I think that music has an endless life.
There are no Jerry Garcias coming down the pike, anymore than there is a Jimi Hendrix or Bob Marley. They are all at the same level - the highest level that you strive to get to as a musician. Me and my friends - we'll all be long dead, people will still be trying to dig into what Jerry Garcia did.
At some point of time, Imman won't be in this world. But my biggest asset would be if my biggest hater had at least 100 songs that I composed in his playlist. That's how I know my work will continue to live.
I'm a songwriter. So I'm OK. But when I wrote "Stand By Me" as a song and to know that the song will probably be here for hundred and hundreds of years to come, it's great, you know. And it was just simple lyrics.
There is no beginning and no end in music. Some people want it to end. But it goes on.
Most of us do know we have no immortality. And when you've found a genius, someone who has already purchased his immortality in musical or literary terms, it's maddening.
I hope my fans will grow with me. I want to be like Michael Jackson: 5-year-olds love his music, and 75-year-olds love his music.
I think that every songwriter would give their right arm to come up with a standard that is going to be played long after they're dead.
My goal was always to be involved in music that would outlive me. And maybe that's actually happening.
In many ways, I think about the possibility that there could still be a Yes in 100 or 200 years from now, just like a live symphony orchestra.
Unless you're Shannon Hoon (of Blind Melon), dying is the only thing that guarantees a rock star will have a legacy that stretches beyond temporary relevance.
Sing a song correctly and you live forever.
I want to create songs that will last across time.
But most of all, the train that kept rollin' all night long of rock n' roll you cannot kill. It will live forever.
We're just not going anywhere. Our songs are here to stay.
Blues ain't never going anywhere. It can get slow, but it ain't going nowhere.
It would be amazing to write a song that could be sung 100 years from now by a teenage girl and still be relevant to her - that's a dream of songwriting, maybe.
I believe Dad will be respected in 300 years, like Beethoven. As will Elvis, as will the Carter Family, as will Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams.
Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die.
The Beatles were great, but Beethoven and Mozart were phenomenal. Both will be remembered for centuries, but it will always be clear which were most in touch with the soul of humanity.
That's the miracle of music. No one can reinterpret a Picasso, but a song can be remixed and covered and interpreted in an infinite number of ways. It's a living thing.
I want to write music that will outlive me.
When I die, just keep playing the records.
Ultimately, what I want is for my songs to outlive me: I want my songs to keep being played even after I'm gone.
I want to make music that stands the test of time.
