The Tom Tom Club

Is there any song you wish you had done? The one song that I missed that was given to me was Paul McCartney's ''The Long and Winding Road.'' I was with him one night in a club in London and I said, ''When are you going to write me a song, Paul?'' and he said, ''I'll write you a song.'' Then he sent this song around to the house, ''The Long and Winding Road.'' He wanted it to be my next single — it had to be. But there was a song already scheduled to come out; Decca (the record label) didn't want to change it. So Paul put it out with the Beatles. I've sung it since, I've done it on stage. But I could have had that song. Looking back, I should have stopped whatever I was doing to record it.

You knew Elvis Presley. Is Elvis alive? No. Elvis is dead. I knew him well. Priscilla always used to say that when I was around, Elvis was more natural. He never took drugs in front of me. Although I knew something was going on, because he didn't drink alcohol and he'd disappear for a minute and come back, and he'd be like he was getting drunk.

Do alleged Elvis sightings disturb you? It's a shame. And I don't like them making fun of him, either. He was a great entertainer, a great musician, and he did a lot for rock & roll. And I think he should be remembered that way. Not as the drug-taking fat person that he became.

If you hadn't made it as a singer, what would you have done? I don't know. I've always sung, since I was a baby, so I always had this voice. I used to work in the daytime while I was singing at night in order to make money to live. But I never looked at a job as a career. I was just biding my time. I thought, ''One day somebody will see me and I will become successful.''