David Byrne Quotes

I'm not ashamed of selling millions of records. I'm very fortunate to be in that position.

It's not like I came out in 'Rolling Stone' and all of a sudden I had a closet full of all the clothes I want.

There are a lot of ways to make people not like you, but one of the most powerful - if least fair - is to be really, really successful. Nobody resents the guy who just lost his job. But the guy whose Internet start-up made him a billionaire at 25? That's a whole different kettle of envy.

If the books are selling, the money will follow.

Oh, well, I'd like to have commercial success. I guess.

People return my phone calls now, which is really interesting. I'll tell you what I've learned that's kind of bittersweet. So many doors have opened up. I've met everybody in the business. I'm fortunate people want to work with me.

One of my favorite people is Gypsy Rose Lee. She bears out the Biblical promise that he who has, gets. And I hope she gets a lot more.

Being an ex-child star is not a given.

We are all lucky to be here, we are lucky to be on stage and have millions of people watch us.

Acting careers don't come out fully formed - not unless your name is Jaden Smith and your dad has done it all.

I got to have a TV show that really was the talk of the nation for a while there. So I'm a very lucky guy.

If you ever get rich and famous, by definition you are special. You have done something special, and therefore you start to behave special. Then if the floor drops out, and you become down and out, you have a really new perspective.

We are now after 7 months operation making money here.

If you want to sell the most records, duet with me. If you need someone to come in and bless your record sales, I'm your man.

It was never really one of my goals to gain tremendous amount of celebrity or make a tremendous amount of money necessarily.

It's a curious thing about celebrity: being somebody who was one of the stars of one of the most popular television shows in history offers an opportunity. I look at it as an ambassadorial opportunity at times, where I can go to places and have the opportunity to do things and meet people that other people don't have.

I never in my wildest dreams thought that I'd have merchandise selling on a web site. It's just amazing to me.

I have a lot of successful musician pals, and as I get older, I find that I'm lucky to be a writer. I have great anonymity compared to musicians who sell the same number of records as I do books.

I don't know how much money I've made, don't know how many albums I've sold.

This guy Simon Helberg, who's in 'Florence Foster Jenkins,' I might have been vaguely patronizing to him because he hadn't done films before. Gradually, you realize, not only is the guy a much bigger star than me, he's maybe the richest man I've ever met.

This cycle of make a record, tour has been going on for 20 years now. I don't even know why I do it sometimes. Do I need more money? Do I need more platinum and gold records? The only thing I can think of is ego.

I'm not a millionaire, a billionaire, a CEO, or a movie star.

Some aspects of the fame are annoying, but at the end of the day it's something we're most grateful for. It's certainly opened the door to a whole new batch of opportunities.

All of the love and support I have gotten about the release of my Jeffree Star Cosmetics line has made me blessed beyond words.

There are lot of people who speak about superstardom, but I'd like to say that it's not about any individual - it's about the opportunity.