I feel that I was a useful contributor to society, and that I couldn't be a contributor to society in any other way.

The irony is that musical artists have enormous public voices, but behind the scenes we're voiceless, actually.

There's a difference between, you know, God loves unconditionally in my feeling and religion loves conditionally. Religion spends an awful lot of time dictating who God can love and can't love.

When you're young, you don't really know quite what you're aiming at. You're very impulsive and acting on impulse, which is very important and valuable. But you're kind of swimming in a blind sea. When you get older, you have more of a sense of direction.

I don't believe in any kind of artistic snobbery or musical snobbery. You know, to me, the sexiest and the most spiritual words ever uttered in rock and roll are wop babaloo balop bam boom.

God is something that needs rescuing from religion.

I could stand in the street and sing and get enough to pay the bills. I don't need millions of dollars.