Grammy-winning singer Anita Baker takes a cue from young artists [Detroit Free Press]

Q: You took your long break to focus on family, re-emerged and went through another round of personal drama. (Baker divorced husband Walter Bridgforth Jr. in 2008.)

A: The personal stuff never stops, man. It just never stops. For example, I was starting to record, I thought I was moving on, and soon as you think you're going forward, something grabs you by scruff of neck and yanks you backwards. But I'm always trying to step forward, always. But I'm a person, and how does that (John Lennon) saying go -- "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans"? I've got two teenage boys. My eldest is interviewing for colleges, my youngest is in the studio with me, and if I'm doing my job correctly, it's really about them.

Q: "Stuff that grabs you by the neck" -- are you including your court case from earlier this year? (Baker was nearly jailed in a dispute over royalties in her divorce settlement.)

A: That was so insignificant in the course of things that grab me. I'm talking about life and death. I'm talking about my neighbor, who I hadn't seen in years, and finding out she's dying of cancer. Courts and lawyers and the music business -- that's just another day. I'm talking about the Pistons being sold -- I'm talking about real stuff. (Laughs.) I'm talking about the fact that I'm 52. Right? I'm 52! This is the stuff that yanks you. I just heard that another friend of mine just passed. I've been in and out of court my whole life. Entertainers have to deal with lawyers. In the music industry, that's just par for the course.

Q: You've got a band that lets you always improvise onstage.

A: We're going to do what we always do -- start the show, let the audience tell us what we should play, and play it. It's Michigan, it's Detroit. I grew up watching the Motown revue come through -- you hear "What key?" on Stevie Wonder's "Fingertips." It's like a doctor -- you're comfortable operating. It's my joy doing it on the fly. It's challenging and stimulating. When they throw a curve, you feel good if you can catch it and toss it back.

Q: I'm typing here. Give me a second to catch up.

A: That's OK. It's better than a tape recorder. I love tactile things. That's what I'm all about.

Q: I hear you don't even have voice mail.

A: I like to interact with real people -- if you're calling me, it means I want to talk to you.

Q: Even those lawyers?

A: They don't have my number!

Related content

Anita Baker

8 p.m. Sat.

DTE Energy Music Theatre

I-75 at exit 89, Clarkston

248-377-0100

$10-$49.50

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