The reward for getting on the stage is fame.

The price of fame is you can’t get off the stage.

And so it has come to this: I, uh... am one of the lucky people in the world; I found something I always wanted to do, and I have enjoyed every single minute of it. I want to thank the gentlemen who've shared this stage with me for thirty years, Mr. Ed McMahon... Mr. Doc Severinsen... and... you people watching, I can only tell you that it has been an honor and a privilege to come into your homes all these years and entertain you—and I hope when I find something that I want to do, and I think you would like, and come back, that you'll be as gracious in inviting me into your home as you have been. I bid you a very heartfelt good night.

The best part of being a songwriter — beyond being able to make a living at it — is what I call the "heart payment" of a song. That's when somebody comes up after a concert and says, "My mom was a single mom, and 'You And Me Against The World' was a really important song to us." Or "We got married to 'We've Only Just Begun'" or 'Evergreen.' Or "'I Won't Last A Day Without You' got me through some hard times.'" That's heart payment for a songwriter.

This career has given me a lot of happiness and I’ve fallen in love with it. Of course, there is joy in fame, but there are plenty of difficult periods to endure as well. It’s not unusual to feel down or stressed, but I use those as motivators to remain steadfast and look ahead.

I wrote and recorded music for many years, thinking I was only pleasing myself. The fact that so many people have appreciated the music, makes my life incredibly rewarding and full.

{Fame has] given me a lot of free love -- and that's the best thing fame can afford you. What has it taken away? My privacy.

You wanna hear a funny story? So uh... five years ago- I quit performing live comedy. Because I was beginning to have uh severe panic attacks while on stage. Which is not a great place to have them. So I-I quit... and I didn't perform for five years. And I spent that time trying to improve myself mentally. And you know what- I did, I got better. I got so much better in fact, that in January of... 2020, I thought "you know what I should... start performing again. I've been hiding from the world and I need to reenter." And then... the funniest thing happened...

No, fame has really favoured me in so many ways. I thank God for that.

I thought, perhaps, I should leave the industry while the applause is still loud. It was a scary time and I didn't want to be known as a failed artiste. Fans simply didn't know what I was doing and that is what we're trying to repair.

That last [season], I really felt like-- was really a gift to the audience, 'cause I was really done after the eighth. But I decided to take a deep breath and try and do one last season, because the audience support that we enjoyed was just phenomenal.

For a song I was bought
Now I lie when I talk
With a careful eye on the cue card.
Onto a stage I was pushed,
With my sorrow well rehearsed.
So give me all your pity and your money, now (all of it).

But during the course of my music career, there was A lot of back and forth, there was a lot of inconsistencies because I was really battling with myself and the calling. It took a lot of grace to finally come to the period of surrender. Even before I surrendered, I went through a lot of depression, addictions and periods of secluding myself. During those periods, I prayed A lot to God. I cried out a lot to God. It went from just leave me alone, God, to do what you want to do. Because I felt that every attack I was having in my music career was because I wasn’t walking in my calling

Fame for me is not external, it’s internal. So I’ve been famous for a long time.

I've been very fortunate throughout my career. And I've been lucky enough to have worked with some great and talented people, like Price and Serling. I was just a part of the whole phenomenon coming together. They were exciting times that bubbled over with energy for all those involved.