Toyah Willcox Quotes

I love to sing old Motown songs to myself, or some Patti Smith Edith Piaf or Billie Holiday. That gets me in the mood for singing.

I had to be at least 8 or 9; I was listening to everything on the radio. You name it, I heard every song.

Mick Jagger's fans bought records with their allowances. Sinatra's people bought them out of wages.

Doing new stuff live is tough just simply because I pay my money, I stand in my seats, and I see the guys I love. And if I paid that ticket, there's a good chance that I'm there to hear the stuff that made me fall in love with 'em - we call it the 'old stuff.'

I hate it when bands do that; they're so proud of their new album, they have to play all of it and a couple of golden oldies.

I love the history of popular music. I love to know what people are listening to, even if I don't like it.

My musical development stopped when Frank Sinatra died.

I still love to do the old songs. I know some people don't.

That's why 60,000 people go ape when the Stones play 'Satisfaction.' The songs are part of their legacy, and you fall back in love with them over the years.

I'm not one of those artists who doesn't want to play their most popular songs.

Then on to all the terrific american songwriters, from Tin Pan Alley to the Beatles, from Bob Dylan to Paul Simon. Whoever wrote and sang in the song form I have appreciated.

'Free Fallin' is a very good song. Maybe it would be one of my favorites if it hadn't become this huge anthem. But I'm grateful that people like it.

It's hard to say a favorite song of my father's. I listen to all his stuff - a lot of the old stuff before the '70s.

But I knew - in the old days, if a song was a good song, I don't care if it was 'Yellow Submarine' or, you know, or 'The Times They Are a-Changin' or 'Don't Be Cruel', you knew it, you know? You heard that song, and you were talking about it, and you knew it.

The kid at 9 or 10 who knows who Billie Holiday is... that's the coolest thing ever.

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.

The first record I bought myself could have been 'Oh Lonesome Me' by Don Gibson or 'Wake Up Little Susie' by the Everly Brothers.

I have always made commercial music. The people who vote for the Grammy nominees are mostly in their 40s and have other jobs or are musicians themselves. They like music that they can relate to - they like commercial music.

Every single band in the world has these gigantic songs that people are obsessed with.

Nothing wrong with pop!

The only difference between The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, and Chubby Checker is that they get their music played on the radio.

I'm big fans of all those musicians, B.B. King, Mick Jagger - they're all on my iPod.

The audience wants to hear 'Rock n' Me,' 'Space Cowboy,' 'Living in the U.S.A.' When you start to play something else, you can feel the interest and enthusiasm go; the steam goes out of room. They are really 'Greatest Hits' fans and that's what they want to hear. It's disappointing that it's this way in the U.S.

I used to watch MTV when they played music, and discovered Robert Cray, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Healey.

Music has changed, but there will always be a demand for amazing music.