“My last public performance for money was in 1967. For free, it was 1972, with the exception of two little one-shot, one-song things. But that's just for friends, out of friendship for the people involved, and also because it was fun.” PeopleLittlesTwoLastsSongFunInvolvedShotsPerformancesException Author:Tom Lehrer
“When you write a show, you just never know if it will have a future or if the show will end up ever having a production, but, that doesn't mean that the songs - the best of the best songs - can't be pulled out and put on a CD. And, if the shows that they come from end up happening, then people will regard this as like a quirky little concept recording. And, if the shows don't end up happening, at least the songs will live on in some capacity.” PeopleIfsKnowsWritingMeanLittlesEndsShowsSongHappeningsConceptsCapacityRegardProductionsCdsQuirkyBest Of The Best Author:Michael Patrick Walker
“I have always considered myself a fast learner. I try to retain and absorb as much information and knowledge about the [music] business as I can. I don't want to just sit back and have other people do the hard work for me. I try to be involved in every process of my career as possible. I run my own social media, record, and try to vocal produce myself as much as possible, write my own songs, style myself, and learn the business side. If I didn't do acting or music, I was going to school for business. God has put me on this path and I can honestly say I wake up every day doing what I love.” PeopleIfsWantWritingTryingI CanHardRunningSchoolSongSocialProcessSidesMy OwnActingCareersPathRecordsMediaStyleInformationProduceHard WorkInvolvedWake UpSocial MediaHonestlyVocalMusic BusinessLearners Author:Asher Monroe
“I'm interested in feedback and learning what people want. It's a tricky thing for me when I do a set list. You get bored doing the same songs. Let's say we do one ballad in two hours, and it's "Wild Horses." If you say, I'm tired of that, let's try something less well known, and then you're out there stumbling through this song you just relearned at sound check, and you realize people probably want "Wild Horses" instead of this. You do need to do some songs that aren't so well known. The question is how many? I'm open to people posting their requests.” PeopleIfsWantNeedsTryingWellsTwoSongSoundRealizingHoursKnownLaughingHorseTiredListsChecksBoredWell KnownFeedbackRequestTrickyI'm TiredStumblingBalladsWild Horses Author:Mick Jagger
“If you're asking if I would be foolish enough, or insulting enough, to write about people in my life that I respect and sell it to the masses as a "break-up song," I can't imagine doing that to people I love.” PeopleIfsWritingI CanEnoughWould BeSongBreakImagineMassAskingSellsFoolishInsulting Author:Jack White
“Every artist wants some sort of feedback, because you make this music and you hope people love it and you want to hear if they love it and what they love about it, what their favorite song is, what they think the next single should be. I like to hear those things.” PeopleIfsThinkingWantShouldArtistSongNextFeedbackFavorite Song Author:John Legend
“I personally believe that most people that play an instrument would be able to write a few songs here and there. But they say, "I tried, I can't do it" and give up and don't try it again; they get too discouraged.” PeopleGivingWritingTryingBelieveI CanPlayWould BeAbleSongGiving UpInstrumentsDiscouragedHere And There Author:Keith Richards
“I started playing guitar when I was in eighth grade, and that led to trying to write songs and trying to figure out how to play in bands. That led to meeting people, and getting into the local punk rock scene, and going to shows. So that was how I really got into the culture of it.” PeopleWritingTryingPlayShowsSongCultureRocksFiguresSceneBandMeetingsGuitarLocalsGradesPunkPunk RockPlaying GuitarEighth Grade Author:Chris McCaughan
“I usually can be more honest writing songs than actually talking to people.” PeopleWritingSongTalkingHonestWriting Songs Author:Joshua Radin
“I think that selling rights is a bad move commercially, not just morally. It cheapens the songs. When people come to my concerts, they often hold up candles when we do "Let It Be." I don't think they'd do that anymore if the song suddenly became part of an Oldsmobile ad.” PeopleIfsThinkingMovingSongRightsSellingConcertsAdsCandle Author:Paul McCartney
“Lots of people say it's the song. For me, it's not always the song - there's something bigger: the spirit of an artist.” PeopleSpiritArtistSongBigger Author:Steve Lillywhite
“I actually produced other people's vocals for a long time when I first signed my publishing deal and I had just sort of decided that I only wanted to be a writer. I would be in all of these writing sessions, and a lot of times my publisher would say, "You should get a demo singer to sing it because then it doesn't identify as a Solange song."” PeopleShouldWritingFirstsLongWould BeWantedSongDealsLong TimeDecidedSingersPublishingPublishersSessionVocalDemos Author:Solange Knowles
“Even if you can sing or even if you can write a song, it takes a lot of determination, it takes some kind of thick skin, because you got to persevere despite the fact that people tell you you shouldn't do this or you shouldn't do that or you're not good enough or your style's too different. I've heard all of that stuff.” PeopleIfsWritingKindDifferentEnoughFactsSongStuffHeardStyleDeterminationSkinsDespiteGood EnoughThickPersevereNot Good EnoughThick Skin Author:John Legend
“It's always been about the songs for us. It doesn't matter about all the image stuff. We're really about making songs that people can relate to, that we love, that they will love, that we will enjoy playing live.” PeopleMatterSongStuffEnjoyRelate Author:Chuck Comeau
“I can't sing “I Believe I Can Fly”. I sing that horrible. But I can sing “I Gotta Feeling” good. I wrote it for my capabilities. So I Gotta Feeling is just about let me make a song to inspire people to have a good time.” PeopleBelieveI CanFeelingsSongI BelieveInspireLet MeHorribleFeel GoodGood TimesCapabilityHaving A Good Time Author:will.i.am
“People listen to music with cavemen ears: Is it a bird song or the call of a lion? The audience at a musical is dancing in their hearts.” PeopleHeartSongAudienceBirdEarsDancingMusicalLionsListening To MusicCavemenBird Song Author:Marsha Norman
“I'm really passionate about the song Sky Spills Over. It was fun creating it in the studio and I've been overwhelmed at the response it gets when we perform it live every night. My son Ryan is a really talented filmmaker so I always enjoy working with him on a project. But what made this project even more special was that 3 of my own grandkids were in the video. This video was a lot of fun to make. I hope people enjoy it!” PeopleMadeNightSongFunEnjoyMy OwnSkySpecialSonProjectsCreatingResponsePassionateStudiosVideoFilmmakerOver ItMy SonEvery NightOverwhelmedSpillsGrandkids Author:Michael W. Smith
“You always gotta reach the people who feel bad about themselves or insecure about themselves, and I think 'Like 'Em All' was just a perfect song for all the girls, and I think that's why it blew up like it did.” PeopleThinkingFeelsSongGirlPerfectEmsInsecure Author:Jacob Latimore
“I can have a song with Ariana Grande that is going to be the song for all the kids and the teen girls, and then another song that could be for a different group of people who all love the song. Im with whoever. Whatever type of people want to love the music and whatever they love about the music is fine with me.” PeopleWantI CanDifferentKidsSongGirlGroupsFineTypeMusic Is Author:Mac Miller
“Youll almost encounter a superstition amongst musicians, people sort of go through strange rituals, what they need to do to write a song.” PeopleNeedsWritingSongStrangeMusicianEncountersRitualSuperstitions Author:Dar Williams
“Getting a gay fan base is slow. I think if I were able to reach more gay people they would love it. I can't get the songs in their ears. I love my gay family. I just wish I could reach more of them. I'm in this car going from club to club but they're not gay clubs.” PeopleIfsThinkingI CanAbleSongWishFansCarGayEarsClubsGay People Author:Mary Gauthier
“I don't know if a song is going to be a hit or it's going to flop. I never know. I just do the music and if people like it, they like it.” PeopleIfsKnowsSong Author:T-Pain
“People will remember a good comedy song a lot longer than they would some of the so-called straight love songs.” PeopleRememberSongComedy Author:Ray Stevens
“To write a love song that might be able to make it on the radio, that is something that is terrifying to me. But I can definitely write a song about that chair over there. That I can do, but to sit and write a pop song out of the clear blue sky, that is very difficult and I admire the people that can do it.” PeopleWritingI CanMightAbleSongDifficultCan DoClearSkyBlueRadioPopsAdmireChairsBlue SkyPop SongClear Blue Sky Author:Barry Manilow
“Songs are a way to express what I have felt. A way to understand what happened to me or to other people.” PeopleWaySongFeltHappened Author:Yael Naim
“Three thousand people singing back your songs is an incredible feeling.” PeopleFeelingsSongThreeThousandSingingIncredibles Author:Jake Bugg
“I think when you write songs, you write about people... People are the source of my material. And London is a wonderful place to be for people. So, the next time you're sitting in a park somewhere, and you see someone like me looking at you, don't phone the police. I'm just writing” PeopleThinkingWritingSongNextWonderfulMaterialsSourceSittingPolicePhonesLondonLike MeParksNext TimeWonderful Places Author:Ray Davies
“I hate it when people say that they don't like 'MMMBop.' Everyone likes 'MMMBop.' Whether they like it or not, the song rocks.” PeopleHateSongRocksI HateLikes Author:Steven Tyler
“John McCutcheon is not only one of the best musicians in the USA, but also a great singer, songwriter, and song leader. And not just incidentally, he is committed to helping hard-working people everywhere to organize and push this world in a better direction.” PeopleWorldHardHelpingSongLeaderThis WorldHard WorkMusicianCommittedSingersUsaSongwritersOrganizeSinger Songwriters Author:Pete Seeger
“Santa Monica was a big song, and I always knew it would be radio friendly. But its not a defining song for me, though for a lot of people it is.” PeopleBigsWould BeSongRadioFriendlyDefiningSantaMonicaSanta Monica Author:Art Alexakis
“It is so important that our lives are built not on our feelings or circumstances, but on the word of God, and songs can really help us to meditate on and retain truth. I know from the correspondence I regularly receive that if you can express in songs the profound truth of the gospel in a poetic yet accessible way, they really can have an impact in people's lives.” PeopleIfsKnowsWayImportantHelpingFeelingsSongOur LivesCircumstancesBuiltImpactProfoundPoeticWord Of GodCorrespondenceProfound Truth Author:Stuart Townend
“Our Feast gatherings, which has spread all over the world, is attended by young people - and they love to sing worship songs.” PeopleWorldYoungSongWorshipSpreadGatheringWorship Songs Author:Bo Sanchez
“I think it's always interesting how music means different things to different people, and people who overthink it are looking to in some ways show off with music, versus people who just respond to a song and decide to sing it.” PeopleThinkingWayMeanDifferentShowsSongInterestingDifferent ThingsVersusDifferent PeoplesShowing Off Author:Noah Baumbach
“I don't want to tell what the songs are about for me, because then people can't decide for themselves, which is why I write; it's for you to find your own meaning in. For me it's my story, for someone else it's theirs; if I tell exactly what it means, then it's only my story.” PeopleIfsWantWritingMeanStoriesSong Author:Brian Fallon
“People have habits about what they think songs should be like. There's the folky thing of: "Poor me, I'm a sensitive person in a cruel world." Or the pop thing of: "Hey, look at me, I'm sexy."” PeopleThinkingWorldShouldLooksPersonsSongPoorHabitSexyPopsHeySensitiveLook At MeCruel WorldSensitive PersonPoor Me Author:Robert Wyatt
“There are a lot of composers who were fantastic, but I challenge them to write a record that you could play five times a day for two months on the radio, songs that people will want to dance to on a Saturday night.” PeopleWantWritingTwoPlayNightSongChallengesRecordsFiveMonthsRadioFantasticComposerSaturdaySaturday NightTwo Months Author:Robert Wyatt
“I feel happy about the songs I've written. I'm a great lover of the craft of songwriting, and I sure admire it in other people when I see it - past and present. I feel comfortable with what I have accomplished. I feel happy to be able to work in that environment, and that I have a lot of songs left to be written, somewhere.” PeopleFeelsAblePastSongLeftEnvironmentWrittenLoversComfortableAdmireCraftsAccomplishedSongwritingGreat LovePast And PresentGreat Lovers Author:John Fogerty
“All these different groups of people that are put right in the path of billions of dollars of American tax payers' money. If I had enough time I could have named all of those people [in the song], too! The song would have been 400 minutes long.” PeopleIfsLongHas BeensDifferentEnoughSongPathGroupsMinutesTaxesDollarsBillionsEnough TimeHad Enough Author:John Fogerty
“The thing with me is I'd rather have my cult following than just have a huge song. I haven't had one album or one official single release, but I probably got 500 songs out in people's collection.” PeopleSongHavensHugeAlbumsFollowingReleaseOfficialsCollectionsCult Author:Richard Hilfiger
“It was the British rockers that saved me. They brought me to a different generation altogether [in the 60th]. The Who and The Yardbirds and Georgie Fame and Van Morrison and all those people. The only person who ever did my songs in [ U.S] country was Bonnie Raitt.” PeoplePersonsDifferentCountrySongGenerationsFameBritishSavedVansRockersDifferent Generations Author:Mose Allison
“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.” PeopleWantDoeCareSongMaterialsDon't CareI Don't Care Author:Mose Allison
“People get strange about whether you've written your own songs, which seems really stupid considering that, especially in Country Music, it's about oral tradition and passing things on and the songs weren't meant to be played by one person and then forgotten.” PeoplePersonsCountrySeemsSongWrittenStupidStrangeTraditionForgottenPassingPassingsMeant To BeConsideringReally StupidOral Tradition Author:Neko Case
“I remember people would talk about Country Music like it was this sexist, lame thing. Well, no, because Dolly Parton is writing songs and playing her guitar and producing. She's doing it all and she's got hits on the radio.” PeopleWritingWellsCountryRememberSongGuitarRadioWriting SongsLameSexist Author:Neko Case
“Acting is a difficult profession, it really is. It's different than singing. With singing you may have one song and four people to record it - but they'll all do it differently and they'll all have that option. Whereas with actors there might be one part, and five hundred actors all want the same role - it's so much more competitive. It's an incredibly painful profession because you get so much rejection.” PeopleWantMayDifferentMightSongActorsDifficultActingRolesRecordsFiveFourSingingHundredPainfulProfessionRejection Author:Olivia Newton-John
“I was being musically mentored by a lot of people who were obviously more talented and skilled than I was, and I thought that I would just kind of learn the ropes of songwriting there - like how to do acoustic, country-esque songs, which I like because there's so much story in them.” PeopleKindCountryStoriesSongSongwritingRopeAcoustics Author:Katy Perry
“I've never written a song that's hopeless. I'm not a hopeless person. I'm crazily optimistic. I crazily see the good in people. I crazily see the way out of a terrible situation. I crazily try to be the diplomat. If there are two warring factions in my life, I want them to agree to disagree at the very least.” PeopleIfsWayWantTryingPersonsTwoSongSituationWrittenTerribleAgreeOptimisticHopelessDisagreeFactionsDiplomatsAgree To Disagree Author:Michael Stipe
“What I'm trying to tell people is that police brutality in the 'hood is nothing new. And the thing is that whether this guy, the cop killer in my song, is real or not, believe it, there are people at that point.” PeopleTryingBelieveRealGuySongPoliceKillersCopThis GuyPolice BrutalityBrutalityHoodNothing New Author:Ice T
“As a kid, I always had a super vivid imagination, like "Man, I like those shoes, but they should've made them in purple" or like, "Man, I wonder how people make songs."” PeopleMenShouldMadeKidsSongImaginationWonderShoesPurpleVividVivid Imagination Author:Pharrell Williams
“George Jones has been a major part of my personal and professional life for a long time. I have been inspired by his music for the last 50 years and for 42 of those, I had the pleasure of knowing him personally and professionally. He was IT to me. George was and will always be my guy. I am luckier than a lot of people on this Earth because God let me be a part of George's life and him a part of mine. And on this day, his song couldn't be more true: 'He Stopped Loving Her Today.'” PeopleYearsLongHas BeensTodayEarthLastsGuySongPleasureKnowingMinesMajorsLong TimeLet MeInspiredThis DayProfessional LifeGeorge JonesPersonal And Professional Life Author:Sammy Kershaw