"Back then people closed their eyes and listened to music. Today there's a lot of images that go with the music. A lot of music is crap and it's all commercial and the images are all trying to sell the record."

"One new feature or fresh take can change everything."

"Commitments are one of the worst things to have in the music business. They're very annoying."

"It's cool to go places where working people are happy."

"I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water."

"I don't think radio is selling records like they used to. They'd hawk the song and hawk the artist and you'd get so excited, you'd stop your car and go into the nearest record store."

"It was Elvis who really got me hooked on beat music. When I heard 'Heartbreak Hotel' I thought, this is it."

"Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on."