It was surprising, really, that 'Minute by Minute' did as well as it did and as quickly as it did.

My first rock band was called Mike and the Majestics. I was about twelve, and my older sister Kathy was the manager. There were three of us: me and a friend on guitars and a drummer. We were young, but we played for a lot of fraternity parties, plugging both guitars and a microphone into one little amplifier.

I'm a big country fan. I remember, as a kid, when Ray Charles did the 'Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music' record. That's one of the reasons I became a country fan.

No matter what anyone else thinks, if someone appreciates what you do, whether it's 10 people or a million people, it's all good - because the only reason you make music is to have someone appreciate it.

When I get in a bad mood about anything, I realize, 'Hey, I'm still working. It could always be a lot worse.'

Looking back, I sometimes wish I had done things differently. But if I had, I'm not sure that I wouldn't have proven to be my own worst enemy.

Honestly, I've never thought of myself as a mover and shaker of songwriting.

I think that's the one thing we all hope for in this life is we leave something of a legacy, that's meaningful to someone else, when we leave here.

I'd say that Ray Charles is definitely the biggest influence on my singing. Also Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.

Most times, lyrics are the last thing I listen to, being a musician.

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.

There were certain Ray Charles albums and a couple of early Marvin Gaye records that I used to listen to with a vengeance. That's how you forge a style. It excites you, and you lean toward it almost unconsciously. I was also a Beatles fanatic, but I didn't emulate them the way I did the R&B artists.

I went to Catholic grade school, so we sang a lot of religious songs: 'O Holy Night,' 'Silent Night.'

My wife is, by and large, the best thing that ever happened to me.

For me, one of the best things of having been a Doobie Brother is that the people involved always were great people.

Being in the studio, for me, can be a miserable experience - I can really psych myself out.

I hope to capture the public's imagination, but I can't live in the anxiety of that.

My friendship with The Doobie Brothers never really changed. We're all still good friends, and I really admire those guys a lot.

I've never felt that I was doing anything more worthwhile musically than when I was with Steely Dan.

There have been albums I've recorded in the past that have had success, and then there have been ones I've had extreme faith in, and they ended up as commercial failures.