Helen Humes discusses the Basie band.

Listen Now Add to Play List Read Transcript (File Size: MB)

Helen Humes discusses her start in music as a young woman.

Listen Now Add to Play List Read Transcript (File Size: MB)

Helen Humes discusses her break from singing.

Listen Now Add to Play List Read Transcript (File Size: MB)

If you are experiencing problems playing audio on this site,
please update to the latest version of Flash.

Transcription

Q: “You did stop singing though for quite a while though, didn’t you? For someone who gets as much fun out of it, you did stop…”

A: “Well, yes, I stopped because in '67, my mother took sick and I just dropped everything and went home. And then, after my mother passed, well, then that's when I sold my record player, my TV and my records and I just got rid of everything, even my piano. And I'm so sorry about that. That's the only thing I'm sorry about, is I got rid of that piano. And I just told the man, I said, "Just give me $10 and take it away." And it would be worth a fortune today, you know. Because my mother used to play and my mother was 83 or 84 or something like that when she passed in '67 and well, it would just be ... and it was a good piano and I don't know, but I just didn't want to see nothing around. You know, you can do strange things when things happen like that.”