John Oates Quotes

Music's been with me from the get-go. It was always around me as a kid. Dad got me my first guitar when I was 11 and, at school, if you wanted to be cool you had to be in a band.

I would also like to thank my father who discouraged me from playing the violin at an early age.

Most things in my life I had before leaving home. Values, support, great family. I was shaped at an early age. A musician playing guitar, I wanted to be a folk singer.

I've been writing songs all my life. My mom said I wrote my first song when I was two.

I was nurtured to play music pretty much from birth.

I was the only one in my family to be musically inclined, and my mother loved that. It encouraged my grand aunt to find me a music teacher, because it was quite obvious music was in me.

Nobody played instruments in my family. My father got that bug and said he wants his son to play saxophone.

My mom is a gym teacher, and she's not musically inclined, but she always wanted to help me out with music as best she could.

I'm lucky that my family is musical. Music was encouraged. So when I saw Carlos Santana play and decided to really pursue the electric guitar in earnest, it was OK. My parents knew I was going to go for it.

My parents have both done some music stuff. My family was very artist-friendly, so that was encouraging.

I began making music at the age of four. According to my mother, once I just sat down at the piano and played back a tune by ear. My parents were watching and said to each other, 'Maybe we should give him music lessons.'

I got into music through just being inspired by my brother and sisters. They all sing, play instruments and write - and they're very good at it.

At 12 or 13, I picked up a guitar because my mother made me learn how to play.

My parents tell me that I've been singing since I was really young.

I've been writing and composing songs since I was 5 years old.

Yeah, my dad bought me a guitar when I was like 10, and I didn't really want it then.

I know that I can sing. That's the reason I started playing music when I was twelve years old.

I am musical. I play guitar.

I played music and sang from my earliest memories. The first pictures of me show me wandering around with a guitar that was larger than I was, and it became almost second nature to me.

There were times I thought I was going to turn to the blues, but then I'd hear better blues players.

Music is something I couldn't live without. My dad was into music, he played for pleasure - guitar, piano. I started off doing jazz, singing with a lot of fabulous musicians here in London before I went to the States. And I still take piano lessons every Wednesday.

My son is very into music and really familiar with my voice.

An uncle gave me a side drum and my mother decided I should have lessons.

I just always wanted to be a singer. My mom said I was even singing in my cot!

I got started when I was 3 years old because my father was a music teacher and my lessons were free. Instead of learning to walk, you learn to play the piano.