Chris Stapleton

“The goal is always just to write the best song that you can write. I mean, the process for writing a song is the process for writing a song. It's not something I look at it as something I need to do something different.”

“If I have a talent, it lies in the creative process.”

“I like places that have history in the sense of - you feel responsible to it.”

“I'm not going to ask musicians to sit there and pretend to play. It feels insulting to the musicians to me.”

“I used to spend my money on going to Tom Petty concerts.”

“I like all kinds of music. But I would rather people stop caring about lines.”

“I like to put a record on and then listen to it again and then sit down and make my friends listen to it.”

“My dad could hold a tune. He wasn't necessarily a singer, but he did love music, and he listened to it quite loud in the car.”

“If you go in RCA A, you'll realize that it's not just a Nashville thing. It's a studio that belongs to music.”

“I don't think country music needs saving from anything.”

“I was in a bluegrass band. I made two records with a band called the SteelDrivers. They were nominated for two Grammys. I then I was in a rock band called the Junction Brothers; we made kind of '70s hard rock music.”

“I walked into a demo session one time, and a guy said, 'I'm thinking kind of like a Trace Adkins thing.' And I looked him right in the eye and said, 'Man, you've got the wrong guy. I'm gonna have to fire myself. You've got to hire somebody else.'”

“I write the songs and hand it over to the world and see what happens. But the things that I've written for people that have been hits, I don't know that I would have directed them in the right path, but they definitely wound up on the right path.”

“I think it's OK if somebody likes my music and likes Sam Hunt's music, too. And I think if we're both selling records, it's good for everybody. I think it allows other records to get made.”

“It's a unique thing, and it's probably the thing I love most about songs and music - their ability to connect in a human way.”

“My favorite record of all time is Tom Petty's 'Wildflowers.' I hold it as the standard - in terms of sonics, sequencing, and songs. It shows that making a complete record is important, rather than just making a single.”

“Anybody who has ever played in bars has played 'Keep Your Hands to Yourself.' It's a monumental piece of rock & roll. It makes you feel exactly like rock & roll is supposed to make you feel.”

“I'm a fan of records. I'm a fan of listening to something cover to cover and not wanting to skip over anything.”

“Why would you want to dictate somebody else's taste or happiness? Music is supposed to be joyful and move people, and however that gets accomplished for different people, it's all good.”

“I don't look at it as mainstream country versus outsider.”