I didn't get into music to become a blues musician, or a country musician. I'm a singer-songwriter. In my book that means I get to do whatever I want.
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There's a certain urgency that comes from the records of the early 60s before overdubbing and multitracking came into play.
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There's no such thing as a teenager that listens to a single word their father says.
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I love Motown, but I've obviously always been more of a Memphis soul fan. If it's Stax or Motown, I go Stax.
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You have to live what you write, or you have to know it. There are exceptions, like story songs, where you just have to have your facts straight. But I think you don't have to live a hard life to be a good or interesting songwriter.
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I grew up in a racially mixed neighborhood. So going over to friends' houses for dinner, their parents listened to Al Green and Luther Ingram. It was something that hit me early on, the feeling that came across.
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I think the best thing an artist can do is not hang out with other artists. I really dislike hanging out with musicians, for the most part, except for a few select friends, because I don't like to talk about music all the time.
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My parents split up when I was about 2. I realize more and more how much I'm like my father. My gentleness comes from my mother.
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What I'm doing is basically the same as Bob Dylan did with folk songs and Woody Guthrie songs, the same as folk music's always done. I'm not going to sing about ploughing, but I'll write a song that sounds like it should be about ploughing.
