John Fogerty Quotes

You've heard me call myself a bluesman and a blues singer. I call myself a blues singer, but you ain't never heard me call myself a blues guitar man. Well, that's because there's been so many can do it better'n I can, play the blues better'n me. I think a lot of them have told me things, taught me things.

I suppose when I started playing guitar, it was the means to an end. I never thought of myself as a fully fledged guitar instrumentalist. And my early excursions on the electric guitar were curtailed when Eric Clapton came on the scene, and I decided I was never going to be in the same arena as a Clapton or a Peter Green.

All the really good guitar players - Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, or even Bert Jansch or John Martin - I love all those people. But I didn't start out thinking that I would be a guitar player. In the beginning, I played the guitar so I could sing. I mainly concentrated on my voice.

Conway Twitty was always our local hero while I was growing up. He had a series of good bands. I wanted to sit in, if Conway would let me. And he did a couple of times.

Why would I want to sound like Joni Mitchell? I've got Joni Mitchell records, and they're great, and I couldn't possibly be that good.

We never considered ourselves to be a good band or anything, we just thought we were playing for fun and we wanted to play music that sounded like Black Sabbath or Soundgarden or the music we were into at that time.

I know that I'm capable of moving around on the guitar. I can express myself the way I want to and feel good about it. But as far as technical chops, I'm not a learned musician.

You couldn't really like a bad guitar in 1960 'cause everybody was pretty good.

I was a pretty good imitator of Roy Acuff, but then I found out they already had a Roy Acuff, so I started singin' like myself.

I think I always wished I could play guitar as well as Jimi Hendrix.

I went from wanting to be a Beatle to becoming a 'widdly-widdly' guitar player.

I didn't realise that I was so accomplished on the guitar until someone said to me, 'How do you do that?' That someone was John Lennon. He asked me to teach him my technique.

I'm not capable of wielding the guitar like Jimmy Page, one of my all-time favorite guitarists. My skill set is more based on the grinding, sort of human heartbeat - almost playing the guitar more like a drum.

I'll never forget when I heard Steve Morse and the Dixie Dregs for the first time. I was just blown away, and it changed my whole approach to guitar.

The only one I can play like is Johnny Ramone. I would love to be able to play like other great guitarists, but my mind doesn't work like that.

Tony MacAlpine not only plays guitar, but is a stunning classical piano player, so he can show how that influence molded his guitar playing.

There are guys in country music who are wizards on the guitar. If you're a country fan, you're used to it. But as a rock guitar player, you listen.

From the get-go, I was wise enough to say, 'Well, I'm playing rhythm 'cause Angus could really soar with the leads.' I used to mess around a little bit with lead at the time but not much; Angus, he was just so much better; he just went for it, and it was brilliant. My place was sitting with rhythm, and I love rhythm. I've always loved it.

I know in my heart of hearts that Ritchie Blackmore is one of the great guitar players of all time. He's a fabulous technician, and he's got incredible skills, and he was a great showman.

It's actually not that hard to play guitar in a rock band.

I had this voice when I was in high school, except nobody thought much of it then. I developed it by imitating singers I admired - Alison Moyet, Boy George, later on Nina Simone.

I play acoustic when I need to play acoustic, and I say I'm probably a better acoustic player than I am electric.

Chet Atkins, I love his singer style and the country thing that he did. He really had a huge impact in my life, just his style - western swing and the country thing he did - it really changed my life.

When I first wanted to play guitar it was because I had seen Brian Setzer. He's so good! I mean I was just blown away.

Bowie's 'Hunky Dory' influenced me. 'Ziggy Stardust' influenced Johnny Ramone a lot, especially his guitar parts.