RS: Who was your inspiration for Nobody Knows?
Evelyn Champagne King: My husband was my inspiration, we've been married sixteen years. It was love at first sight and we were married within two months of when we met. He's my best friend and my confidant. I love him dearly and that song was just basically letting people know that when you are with someone, nobody knows how it really feels, nobody knows how it really is until you tell them and I'm doing that in that song.

RS: Wow sixteen years. Speaking about years, why 2007? Why this year for the big comeback album?
Evelyn Champagne King: Well, actually it would have been 2005 or 2006, but I've been doing nothing but traveling. I've been traveling since 1977 and I haven't stopped. I haven't even had a vacation and that's why it happened real quick. With thirty years, I feel very blessed to keep going like this, so it's like you can't complain because you're still doing something and they're still playing your songs on the radio. But I knew that my fans were like Evelyn when are you coming out with something else. That is beautiful and I love my fans dearly so I decided just do what I've got to do and I'm just glad that 2007 is it.

RS: I was at the Dance Music Hall of Fame when your song was inducted. How did that feel?
Evelyn Champagne King: That was beautiful and actually it was a dream come true. You know how you wait for something for so long? To me it's better than getting a Grammy because it's really the people appreciating your skills and what you've done for all these years with your voice and the producer and the writers.

I want to make sure that they're acknowledged too. It meant a lot for him to be there, who discovered me, the producer. I was very proud of myself to know that once again I'm still here.

RS: How do you think over the years that dance and r&b has changed?
Evelyn Champagne King: Wow, it's changed a lot. Its more about the beats, but I'd rather hear more singing. I mean it's nice to hear the beats to make you dance but come on, we miss Sylvester. When Sylvester was out, no one could touch him. There are some dance artists out there that are really on top and they're staying in the groove. Pepper Mashay, Martha Wash – who has never stopped, and definitely Jeanie Tracy. Look who's there but you can't follow people like that unless you really know how to bring it, and I'm ready to bring it. I told them I was ready.

RS: I've always wanted to know and you've probably answered this a million times, how did Champagne become part of your name?
Evelyn Champagne King: My mom gave me the name. She gave me the name Bubbles because when I was a baby I blew a lot of spit bubbles. When I became Evelyn Champagne King, they were trying to figure out a stage name. My mother said Champagne – which is bubbly and it worked. It lasted. The record label, RCA, took it off for a moment and I disagreed and wanted it back so it's still there. Champagne stuck and my fans love the name and so do I.

RS: When you recorded the song Shame, did you have any idea it would become such a massive hit?
Evelyn Champagne King: No. Actually I thought it was going to be the other song "I Don't Know if it's Right."

RS: Really? I was young and as a teenager I knew that teens that are going through things with their boyfriends and they're busy trying to tell them a story or tell them off or something. Listening to the lyrics, I thought it would be a hit and the girls would use it to tell their boyfriends off. At the time I wasn't thinking that Shame was going to blow up but when it did, I listened to the lyrics myself. The more I heard it, the more I pictured and the song Shame is pretty heavy.

RS: I agree. I've played that song a million times.
Evelyn Champagne King: Oh wow and I've sung it a million times. <laughing>

RS: Every couple of years another singer will do their own take on one of your songs. Have you heard other versions and what do you think of them?
Evelyn Champagne King: The first version I heard was Zhane. I thought it was good. I appreciate and it was flattering for me first of all, that someone would even want to do the song over as that showed appreciation of what you'd done. I felt that it was a little too slow because it's party time in the clubs and that's a dance song. I just knew that someone was going to remake that but that's the only one I really heard that really stuck out in my memory.

RS: What would you like to say to all of your fans out there?
Evelyn Champagne King: That I really appreciate the support for thirty years and there's more to come. I'll never let them down because God gave me this gift and this gift is for my fans.