"I never thought back in 1991 that I would still be here, still doing this, still being appreciated," Waters said.
Music was always in her blood, since she was a little girl.
"I grew up in the musical family. My father was a jazz musician. I had a very famous aunt, Ethel Waters," she said.
It wasn't until Waters moved to Washington that she started making music. Her biggest hit was inspired but a homeless woman she met on the street.
"I was writing it, and I came up with the hook, which is 'la-da-d-la-di-da,'" Waters said.
The song is called 'Gypsy Woman.' The homeless woman she wrote about.
"She felt like if she was going to ask people for money, she should look respectable," Waters said. "That's why she put on a full face of makeup and dressed in full black."
'Gypsy Woman' was released in 1991. Decades later, it still resonates with the LGBTQ+ community, who are more likely to face homelessness and rejection than their straight peers.
"The gay community has had my back since day one," Waters said.
Many have cited her socially conscious lyrics and her memorable live performances
"Drag queens taught me how to do my makeup, how to have stage presence, because I didn't know what I was doing," Waters said. "Hanging out with all the dancers and voguers is the time of life I'll never forget."
ABC 7 New York is your home for the NYC Pride March on Sunday, June 30. Watch the broadcast from noon until 3 p.m. on Channel 7 and anywhere you stream ABC7NY.
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