Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I love Coldplay.
I've always written short stories.
Working with Thundercat was really a thrill.
I've come to learn that music speaks for itself.
Laziness can be virtuous in the right setting, I guess.
Aretha Franklin is and will always be a national treasure.
I have friends who write all the time, and I envy them terribly.
I've been set up with a Twitter account, and I just never use it.
My wife is, by and large, the best thing that ever happened to me.
I enjoy it immensely, but I'm not comfortable on stage as a person.
In one way or another, all my songs are about the necessity for trust.
Honestly, I've never thought of myself as a mover and shaker of songwriting.
I love Hank Williams songs, but I love hearing Ray Charles sing them much more.
I write about humility, because it's something I hope I one day actually possess.
I hope to capture the public's imagination, but I can't live in the anxiety of that.
I know that things change and markets change. Those are the realities of the business.
I remember one of my favorite all-time records was by Edwin Starr: 'Stop Her on Sight.'
Whether artists know it or not, I think we're all a little influenced by what came before.
When I listen to songs, to this day, I listen to the chords and the groove and the melody.
Hey, I'd love to have a hit single, but if that doesn't happen, I'm not going to complain.
Being in the studio, for me, can be a miserable experience - I can really psych myself out.
Everything's challenging for me, singing-wise. I'm like an old truck with one gear left on it.
It was surprising, really, that 'Minute by Minute' did as well as it did and as quickly as it did.
I've never felt that I was doing anything more worthwhile musically than when I was with Steely Dan.
I went to Catholic grade school, so we sang a lot of religious songs: 'O Holy Night,' 'Silent Night.'
I like to celebrate the holiday season - not so much in a religious way, per se, but in a unifying way.
I just don't think many people would have crossed the street to hear me doing a hip hop-influenced album!
Since the '60s, we've lived so much in an age of quick fixes that the culture itself has become a quick fix.
We've reached a point where people don't even know how to look for anything fundamentally important anymore.
Probably some of the most miserable years of my life were grappling with some definition of what success was.
When I get in a bad mood about anything, I realize, 'Hey, I'm still working. It could always be a lot worse.'
I could never be grateful enough to the Doobies for the opportunities the organization gave me over the years.
I'd say that Ray Charles is definitely the biggest influence on my singing. Also Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.
I've always had a dream that I might write a Christmas song that might resonate with people during the holidays.
I suppose I hit my lowest point in the early to mid-80s, which is when things really spun out of control for me.
I played so many clubs growing up, and back in that period, in the '60s, we'd play, like, four, five sets a night.
I've always been an artist that has had a problem with genres, staying in the box, and being told what I had to be.
For me, one of the best things of having been a Doobie Brother is that the people involved always were great people.
I've always felt like the Forrest Gump of the music business. I've been fortunate to work with a lot of great people.
I'm not the kind of artist who can just gear myself to a particular radio format without looking like a fashion victim.
In order for life to be more than a frustrating game of one-upsmanship, one has to remain emotionally open and vulnerable.
I'd like to do something with Frank Ocean, you know, and I love working with Thundercat, and I'd love to do more with him.
Most of my life is taken up with family. It takes me awhile to get a record together that I feel is worthy of putting out.
I truly cherish the time and experience with friends that I have been making music with for so many years, even decades now.
My friendship with The Doobie Brothers never really changed. We're all still good friends, and I really admire those guys a lot.
What I particularly liked about Nineties hip hop was it had a certain reverence for the groove that I hadn't been hearing in a while.
When I was younger, I was pretty cavalier about my voice - I don't know that I even thought about it that much, to be honest with you.
Aretha Franklin holds a significant place in the collective heart of America. She's a singular example of what we represent at our best.
Like everyone else, I have a lot of things I'd like to do that I'll probably never get around to. But for the most part, I live day to day.
I tell my son, when your music becomes less relevant, your pathetic comic value might be of some use. So you've got to go with it, you know.