The best compliment that has ever been given to me was, I was at the airport one day and a guy came in and said, 'Lionel, my wife loves you, the kids love you, my mother-in-law loves you, the family loves you.

I don't think I'm going to be priest material.

I grew up with the Grand Ole Opry, Dottie West, Conway Twitty, Buck Owens... not realizing it was influencing me as much as it was.

I think the whole world is dying to hear someone say, 'I love you.' I think that if I can leave the legacy of love and passion in the world, then I think I've done my job in a world that's getting colder and colder by the day.

I just had to find all my friends that used to be in the business. As I say, the music business didn't die, it just moved to Nashville.

Let the music play on would be my legacy.

I'm a songwriter, and people will tell you the greatest stories about their lives, whether you want to hear it or not.