Philip Bailey

“Because of my register, Miles Davis' trumpet playing has always been a big influence on my singing. I've always been intrigued by the way he can start anywhere and make it right.”

“I can't lie: We have made some dogs over the years. Every album we did wasn't great, you know.”

“Well, the one thing is nowadays because of Pro Tools and the Internet, when you're starting on an idea, you can really continue on that path until the whole idea is developed and completed, as opposed to before when those were separate processes.”

“I wanted to do a project that was seamless and had all the ingredients from start to finish, from conception to mixing and mastering.”

“Well, for Earth, Wind & Fire, we would often say that the band was more dynamic live than on record.”

“I mean, I strive every day, man, to just be the best that I can be.”

“If you get the basics right, you can freshen things up, you don't want to just regurgitate the past. But we gotta stay true to our historic selves.”

“As young musicians, we cut our teeth on doing gigs at clubs and functions and colleges. That was really the proving ground for young musicians, learning songs, doing covers of different songs that were popular, learning different genres of music.”

“I was always mimicking high-register singers as a kid but I also studied operating as a baritone because I'm a natural baritone.”

“When you see one of your kids really has a gift, you can't fight it, because you start to understand what a blessing it's been to you.”

“Because I'm a Christian, when I write things are going to have a certain flavor. When you're writing songs you try to be careful. You make sure there are no conflicts with what you believe, especially when you've been real vocal about being a Christian.”

“I am a big gospel guy myself and I listen to a lot to gospel music. It inspires me. It encourages me. It uplifts me.”

“I do listen to more jazz and gospel than anything else, but my ears are still very much open and listening to stuff that comes out. And a lot of times my kids turn me on to stuff.”

“I don't want to give up pop music. It's how I earn my living. I've got a family to take care of.”

“I think that there's certain music that instead of saying a lot of different things that are on my psyche, I just say, 'I've aged out.' Because that is the best way of putting it, because a lot of things I simply don't understand and will not understand and can't see any intrinsic value in.”

“We try to do music with a conscience. We'd never look back and say, 'We are embarrassed or ashamed.' It paid off for us.”

“The person I call my secret weapon is an arranger, pianist and musical director, Herman Jackson.”

“I'm an espresso junkie.”

“I'm a strong believer in God. Always have been. I've always believed that he directed my path from the time I was a kid. He has always been my source of strength.”

“I've been in the mix of great projects for such a long time, I know what it takes.”