tavis: good evening from los angeles. i'm tavis smiley. first up tonight a conversation with "good morning america" anchor robin roberts. just in time for mother's day. she's penned a new book along with her mother about lessons learned from her mother's journey and how they have impacted her own life. the new book is called "my story, my song." and also tonight grammy winner jason mraz is here. he's out now with his latest c.d. called "love is a four-letter word" and announced a tour that will take him to asia and north america. we're glad you've joined us. g.m.a.'s robin roberts and musician jason mraz. coming up right now. >> every community has the martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard. but a place for wal-mart stands together with your community. to make every day better. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like

you. thank you. tavis: robin roberts is co-anchor of abc's "good morning america" who lost talked about her book "from the heart." for her latest book she's teamed one her mother, lucimarian roberts, on the new text "my story, my song, mother-daughter reflections on life and death." she jones us from where else, else, new york. good to have you on this program. >> always good to spend time with you, tavis. tavis: my love to your mother and hope she's watching in mississippi. i met her as you know many, many years ago. and i adore your mother. when i saw the cover of this book, i realized how much you really are your mother's

daughter. the resemblance is so -- it's unavoidable. >> bless you. you've paid me a lot of compliments over the years. that is the one i'm going to remember most. and i do feel like i am my mother's child. and she often talks about you. and it was a real labor of love. we knocked heads a little bit. mother-daughter. she's doing a project like this. but you know what? it was very important for us to tell her story. and this is her story. tavis: yeah. the book of course is told in her own words. and there are reflections by you about your mother's journey. let me start at an unorthodox place to begin a conversation. by talking about the -- you made -- the joke about a moment ago, talking about the tensions, the differences, the things that you and your mother don't always see eye to eye about. the things that you doesn't always agree on. obviously there's a lot of love and we'll get to that just a second. but first the tension and how mothers and daughters get along when they don't see eye to eye on everything.

>> that's a good place to start. because that's more relateable to a lot of folks. and she was somebody that growing up, very stern. very loving. but the classic of why? because i'm the mama and i said so. that's why. we talked about it in the book somewhat. we had a real knocking of heads over the years when it comes to dealing with race. my mother grew up in the great depression. segregation, the civil rights movement. she was there when president obama was inaugurated. and it was a beautiful -- and her mink coat, and mama, please, you can't be p.c. in a mink coat and everybody had their mink coat. it was cold that morning. that was one thing, mama, come on. but really, it's really we have developed such a wonderful relationship, friendship. and in the beginning it was like mother-daughter. she didn't want to be my friend. and she has a problem sometimes when she sees younger parents

today that want to be their kid's best friends. but we butted heads a little bit. especially growing up in the south. and she protected me and my siblings so much from race that it made us have a different view. but we really came together, and i have a better understanding of where she's coming from and she knows where i'm coming from, too. tavis: tell me a bit more about the tension there. what was -- what was the line? what was the distinction about with regard to race? >> well, because a lot of us who are younger and we -- we didn't go through the civil rights movement as much as our parents did. and sitting there, and making real change. and very proud of what they did. and appreciative of what they did. and we're the beneficiaries of it. and sometimes my mother feels that wait a minute. there is still racism out there. and oh, mama, no, there's not. and yeah, there is but not as

much as you feel. and she has been one that she doesn't see color. she is one that even -- despite the challenges that she has had, that she has always made us be responsible for ourselves and not -- i remember i think i shared this with you before. i remember the first time that i thought i should be hired for a job. and i wasn't. and i said, it's because i'm a black woman. my mom said maybe you aren't good enough. did you ever think about that? so she -- look at that first and then maybe it's because you're -- of your color. and so we really were able to come together and she just helped me understand both sides of it really. tavis: yeah. i was just thinking a moment ago when you talked about your mom's views on race and where she was raised and living in mississippi. there's a wonderful picture that many americans have seen because it ran in newspapers of her having a playful moment with haley barbour. so you have this white republican governor of

mississippi who not a whole lot of black folk are in love with necessarily and i'm thinking of your mother and views of race and growing up in that state and hanging out with the republican governor of the state where she to her credit was being honored for her wonderful work in the state. >> but let me tell you something about that picture. she said uh-huh, of all those people -- why did they have to use my picture with haley? she -- she's like hmm. and it made "the washington post" and everything. tavis: i saw that. >> and she -- she commented on that. but that's what she can have differences with people. she has over the years. but she finds common ground which has been something that she has taught me. and has been very helpful for me. tavis: i've always believed and have said many times that we are who we are because somebody loved us. but it is so rare and so uncommon these days to see a person raised in a two-parent

family. things just aren't what they used to be and i'm not demonizing or casting aspersion over those not raised in that way. but it's rare. i was raised in a two-parent family out of mississippi. you're raised in a two-parent family. what did it mean for you to be not just her daughter but the daughter of lawrence as well and seeing them in that loving relationship for what, 57 years? >> oh, yes, 57 years. you know, i look up and i say -- every time i go in the studio, "good morning america," i go -- good morning, daddy. he left us in 2004. right before hurricane katrina. they were married 57 years and met at howard university. tavis: yeah. >> and it means everything, tavis. and to see the wonderful relationship that they had and how they equally raised us. and my father, being a tuskegee airman, being a full colonel in the air force, a lot of people knew about my father's story. and were very aware, he was very much at the forefront. and that's why it's been so wonderful to see my mother who

has a whole list of firsts that she has accomplished in her life. but to see them together raising their children on -- i'm the youngest of four -- and my mother does talk about that. and how important that is and how we have to not just in our community but in all communities come back to that. and that is the foundation that is laid when you have both a positive male and female role model there in the home for you. tavis: i have other friends like you whose parents have been together for many, many years and many of them are still living thankfully. and still together. since we're talking about your relationship with your mother, has it put -- my word, not yours -- any pressure on you or your siblings with regard to your own relationships when you have your parents as the penultimate example of being with one person for almost 60 years? what kind of pressure does that put on you relationship wise? >> oh, you don't -- you don't want to go down that road,

tavis tavis. -- tavis smiley. tavis: i think we already are. >> i know we are. oh, my mom is old school. and proud of it. and when we would bring somebody home, you know, they were in one room and we were in the other room. if we were sleeping overnight or something like that. she is just very strong in her convictions. and makes no apologies for it. and that's what i respect so much about my mother. and that she is -- she doesn't judge those people that are in our lives. she doesn't feel that no one is good enough for their daughter or their son. i have two sisters and a brother. but yes. it does make you really realize that they had something special. and it's something that you want to experience as well. how did i answer that ok? tavis: pretty good. pretty good. judges? ok, you did good, you did good. >> breathe. tavis: your brother, not unlike my mother out of mississippi,

is a very spiritual person. how does your mother's deep and abiding faith impact you, the daughter? >> one. greatest things -- one of the greatest things, my mother gets great joy when she hears someone say, i saw your daughter in church today. i saw your son in church today. that means everything to my mother. and we went to church on sundays. that's -- that was a given. you couldn't -- all of a sudden come down and sick and say no -- it was sunday. the roberts, we sat in the same pew. and you didn't even realize at the time, and i'm so grateful now because i've had my own challenges, health challenges and other health challenges. and it is the love of god. he instance me. and the relationship -- i'm so grateful and blessed that my mother introduced me to the lord. and she talked about how most people talk about the three

r's, reading, rith, arithmetic. uh-uh, it was the three d's, determination, drive, and de lord. that was the driving force in our family. and i'm so appreciative. and i have seen, tavis, through watching my mother, how it has gotten through. she's 88 years old. she's had health concerns. she has seen her husband of 57 years leave her, almost losing her home in katrina. so many set jaeks. but through it all she has looked to gd and also caught her children to do the same thing. my mother is proud to say and often says she is a child of god. tavis: speaking of your health challenge right quick, how did it deepen your relationship with your mother when you were going through the health challenge that you were so courageous to talk about and to showcase every day on "good morning america" and the whole world, the whole country, got a chance to join you in that

battle and that struggle? thankfully thaw won. and i -- that you won. and i with millions of others, particularly your mama. and no matter how old you get you're still her baby and how did your mama deal with that? >> you know what? i felt like the baby in the family all over again. it was a wonderful feeling. because i'm very blessed with the work that i do to be able to do some things for my family. and i love that. in some ways i feel older than i am with them. but i was the baby again. and my mother came to new york. and she nursed me. and she was in the kitchen. and when i was losing my hair to chemotherapy, and she was stirring her famous collard greens and keeping me at bay because she didn't want my hair falling in but still hugging me and stirring the collard greens, oh, baby, it's going to be ok, it's going to be ok. but she also told me about going public that to be of service, and that is something that she writes in her book and that's what she is so important to our family is to be of

service to find the message in everything that you're going through. make your mess your message. and my mother really showed me that. through her love. and she loved me through cancer. and taught me that god was there, too. that there's a reason and purpose for everything. and to find that meaning and to find the lesson and to share that lesson. tavis: i can't do justice to had book in the time that i've had tonight with robin roberts. but it's a wonderful read. and thankfully, just in time for mother's day it's called "my story, my song -- mother-daughter reflections on life and faith." robin writing this with her mother. ms. roberts down in mississippi. i hope she's watching tonight but in the event she misses it, tell your mama i love her and there ain't nothing she can do about it. >> oh, she's watching, tavis. she's watching. loving every second of it. sgl love you, too. -- tavis: love you, too. good to have you on. >> thank you. tavis: next grammy award winner

, singer-songwriter jason mraz next. stay with us. jason mraz is a grammy winning singer, songwriter who's who's out with a followup to his popular 2008 c.d., his latest is called "love is a four -letter word" and announced a tour that will take him to asia and across north america. not bad for a guy who used to perform at a coffee shop in san diego called java joe's and here's some from the single "i won't give up." stars e the they fall to earth we have a lot to learn god knows we're worth it no, i won't give up

i don't want to be someone who walks away so easily i'm here to stay and make a difference that i can make ♪ tavis: good to see you, man. >> thank you very much. tavis: i was asking you where home is and home was in san diego. >> yeah. tavis: given the java joe's reference. but you are still in san diego. >> still there, yeah. tavis: hop on the train and came up today for the conversation. >> that's it, yeah. tavis: is java joe's still there? >> java joe's is opening a new collection. but he's still around. tavis: still doing his thing. >> yeah. and i use coffee shops to try out new material. the first time i ever performed "i won't give up" was at hill street open mic night in san diego. the coffee shop for me is still the easiest and most accessible stage that i can get to. and it's real community. and it's real songwriters cutting their teeth on new stuff. tavis: wow. even now, still. >> absolutely.

tavis: what -- so at this stage of the game, what's the takeaway from performing in those locations? do you talk to folk afterward? is there like engaging their rhythm? what do you take from it? >> yeah, well, if i have new material, i take it to those places. and i can get a good sense of -- is there an arc to the song? is there real magic in this? do i want to perform it again? and get the reaction from the folks. when i finished performing, i won't give up, for the first time, i opened my eyes and what -- what i think there was maybe six people in there when i started. and when i finished there was about 30 people all standing around with their jaws dropped. in complete silence. ok. i think this song has some power to it. so coffee shops work for me. tavis: what stars do that nowadays? who would be willing to expose themselves, particularly in a crowd that size, and that locale, who exposes themselves to that kind of stuff when they're trying stuff out? >> i don't know, man. hopefully many.

hopefully many. because it's the real world. tavis: yeah. "love is a four-letter word." i first saw that, like duh. but i thought about it. that can be a double enten dray. -- entendrey. tell me what you mean. >> i saw these shapes and order and i saw this word "love" in that and i was impressed with that. it doesn't really say love. i'm choosing to see love in this image. so if that's the case, love is a choice. i should also be able to see love in someone else. or see love in the mirror, or in the world around me. so that was my "aha" moment and i wanted to create this love album and what's available to us and sometimes we choose to have it and we sometimes don't. and at the end of the process, you know, i still think how can i define love in 12 songs? i can't. and it was quite a daunting task.

so i thought it was quite clever to call the album "love is a four-letter word." like stubbing your toe you say some choice things. love does the exact same thing to us. tavis: now i feel stupid. i was being silly and i got a deep philosophical response. >> well, you know, i'm a songwriter. i got to do that. tavis: i respect that. that's why i love artists. you see things, process things, feel things in ways that i don't. and that's why i'm always welcoming to artists on this program. since love is so inexhaustable as you described, how do you go about doing a project of 12 songs trying to put some context to what love is or what it feels like or what it ought to be? >> well, for me, what i've learned at the very end of this love is sharing. and i think that really is for me the best place to go to experience love. is sharing. and i got to share a lot of myself and a lot with others and from others in the making of this album. for example, i wrote a couple

of these tunes on -- with a gentleman by the name of "michael natter." he's in his 60's and been playing his guitar for 40 years. he plays a martin guitar he bought in the 1960's off the shelf. and through our sharing of ideas and music, we were able to create some songs that vended up on this album -- that have ended up on this album. he's raised six kids and 1 -- and grandchildren in a one bedroom shack in san diego. he becomes a mentor on how i can raise a family and how i can use my gifts to help others. and now through the songwriting, it's going back to contribute to his life. and now in his 60's he's working as a professional songwriter. through our relationships. there's songs about relationship with my family, and some -- i lost my aunt

during the process of this album. which made me really want to tribute my grand dad. that was kind of our connection. obviously there's intimacy. that's a big part of love. there's also a look at one's self and dig inside and see what you're made of and your strengths and limitations. and to create an album of love, i really had -- i thought it was going to be easy. i've always written love songs. but i thought if i really want to make a love album that contributes, that actually means something, i got to go deep. tavis: you said a couple of things i want to get now. in no particular order number one. is there any instrument more suitable to talking about love than the acoustic guitar? i'll let you answer. but it just seems so perfect to me. >> yeah. tavis: the sound that thing creates. you tell me. but i love, love the acoustic guitar. >> thank you. i was actually going to say the human voice. tavis: i take that. there you go, one-uping me.

you got to stop this, man. you want to come back again? [laughter] you can't keep one-uping the host. just teasing. go ahead. >> the guitar is the perfect -- the perfect companion. for the human voice. you rest it against your gut, against your heart. and when you strum it, the vibrations go outward for all the hear but the vibration also hits you on your body. and so that for me as a singer, i want to add my sound to those chords and what space i've been given to sing my harmonies and medical disand my words. -- and melodies and my words. the guitar is a great companion. and you can take it on the train. tavis: i see. the other thing i was going to ask, given what you said a moment ago, is about your songwriting. i read somewhere where you and your songwriting buddies kind of play a game with each other. >> yeah. tavis: is this a true story? >> a true story. tavis: tell knee about it -- tell me about it. >> it's mainly a game about

integrity. it's not a competition. but basically one person in the group will give us the -- this week's phrase was "spider windows." very bizarre. you have to turn spider windows into a song. the no rules to it. and the only rule is that you turn it in by friday at midnight. if not, you're out. a song about integrity and for a songwriter to stay in your practice of writing. for no reason, don't think about your singles, don't think about your hits or management or your publishing. just write because you need to practice it. and then by staying in the practice, there comes a rare occasion to when your emotions and your deepest realizations come through at that same time that your pen is ready. and you actually create something brilliant. but for me to create an album of 12 songs, i got to write about 80 songs. half of those are totally weird. and rubbish. but i get to some good stuff

after a while. tavis: 8 to get 12 -- 80 to get 12. the ratio -- >> i don't know. but that's the way it was for my last album. and i look back at my work, and it was about 80 some songs. and so i figured i needed to do the sam thing and make this one happen. and it was right. the more i wrote the better i got. tavis: the ultimate question are you going to make the deadline for "spider windows"? >> i did. tavis: where are you going to go with that? >> yeah. i went with the spoken word. i went with spoken word and created this little kind of weird -- i don't know. remix of weird sounds and stuff. tavis: all right. >> i have to do a lot of it in my travels, on a laptop, in the airplane. very cool. tavis: before i close our conversation, and shined people about the new project -- remind people about the new project, is there an "i'm ours" on this project? -- "i'm yours" on this project? that song was huge. >> i can't predict what songs will do, you know, to -- tavis: when you were writing

"i'm yours" what were you feeling? >> you know, i was just trying to stay out of my own way. i was having a good time. sure, i was feeling love in my heart and feeling rhythm in my soul. "i'm yours" was written in about 20-mans' time -- about 20 minutes' time. and i wrote it in 2004 but didn't release it until 2008. you know, i think because it was written so quickly, that i just thought well, maybe this doesn't have any weight or merit. but i think because it was written -- that it came straight from the heart and needed to be born. so there's a few on there. on this album that were written that quickly, yeah. tavis: well, he's a wonderful artist. and i love his spirit. and i love his gift. his name is jason mraz as you well know. the new project is called "love is a four-letter word." and now you know what the project is all about. and how that -- those images turned into a project. jason, good to have you on.

>> tavis, thank you. tavis: that's our show and until next time. thanks for watching pbs. thank you. and keep the faith. >> ♪ and who i am i won't give up even if the skies get broke giving you all my love still looking up still looking up i won't give up ♪ >> for more information on today's show visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with actor ed helm on the conclusion of the eighth season of the popular series "the office." that's next time. we'll see you then. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or

boulevard. but a place for wal-mart stands together with your community. to make every day better. zpwhrveragets >> and by contribution to your -- and by contribution to your pbs station from viewers leak you. thank you. -- like you. thank you. >> be more.