Roy Orbison Quotes

There weren't any white people in this country who didn't know who Gladys Knight was. Or the Pips were, as far as that's concerned.

I don't care about the word 'pop'. The Beatles were pop; it's just what's popular.

In 1952, Muddy cut the song 'Rollin' Stone.' It was a nationwide success, and the song echoes down through rock n' roll history. Bob Dylan cut a tribute by the same name, an English band decided to call themselves the Rolling Stones, and the magazine that first embraced music as a serious cultural phenomenon was itself called 'Rolling Stone.'

I think my legacy should be that when I started in show business, there wasn't no such thing as rock n' roll. When I started with 'Tutti Frutti,' that's when rock really started rocking.

Psy is fantastic. He's shifted the planet. He's got the whole world dancing. And it's a rarity in this world. Only four people made that happen in history - James Brown, Michael Jackson, yours truly and Psy.

Michael Jackson carried urban America and eventually American society on his vocal cords for a good 25 to 30 years before even hip-hop became the vox populi of America, and then as an adult he shattered racial barriers.

I think that Michael Jackson, just as an entertainer, as a figure who embodies the contradictions of black identity and the possibilities of R&B music in the '70s and '80s, will continue to be one of the most recognized and formidable human beings that we've ever produced in our tradition.

There was this moment when we made 'Superunknown': the Seattle music scene had suddenly ended up on an international stage with huge success.

No, I don't think rock 'n' roll will ever fade.

Elvis is this thing, this commodity, and people forget that he was a real person.

If you got every single artist in the world in one room, and you put Miles on one side and Prince on the other side, those are the two people that everybody would be trying to get a glimpse of. And Michael Jackson would be the other one.

If 'Bobby McGee' lasts, if 'Star Is Born' lasts, if 'Help Me Make It through the Night' lasts, if all of 'em last, man... who cares?

Madonna is the ultimate pop star of all time, hands down. She wrote the playbook for it. There is no female pop star - and probably few men today, for that matter - who are not indebted to her in one way or another for her contributions to the industry.

Is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that important to me? No. Is it something I've aspired towards? No.

The Beatles are the classical music of rock n' roll. And rock n' roll is far more widespread than classical will ever be.

Someone like Jay-Z does have a timeless quality, but it's much different than ours. You can look back at something like "At the Hop" by Danny and the Juniors or the music that was on American Bandstand in the 1950s-'60s.

When I sit here and see that the eight brothers from the neighborhood that I grew up with still have success, it had to be magical. I doubt if you get another 'Wu-Tang Clan.' That might be harder than getting the new 'Jackson Five.' Certain groups you only get one time, and we just happened to be that group.

I think everything Joni Mitchell did for music was big.

A lost of people recognize me and maybe will ask for an autograph, but it's nothing like if Elvis would've done something like that, 'cause he's so popular, or maybe The Beatles 'cause they stirred up a lot of action.

Every time a new rock singer comes out they don't say, 'Are you the new John Lennon?' Every time a new rapper comes out, it's not, 'Are you the new Dre?' I am never sure why this sort of genre, the categorization is so strong. I have not earned the right to be called the young Sinatra, but give me time.

There will always be rock stars, but I don't know how much depth and longevity they'll have.

I've never tried to achieve anything. I achieved everything I wanted to achieve by being in the Rolling Stones and making records.

My favorite artist in the world is Michael Jackson, and he revolutionized the music video aspect of music.

When you talk about *NSYNC or Backstreet Boys - we were like the New Kids, and New Kids were like the Bee Gees. But Girl Radical will be the first ones, and that's a crazy idea. That's what got us so excited.

You could live in Winnipeg a thousand years and not meet Ringo, Paul McCartney, or Bob Dylan.