JOHN OATES

With his passing, Dick Clark deserves to take his place at the top in the pantheon of popular culture icons.

I may just keep releasing singles 'til I run out of music, which is kind of cool in a way - as long as people don't go, 'Oh my God, not another one!'

If you look over the years, the styles have changed - the clothes, the hair, the production, the approach to the songs. The icing to the cake has changed flavors. But if you really look at the cake itself, it's really the same.

My guitar playing is a synthesis of traditional American acoustic style and Urban Pop and R&B.

I'm really in such a fortunate position to have that foundation with Hall and Oates that lets me do whatever I want. That's the dream of a lot of creative people, and I don't take it for granted. I try to make the most of it.

When I graduated from college in the spring of 1970, I decided to hitchhike around Europe with my guitar and my backpack. I was gone for about four months.

I wish I could see over crowds and small groups of people.

A good mustache makes a man for many reasons.

You don't want to pitch a tent and live inside the Louvre. You want to check it out, appreciate it, and move somewhere else.

The decline of the major labels has changed the audience. They aren't force-fed by a system any more. They can make their own decisions.

I used to love assemblies because it got me out of class.

I was singing when I was two years old, and my parents were very supportive, but they weren't musicians themselves.

I do a lot of things behind the scenes. I do a lot of things that don't hit the headlines.

I think the key to making records generally is to make 'em for yourself, regardless of the climate in the business.

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame decided to open up the voting beyond their inner circle, to the actual fans, that's when I think everything changed.

If I had to drop everything and just be a songwriter, I would be OK with that because that's the real joy.

There's always a personal satisfaction in writing a song by yourself. You get the inspiration, and see it through, and you're done. It's focused and very personal.

The only job I'd ever had that might be considered not playing music was teaching guitar, which I did in college for a while, but that still falls in the same category.

I never finish a show without singing 'She's Gone.'

I was just glad to meet somebody outside of my group of small town friends who was into music. Somebody else who had aspirations to do something more than sing at a record hop.

The bricks and mortar of the music business, they don't exist any longer.

I'm bad at math.

With Hall & Oates, honestly, after years and years of playing the same material, it's easy to coast. I can coast through a show.

If it wasn't for music, I doubt whether we'd be friends.

You may be embarrassed about the way you looked and the wacky clothes you wore when you were young, but normally, at least it's hidden in a box in the attic.