Michael Wadleigh Quotes

I don't think there should be a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, period.

Emmylou Harris is just the biggest influence of mine musically, her and Dolly Parton.

America? They had a good girl singer, Janis Joplin.

One summer I remember, I got exposed to Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly and Buddy Holly was a very very big, made a very big impression on me. Because of a lot of things, you know, the way he looked and his charisma.

To this day, there's nobody, nobody that sounds like Janice Joplin.

Now, I don't know how they judge all that, but if anybody in the world deserves to be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Ritchie Valens does.

I'm a big fan of Beyonce and Rihanna. I've listened to Beyonce all my life, and she's a big influence on me.

For me, Memphis has always been a city that holds a great deal of meaning and also leads me to a lot of thinking. Besides Sun Studio, which helped put rock n' roll on the map all over the world, the legendary Stax Studio also called Memphis home.

I really don't feel the need to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because, at the end of the day, it's just somebody's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have a particular process, and they're welcome to do it however they want to do it.

I've been urged by people forever to try and start a real Rock Hall of Fame. I've had some very, very preliminary discussions about doing it. Obviously, I can't do it myself, but there are a lot of people interested in that.

Singers like her, Patti, Tina Turner, I revere them when I'm in their presence.

Somebody asked my friend Bob Seger, Why do you think the Eagles broke up? He said, Hotel California.

I think that for the five-year-old watching MTV right now, Lady Gaga is going to be an iconic person. In 20 years, the people who are here and talking to journalists will be like, 'Oh Lady Gaga changed my life, Nicki Minaj changed my life.' They'll be saying who influenced them and it will be Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, artists like that.

I am one of the biggest Laura Nyro fans. I still listen to that stuff incessantly. Laura Nyro does not belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Songwriter Hall of Fame? Absolutely.

I wouldn't be an artist if I didn't have Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Taylor Swift to look up to.

Wherever there are rock 'n' rollers, we'll play. That's what we've been doing for more than 30 years - rock 'n' roll. It's made me everything from an honorary mayor to honorary member of a motorcycle gang.

I think no-one was surprised to hear that Janis Joplin was dead. She seemed to be living up all of her energy that she had to give in just a few years. Now you listen to covers of her songs by various women, and it's pale in comparison.

I love divas. Madonna, Mariah, Beyonce, Britney.

Having loved the Stones all the time I was growing up, I wasn't about to see them go and split up. It got very close to it in the 80s, when Mick thought that Keith hated him and vice versa.

I don't want to wreck my voice. I love to concentrate on playing the bass and keeping it very rock-solid. If I were singing, I would have blown out my voice.

We were sitting on the bus one day and there were 5 of us hanging out. There was only one beer left in the cooler and we actually all took a little cup and split it. It was a pathetic day in a rock and roll when five grown men have to be sitting there sharing a beer.

I met Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin when I hung out with Michael Lang just before the Woodstock Festival. They were as charismatic in person as they were on stage.

I love Aretha Franklin, Edith Piaf, Blondie.

I love singers like Hayley Williams from Paramore and Amy Lee from Evanescence.

Madonna's always going to be number one, but I'm definitely a Britney fan.