this that they would go in and look up the history of blues, and how it all came about.  And what the WC handy awards are about, and his foundation, the R&B/Blues foundation.  And see how many artists were really out there that did this for the love of it and the passion, but they never really were recognized, or they didn't get...  You know my last album was called the two big M's.  And I actually did a tribute to Big Mama Thorton, and Big Maybelle.  And Big Mama Thorton and, she sang "Hound dog", she got paid $500 and died penniless.  But she made it a hit solo with a million copies back in the fifties.  And then Elvis Presley did it, and he became a millionaire off of it.  Big Maybelle sang "Whole lot of shakin' goin' on" which Jerry lee Lewis Sang after she did.  She also made millions of copies and died penniless.  But learning the history of people that did something that they really loved, that they never were recognized for.  And in that I got a song that's called "The two big M's" and the two big M's talk about how they didn't get the recognition that they deserved, and how they triumphed over, traveled from city to city, state to state performing.  And after was all over with that's all they wanted to do.  They didn't know the business end of it.  They didn't know that they were signing their life away.  Hey, you know, this is what I love to do, and I want to do it at all costs.  And then after you wake up and realize, "Wow, I just sold my whole soul." Now that's pretty sad.  So I did a tribute to them.  They were the foremothers of the blues, so…