RS: That's the video I never quite understood, it seemed like a
totally different character for you.
Candy J: When I tell you this, you'll probably make the correlation
with it. Remember the Norma Desmond line "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm
ready for my close-up" That's where I got the idea from. It was like
wait just a minute, I look so good, and it just sounded real and they
were dancing with me. That's why I did it and I think every drag
queen in the United States has done that song in one form or another
in their shows. They say Pauline, whenever I tour with girl DJs, they
never made so much money off of a song than that song. So I was like
well do I get a cut?
RS: Where did the name Sweet Pussy Pauline come from?
Candy J: I have no idea, it was just a joke that happened. Believe
me, none of it was planned.
RS: You also have a big club following, but how does it feel
having such a big following of drag queens who perform your music?
Candy J: Oh it doesn't matter to me. I'll come and perform on your
doorstep if you're paying me, it doesn't matter.
RS: A lot of people have wondered over the years if you are a
man dressing as a woman or are you a woman. Do you want to answer
that.
Candy J: I think I'll leave it as a mystery. I know everybody asks,
well not everybody asks but a lot of people ask me and they look at me
and they say no, you can't be a drag queen, you just can't be. I says
why sweetie, why not baby? I like to have fun. Does it really
matter, Ron?
RS: No, it doesn't, I'm just curious.
Candy J: I'm just a diva. Oh you just want to have me, that's what
it is, hmmmm-hmmmm.
RS: I can't have you, aren't you married with an auto body shop
and property all over the world?
Candy J: Yes. Well I'm married, 2.5 kids, Volvo station wagon, white
picket fence and a dog named Fifi, I'm living the American dream!
Let me clarify that, everybody else asks me that. I only have
property in Chicago and a flat in Europe. I was looking at some TV
show that had said I had all these houses decorated in tiger skin. I
was like what? I hate tiger skin and that's what they were saying.
But I think they put anything out there for publicity, but no, all my
properties are here in Chicago.
RS: I mean that's something to be very proud of because you
don't find many female artists who have made a career out of this and
have become as successful with managing their money. What's your
secret?
Candy J: Well I have a degree in business and I knew that it wasn't
going to last forever. The Candy Girls project with Paul and Rachel
started when I was performing at Kinky Malinki in Europe and I threw
an album and it hit Rachel in the chest. I was apologizing to her on
the stage. She listened to it, they sampled it, and the next thing I
knew they were calling me, asking me can I sample the song. After we
agreed on a fee, the next thing I knew they were asking if I could
come over to shoot a video. I listened to it again and honest to God,
I put the cassette that she had sent me in the cassette deck and I
thought it was going too fast and I thought my cassette desk would
blow up. I never thought anything more about it.
They flew me over and they picked me up and treated me like a queen,
no pun intended. I did one show over there, and they just thought I
was so outrageous and I just took off like a rocket. That song became
popular and they wanted to do Wham Bam but I wasn't signed to Virgin
at the time as I was only in a production deal with them. They didn't
want to sign me because I was an American artist and they just thought
it would be too stressful. I was like 'give me a break, just give me
the coins, baby.' They came to the studio and that was just what came
out of my mouth once I'd signed the contract. It was cheaper for me
to buy a house over there than stay in the hotels. I had a good
friend over there that was a citizen so we kind of did it together. I
paid for it and now like a lot of people stay in it when they go over
there like, CeCe Peniston and different artists stay in it when they
go over there.