'Livin' on the Fault Line' was kind of a commercial disappointment for us, although it seemed to have a certain buzz with the smaller fan base we had.

Throughout my career, there has always been an element of surprise. Sometimes there are moments of disappointment; sometimes there are moments of surprising success.

I've felt the noose tightening for me for years at the major labels, where you're allowed to do less and less of what you would do most naturally and expected to do something that was expected to be saleable.

In one way or another, all my songs are about the necessity for trust.

The Stax/Volt stuff is really what I grew up on.

I've always felt like the Forrest Gump of the music business. I've been fortunate to work with a lot of great people.

In the '70s, there was no shortage of people taking themselves too seriously, as 'artistes,' if you will. I think we all had a tendency to do that at some point in our career. So looking back on that, it's fun to laugh at it.

For me, a lot of my fondest memories of being in the music business were being in the studio with The Doobs and being part of that organization and being a part of that music.

I went to Catholic grade school, so we sang a lot of religious songs: 'O Holy Night,' 'Silent Night.'

Looking back, I sometimes wish I had done things differently. But if I had, I'm not sure that I wouldn't have proven to be my own worst enemy.

I was attracted to black music for the same reason that I loved those old Irish ballads. Both were social statements of sorts, and both were indigenous to their respective cultures: Ireland, where my father had grown up, and towns like St. Louis along the Mississippi River, where I was growing up.

Aretha Franklin holds a significant place in the collective heart of America. She's a singular example of what we represent at our best.

I'm a big country fan. I remember, as a kid, when Ray Charles did the 'Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music' record. That's one of the reasons I became a country fan.

No matter what anyone else thinks, if someone appreciates what you do, whether it's 10 people or a million people, it's all good - because the only reason you make music is to have someone appreciate it.

When Kanye gets to a point where he can actually put a couple of notes together either vocally or two bars of valid music playing an instrument, then he might have a right to criticize somebody else.

I think every ounce of pain in just living always ends up being the best thing that happened to me. It's always a growth period. I learn at the speed of pain.

Whenever I sing blues from the '50s or the kind of blues that you might have heard Eric Clapton or Duane Allman emulate, I often feel the similarity of some of the ragtime stuff I sang early on. A lot of the phrasing and the harmonization is the same.

My musical education started before I could see over the dashboard, just listening to the radio and cranking up our favorite songs as they came on.

There were certain Ray Charles albums and a couple of early Marvin Gaye records that I used to listen to with a vengeance. That's how you forge a style. It excites you, and you lean toward it almost unconsciously. I was also a Beatles fanatic, but I didn't emulate them the way I did the R&B artists.

While making any record, you look for the opportunity to bring someone who will help generate something special in the music environments you create.

I'd like to do something with Frank Ocean, you know, and I love working with Thundercat, and I'd love to do more with him.

My first rock band was called Mike and the Majestics. I was about twelve, and my older sister Kathy was the manager. There were three of us: me and a friend on guitars and a drummer. We were young, but we played for a lot of fraternity parties, plugging both guitars and a microphone into one little amplifier.

Brian Owens is a young guy from Ferguson, Missouri, my hometown, who I don't think emulates me at all, but I really enjoy his particular style. He kind of makes me think of the older school of soul singers like Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye.

I love writing Christmas music. It's some of the easiest songs to write... You draw from your own memories - it's kind of a wellspring of inspiration, in a way. With other songs, you know, you spend six months just trying to figure out what to write about.