That was my gift . . . having the ability to put certain guys together that would create a chemistry and then letting them go; letting them play what they knew, and above it.

My father's rich, my momma's good looking. Right? And I can play the Blues. I've never suffered and don't intend to suffer.

You should never be comfortable, man. Being comfortable fouled up a lot of musicians.

The only way a drum machine will get out of beat is for you not to pay your electric bill.

It's not the note you play that's the wrong note - it's the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.

If you make a suggestion and [musicians] don't know what you mean, you have to be able to do it yourself. I often sit down on drums and show 'em just exactly what I want. And I do it and then say, "How do you do that?" It's because I know how it looks, I know what I want to hear, and I don't drop or rush any tempo. It ain't in my body, it ain't in my nephew's body.

I can tell whether a person can play just by the way he stands.