Honestly, I've never thought of myself as a mover and shaker of songwriting.
— Michael McDonald
Each generation tries to disassociate itself with the last generation. And then, about three decades later, people kind of start to maybe appreciate what you might have done a while back that you don't even realize you did.
I went to Catholic grade school, so we sang a lot of religious songs: 'O Holy Night,' 'Silent Night.'
I didn't own a record player when I was younger. I just played every day after school and then started gigging around town. I heard bands and songs through friends of mine, but a lot of what I picked up on was learned by traveling through college towns.
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've always been an artist that has had a problem with genres, staying in the box, and being told what I had to be.
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.
I love Coldplay.
Since the '60s, we've lived so much in an age of quick fixes that the culture itself has become a quick fix.
When I first heard Thundercat's stuff, I thought, 'Man, this is so original.' A lot of his ballads, to me, had such a beautiful harmonic, almost classically Hispanic, feel or, like, Brazilian kind of feeling. I don't think he does that intentionally or anything. It's just I think those are his influences on some level.
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.
There have been albums I've recorded in the past that have had success, and then there have been ones I've had extreme faith in, and they ended up as commercial failures.
When I listen to songs, to this day, I listen to the chords and the groove and the melody.
Aretha Franklin is and will always be a national treasure.
I'm always like the guy who wants to date the pretty girl so bad, and when he finally gets the chance, he blows it because he spends too much time worrying about it.
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 have friends who write all the time, and I envy them terribly.
I wish I wrote songs like Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, Don Henley, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, so many of the songwriters I admire. They have the ability to say things.
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.
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.
I've always felt like the Forrest Gump of the music business. I've been fortunate to work with a lot of great people.
My friendship with The Doobie Brothers never really changed. We're all still good friends, and I really admire those guys a lot.
I truly cherish the time and experience with friends that I have been making music with for so many years, even decades now.
I use Facebook, but I find that I'm... if I put up a picture of my dog there or a sunset or something, I get a million hits. If I mention anything to do with my career, three people respond. And/or if I say anything political, I have to duck afterwards. I try to be selective.
Beck is obviously a consummate musician. He plays instruments, many instruments. He can make his own record without having a fleet of computer operators onboard.
We've reached a point where people don't even know how to look for anything fundamentally important anymore.
In order for life to be more than a frustrating game of one-upsmanship, one has to remain emotionally open and vulnerable.
I'd say that Ray Charles is definitely the biggest influence on my singing. Also Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.
Throughout my career, there has always been an element of surprise. Sometimes there are moments of disappointment; sometimes there are moments of surprising success.
Rap is like any other genre: There are the people who are very creative with it and do remarkable things... and then there's that whole quadrant that sounds alike. There's great stuff that's taken the genre to a new level over the years, and 'Regulate' was one of those tracks that was kind of a landmark.
Aretha Franklin holds a significant place in the collective heart of America. She's a singular example of what we represent at our best.
It was surprising, really, that 'Minute by Minute' did as well as it did and as quickly as it did.
I suppose I hit my lowest point in the early to mid-80s, which is when things really spun out of control for me.
The 'Motown' detour for me was almost like it wasn't work. It was more fun than work, and that's all it takes for me to not be very responsible to other things I should have been paying attention to.
One of my all-time favorite Christmas songs, I have to admit, was the Chipmunks' 'Christmas Song.' I remember playing that song over and over.
Whether artists know it or not, I think we're all a little influenced by what came before.
I felt a real kinship with Steve Bruner. He's one of those guys that is so prolific that he has a hard time keeping up with himself. I'm the opposite and move at a glacial place.
When I get in a bad mood about anything, I realize, 'Hey, I'm still working. It could always be a lot worse.'
I hope to capture the public's imagination, but I can't live in the anxiety of that.
I've been set up with a Twitter account, and I just never use 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'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.
In one way or another, all my songs are about the necessity for trust.
While making any record, you look for the opportunity to bring someone who will help generate something special in the music environments you create.
Most times, lyrics are the last thing I listen to, being a musician.
I think that's the one thing we all hope for in this life is we leave something of a legacy, that's meaningful to someone else, when we leave here.
Being in the studio, for me, can be a miserable experience - I can really psych myself out.
'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.
I love to write songs, but they don't come easy to me - I spend a lot of time writing really dumb stuff that I have to look at the next day and think, 'God, what was I thinking?' That's my process, is just to go through a lot of dumb stuff and hope that, after a lot of hard work, I'll find a good idea.
