My Italian-American heritage, of which I'm very proud and with which I identify strongly, surfaces in several of my novels.
They [the Americans] are a mixture of British, Scotch, Irish, French, Dutch, Germans, and Swedes. From this promiscuous breed, that race called Americans have now arisen.
J. Hector St. John
My grandparents were from Kentucky - I'm related to Daniel Boone. He was my great-great-great uncle.
I have a very long relationship with America. My mother grew up there and I felt to some extent that I partly belong there. I was schooled there briefly for about a year.
I've always liked country music. It's a certain aspect of America that goes back to the British Isles and the influence is very native to America.
It was a mystery to me, how the tuning was, or the style seemed to come out of nowhere, it obviously had roots in America going way back, there was nothing like it for me I'd ever seen before.
I'm from the US of A. Born in Des Moines, raised in the New York suburbs.
I love Don Williams records. And old Ralph Stanley and Bill Monroe.
My mum's parents were from Ireland, my dad's mum was American-Irish.
When the Killers first came out, a lot of people thought we were English, and it touched a chord in me, because my roots are very American.
I would be very happy to go to America. America is where I was raised and that's exactly what I want.
My mother was born in your state, Mr. Walter, and my mother was a Quaker, and my ancestors in the time of Washington baked bread for George Washington's troops when they crossed the Delaware, and my own father was a slave.
Truth of the matter is, jazz is American music. And that doesn't mean bebop. Jazz is really about improvising. All the music that's been created in America has been pretty much improvised... Whether it's hillbilly or rock n' roll for blues, it's basically jazz music... It's basically about another way of hearing what comes out of America.
It's rural America. It's where I came from. We always refer to ourselves as real America. Rural America, real America, real, real, America.
Being from New York, I wonder why am I inspired by bluegrass and Earl Scruggs? But when I look at the whole history of the banjo, I feel really good about it, including the Earl Scruggs part.
Look at our farmers' markets today, bursting with heritage breeds and heirloom varieties, foods that were once abundant when we were an agricultural nation, but that we have lost touch with. Bringing all these back helps us connect to our roots, our communities and helps us feed America the proper way.
I am an American. I adore Britain and have a strong English half, but my roots are here in the U.S. - it is not a matter of choice; it is simply fact.
I'm also a blues musician, and all blues artists can trace their pain to the slavery fields of the Mississippi Delta.
My mother's family has been in Maine for over 300 years on the same farm. They have a King George III deed.
I would rather say that I have to be not from Los Angeles but from America. When I go to Europe or Asia, I find myself disoriented. I'm not so inspired by their culture as much. It's not going to really come out in my work. I would be more influenced by what somebody from America does - like a sign painter from Pennsylvania.
I was about 16 years old years when my father took me to a square dance festival in North Carolina. For the first time in my life, I found there was music in my country that you never heard on the radio, and you didn't hear on the juke boxes, and in theaters. I fell in love with it, especially the long-necked banjos.
African Americans are one of the oldest ethnic groups in this country. We been here since the beginning. Before the beginning.
Where I grew up, Bob Wills and his western swing was very popular. And western swing is not that far from jazz and blues.
The Blind Boys are truly the deepest well of American musical heritage you can discover.
Most of my family doesn't speak English. It's so important for the baby. He's going to know all his American roots, but he also needs to know about his Brazilian side.
