Top quotes by John Oates

We've been together since we've been teenagers. I can go away and disappear for two years, and when we get back together, it's like nothing ever has changed. Votes: 17

I don't care if it's a Cole Porter song, or George Gershwin, or Lennon/McCartney, or Elton John, or you know, whoever, Bob Dylan. Great songs are great songs, and they stand the test of time, and they can be interpreted and recorded with many points of view, but yet still retain the essence of what makes them good songs. Votes: 14

In the days when regional music was very clearly defined and had a clear personality - Memphis, Detroit, Chicago, whatever - Philadelphia had a tradition that was very distinct and unique. Votes: 13

Swimming upstream in the music business is a hard thing to do. Votes: 13

I was just glad to meet somebody outside of my group of small town friends who was into music. Somebody else who had aspirations to do something more than sing at a record hop. Votes: 12

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame decided to open up the voting beyond their inner circle, to the actual fans, that's when I think everything changed. Votes: 11

In our relationship, we don't have that situation. I don't require what he needs, and he doesn't require what I need. I know what I do; I have an amazing life that nobody knows about. Votes: 10

I think in music and a lot of creative fields, people's egos get in the way of their ability of seeing the big picture. Votes: 10

Personally, I've never really wanted to be a rock star. That wasn't my motivation in life. It kind of happened. Votes: 10

The only job I'd ever had that might be considered not playing music was teaching guitar, which I did in college for a while, but that still falls in the same category. Votes: 9

Dick Clark's 'American Bandstand' spread the gospel of American pop music and teenage style that transcended the regional boundaries of our country and united a youth culture that eventually spread its message throughout the entire world. Votes: 8

I have a great family, I live an amazing life. Votes: 8

Once you've made a record, you don't need to make it again. It's done, and it's out there forever, a moment in time that encapsulates whatever was happening in that moment. Votes: 8

I sense people respond more to the honest approach to making music instead of the manufactured approach. Votes: 8

There's always a personal satisfaction in writing a song by yourself. You get the inspiration, and see it through, and you're done. It's focused and very personal. Votes: 7

The Christmas genre is a field that's been well-ploughed. Votes: 7

The bricks and mortar of the music business, they don't exist any longer. Votes: 6

Sometimes, it's just great to bring new people into the mix. Votes: 6

I was born at the beginning of rock and roll. I got to experience the entire evolution of popular rock and roll music even before it started. Votes: 5

Young people go to concerts. Votes: 5

The decline of the major labels has changed the audience. They aren't force-fed by a system any more. They can make their own decisions. Votes: 5

I have a lot of friends who are involved in everything from Americana to blues to R&B to pop to country. Votes: 5

I'm an indie artist with major distribution, so one foot in the extreme major music business and one foot in the abyss of indie artists. Votes: 4

I couldn't wait to grow a mustache. I stopped shaving my upper lip the day I graduated from high school. Votes: 4

You don't wanna be around your family constantly. Votes: 4

I do a lot of things behind the scenes. I do a lot of things that don't hit the headlines. Votes: 4

To me, when a great band is playing together, it's amazing for me. Votes: 2

I wish I could see over crowds and small groups of people. Votes: 2

I get to play with all these different players who don't necessarily approach music always the same way that I might. So I learn a lot. Votes: 2

I may just keep releasing singles 'til I run out of music, which is kind of cool in a way - as long as people don't go, 'Oh my God, not another one!' Votes: 1

I think social media is so important; the young bands have certainly embraced that and used that to their advantage. Votes: 0

You may be embarrassed about the way you looked and the wacky clothes you wore when you were young, but normally, at least it's hidden in a box in the attic. Votes: 0

If you look over the years, the styles have changed - the clothes, the hair, the production, the approach to the songs. The icing to the cake has changed flavors. But if you really look at the cake itself, it's really the same. Votes: 0

If I stopped touring tomorrow, it wouldn't change my life. Votes: 0

The first record I bought myself could have been 'Oh Lonesome Me' by Don Gibson or 'Wake Up Little Susie' by the Everly Brothers. Votes: 0

You don't want to pitch a tent and live inside the Louvre. You want to check it out, appreciate it, and move somewhere else. Votes: 0

The mustache represented the old John; I didn't want to be that guy anymore, so I shaved it off. It was ritualistic in a way. Votes: 0

If anyone looks back to the '70s, '80s with nostalgic rosy colored glasses and goes, 'Well, everything was awesome.' No, everything was not awesome! Votes: 0

I realized if I'm not really making an album, I don't have to be concerned about things like stylistic consistency, pacing, a coherent mood. All that stuff goes out the window. Votes: 0

I love what Alabama Shakes is doing - it's kind of like what grunge did to rock 'n' roll, they're doing to R&B. Votes: 0

Americana Music is about all sorts of different music. It's very free and open: a world where people just like authentic music. Votes: 0

I used to love assemblies because it got me out of class. Votes: 0

Maneater' is about N.Y.C. in the '80s. It's about greed, avarice, and spoiled riches. Votes: 0

When I graduated from college in the spring of 1970, I decided to hitchhike around Europe with my guitar and my backpack. I was gone for about four months. Votes: 0

My mustache has become this weird iconic representation of a certain era. Votes: 0

Jam Cruise is actually a comfortable place for me. My jamming skills and my improvisational skills have improved immensely as I've gone more solo, because I've had this opportunity. Votes: 0

A good mustache makes a man for many reasons. Votes: 0

Having a mustache and never smiling became a permanent component of my persona through the quaintly self-important decade of the seventies. Votes: 0

I've been asked to do various types of cruises. Votes: 0

The key, I think, from a business point of view, is to learn how to be efficient in making a record that's not too expensive, so that you're not going crazy spending tons of money making a product that might not ever return that money. Votes: 0

I think people were just starving for good material because they just weren't getting it on the radio. Votes: 0

My guitar playing is a synthesis of traditional American acoustic style and Urban Pop and R&B. Votes: 0

When my song came on the radio for the first time, that was one of the heaviest things I remember. Votes: 0

I'd like to do something with the Avett Brothers. Votes: 0

Well, because we're so different as people. And it's that difference that probably also makes it easy to stay together, because we don't get in each others way. Votes: 0

There's all sorts of soul. There's Irish soul and Native American soul. If it touches you and moves you, it's soul. Votes: 0

I didn't come to Nashville to put on a cowboy hat and pretend to be a country singer. My attraction to Nashville as Music City is the variety and flexibility: the fact that there's so many musicians at your disposal, so many amazing studios and talented people that you can draw from. ... I try to be myself, but at the same time I'm learning a lot, and I'm pulling from not only from the well of inspiration that I'm getting from Nashville, but I'm pulling from my roots. Votes: 0

You have to know when to strike and when to retreat. Votes: 0

I like playing on stage, don't get me wrong. Votes: 0

The thing is, we've changed our style but we've never changed the actual roots of what we've done. Votes: 0

If Daryl stopped touring it would be a big part of him missing. Votes: 0

My guitar playing is a synthesis of traditional American acoustic style and Urban Pop and RB. Votes: 0

We collaborate together. We work with other people. We work by ourselves. Votes: 0

There's a lot of craft in songwriting. The divine inspiration is when the idea comes. It may be a riff. It may be a word. It may be a phrase. It may be a title. Sometimes, in the best of both worlds, that divine inspiration extends through the whole song. I've literally sat down and written a song from beginning to end, almost complete lyrics and everything without ever stopping...in two minutes. The chorus of 'She's Gone' was like that.. Votes: 0