She discussed the term in a 1982 interview for Down Beat: I don't know why people call me a jazz singer, though I guess people associate me with jazz because I was raised in it, from way back.
Sie selbst wollte sich denn auch nicht als Jazzsängerin festlegen lassen: “I don’t know why people call me a jazz singer, though I guess people associate me with jazz because I was raised in it, from way back.