Michael McDonald

“Everything's challenging for me, singing-wise. I'm like an old truck with one gear left on it.”

“I suppose I hit my lowest point in the early to mid-80s, which is when things really spun out of control for me.”

“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 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.”

“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.”

“I grew up in the era where everybody wanted to sing like Mitch Ryder and James Brown. And I did, too. But I learned real quick that it hurts after a while.”

“When I listen to songs, to this day, I listen to the chords and the groove and the melody.”

“Warner Bros. was a great label to be affiliated with. It's the best label out there, and the fact that I was with them for 20 years was just an honor.”

“I'm a very slow songwriter; it takes me sometimes years to write one song, if I ever finish.”

“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 think, as musicians, that's really all we want is to keep working. We want to have a reason to be, and we want to play for as many people in this span of life that we're allowed as we possibly can, and in as many places as we possibly can.”

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

“I like to celebrate the holiday season - not so much in a religious way, per se, but in a unifying way.”

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

“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'd say that Ray Charles is definitely the biggest influence on my singing. Also Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.”

“My wife is, by and large, the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“I've never felt that I was doing anything more worthwhile musically than when I was with Steely Dan.”

“I think when you're not prepared for something, success can be as crippling a thing as failure to people. I think it touches whatever insecurities you have, that you may not be as in touch with you as you should be or whatever.”