I'm not inspired by songwriting at all; that took place years ago. I'm pretty well established, as far as my influences go. I don't listen to music anymore. It all sounds the same to me.

The thing of playin' and singin' never bothered me.

I told [my daughter Amy] at an early age that she had a good ear. But I didn't influence her music much. She's pretty much developed her style on her own, and she's a talented songwriter.

I didn't feel anything [frustraiting]. I just kept working 110 or 120 nights a year.

I do very few standards. Hardly any. Other people's tunes that I do are usually obscure tunes, for the most part, although I do a couple of Duke Ellington tunes that are well known.

I'm happy whenever anybody does my material. I don't care what they do with it. I do what I want to with other people's songs.

I sang and wrote songs when I was 12 years old.