Music Influencers Quotes

Two of my biggest musical inspirations are Kurt Cobain and Chris Cornell.

It really does help everyone when there are some big bands leading the charge.

My favourite singers are people like R. Kelly and people like that.

Fashion has always been influenced by hip-hop.

A part of 'Happy New Year' is inspired by western pop culture, the pop music videos of Michael Jackson, Madonna and Duran Duran in the '80s.

Chris Young was a big influence of mine, and he's one of my good friends now.

I don't wanna be Courtney Love - I wanna be Kurt Cobain.

Simian Mobile Disco changed my life. They put me onto the EDM world. Although they would hate that term, they're more techno.

The bigger artists are definitely looking and paying attention to the culture and the style of bounce music.

I came up in a time when Springsteen, the Stones, Dylan, and the Beatles were still dominant. For every magazine cover with a new band, there were five covers with one of those guys.

Growing up, I loved Boy George, George Michael, Annie Lennox, Queen, Freddie Mercury, Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand and Diana Ross.

The first people I ever saw were probably Little Richard and Gene Vincent.

It's funny because, based on the music I was making before, if you'd asked me who was the one gatekeeper or influencer whom I'd want to hear my music, I don't think Pharrell would be the first person I'd pick.

Eddie Cochran - I never got to see him live, but he could play. Him and Buddy Holly, they were the best guitarists. They could get a good raunchy beat going.

For me, Memphis has always been a city that holds a great deal of meaning and also leads me to a lot of thinking. Besides Sun Studio, which helped put rock n' roll on the map all over the world, the legendary Stax Studio also called Memphis home.

The artists that we grew up listening to was also independent like Master P, like Birdman and Lil Wayne. Those are the people that we wanted to model ourselves after. Throwing on the Cartier frames, the army-style fatigue jackets.

Most youngsters are so well-connected with the rock music circle that they will know instantly if I attempt to imitate any rock star.

Singers like her, Patti, Tina Turner, I revere them when I'm in their presence.

Just because Lil Wayne made it cool don't mean that I'm a start wearin' the small pants or I'm gonna start doin' the dance songs.

I have been a fan of Versace for so long, watching people like Biggie, Puff, Jay-Z.

I hear a lot of influence from me and Timbaland's whole sound in a lot of records of today. But if you have classics like that, then I'm sure you gotta expect that it's gonna influence some people. So, I'm fine with that.

A guy called Arthur Brown... was a big influence of mine... and also Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull.

I really don't feel the need to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because, at the end of the day, it's just somebody's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have a particular process, and they're welcome to do it however they want to do it.

I think that for the five-year-old watching MTV right now, Lady Gaga is going to be an iconic person. In 20 years, the people who are here and talking to journalists will be like, 'Oh Lady Gaga changed my life, Nicki Minaj changed my life.' They'll be saying who influenced them and it will be Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, artists like that.

At the 'L.A. Times,' I always wanted to write about artists I thought were meaningful. So I interviewed Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Eminem, White Stripes. And I could understand how almost everybody I interviewed had a sense of artistry.