I was inspired by a lot of people when I was young, every band that came through town, to the theater, or the dance hall. I was at every dance, every night club, listened to every band that came through, because in those days we didn't have MTV, we didn't have television.

Imagine what a harmonious world it could be if every single person, both young and old shared a little of what he is good at doing.

A song should have all the color and beauty of every rose.

I've always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise from the soul saying, "Ain't that the truth."

Every day you must be able to say, I have to get up because I'm needed by someone. As long as you have that, you're healthy.

There’s nothing in the world worse than having an opportunity that you’re not prepared for. Good luck usually follows the collision of opportunity and preparation - it’s a result of that collision. You’ve got to be prepared. So, make your mistakes now and make them quickly. If you’ve made the mistakes, you know what to expect the next time. That’s how you become valuable.

I used to practice piano for hours, and now, with a synthesizer, you can input the music and the machine perfects the song. That's why we have so many people in the music business who should be plumbers. They don't really understand music because they haven't been trained.