Maybe the greatness we heard in [Richard Manuel]'s voice, that catch in it, came from all that pain. To this day, we don't really know.

Anytime I switch to another instrument, I immediately turn it into another kind of drum so that I can understand it better.

Most of our stuff was trial and error. You live with a tape recorder, you turn it on, you play the song and you listen to it.

Songs don't wear out. Good songs are good now. If they were a comfort during those hard times in the past, they'll be a comfort in today's age.

Conway Twitty was always our local hero while I was growing up. He had a series of good bands. I wanted to sit in, if Conway would let me. And he did a couple of times.

I was in high school, trying to get out of high school. The only thing slowing me up was grades.

I don't fool with a lot of things that I can't have fun with. There's not much reward in that.