Leon Russell Quotes

I wouldn't consciously pursue trying to make something for the charts. It's just not in my scope now. I'd rather stick needles in my eyes.

My whole goal is to make good records and keep myself inspired and able to accomplish what I need to accomplish.

I still love making records, and I'm able to do it because I own my own studio, and I try to do it as much as possible.

You want to sell records, but if you want to call yourself an artist, your job is how you express yourself.

I suppose we'll make money off our album and our singles and stuff, but, like, they were made as we wanted them, exactly with what we had to say, and done exactly how we wanted them, right? And, like, we didn't put them out to make money. We put them out because we wanted to do them, do you know what I mean?

I set out and I said I wanted to just release music, and I don't care how many people heard it at first. And I just wanted to put records out. I knew that.

I am always talking to students and telling them how you have to practice every day because you can't wait for someone to hire you. You need something you do for yourself, something that feeds your creative life.

I'm not trying to rub shoulders with any record executives. If rubbing shoulders in the industry is what I wanted to do then I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing.

I want to be able to say, 'you think you're odd, I'm even odder and I made it - you can too!' I want to direct, do more with 'The Dance Scene,' sign artists and just provide opportunities. I'm just getting started and having the time of my life!

I think too many artists from my era tend to just stamp out a record.

I've been trying to do films for years. So I've decided to wait until the next good part comes along and develop a record on my own in the meantime.

Do not let any record company disturb your creative flow. You are not writing for the record company. You're writing for the public.

Satisfying myself is the point in filmmaking, in my mind.

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

I'm in a very good place to make records. Needing to make money off music is very dangerous.

I'm going to continue doing what I want to do. And if it means I want to go and make a big movie, if it has something to say, I will want to make it. I don't want to spend my life wasting my time. If it's a big movie, I want to do it. If it's a small movie, I want to do it.

I don't really look at the charts at all. If anything, I try to out-do what I've done before. I try to make music that I like and I trust my own judgement with what will work with a wider audience. If you compare yourself to the charts, you lose perspective on what you're doing and why you're doing it.

I'm just an artist and I'm doin' what I like to do.

I'm confident in my intentions and why I'm making music. I'm not making music because I want to be on your TV screen or the cover of your magazine.

I'm going to do whatever interests me. Look, writing 'Rabbit Hole' came out of an interest in diversifying my portfolio, frankly.

I'm at a point where I don't have to wait for the income from the record to survive, so I'm in a comfortable zone, but I'll make rap records as long as I feel I have something to rap about.

Being able to still make records is a privilege. I don't take it casually.

You have to do what you need to do as an artist. You have to have that courage.

I made some good pictures, and I made some bad ones. I wasn't trying to build an image, though; I was trying to build a life for myself.

We're not on a desperate mission to write chart compatible stuff.