Daryl Hall Quotes

I had the idea of 'Live From Daryl's House' way before I contracted Lyme disease.

- Daryl Hall

Disease, Idea, Before, Contracted

I returned to upstate NY where I just laid in bed for days with a fever that just wouldn't go away. After more of this, I grew increasingly sure that this was not simply the flu!

- Daryl Hall

Bed, Increasingly, Laid, NY

Chronic Lyme causes arthritis, heart problems, stroke - even death.

- Daryl Hall

Death, Even, Causes, Arthritis

Smokey Robinson is one of my heroes as a singer and songwriter; a major influence on my own music from the very start.

- Daryl Hall

Singer, My Own, Very, Major Influence

If you take a bunch of superstars and put them in a room where they don't have their assistants and entourage, it's funny to see what happens.

- Daryl Hall

Assistants, Them, Put, Entourage

This illness made it impossible for me to give my best effort to our audience, but now that it's been identified, I'm looking forward to a complete, quick recovery and to get back out there with John as soon as possible.

- Daryl Hall

Impossible, Been, Quick, Identified

If you are a superstar, or whatever you want to call yourself, a person who's had outrageous success, and you decide to go indie and tell the record companies to screw themselves? That takes a certain amount of courage. And bullheadedness, really.

- Daryl Hall

Tell, Indie, Had, Screw

Obscurity is just obscurity. There's no romance in obscurity.

- Daryl Hall

Romance, Just, Obscurity

When you're playing in front of people, everything is external. It's all going from you out to an audience. When you're in a studio, it's very internalised, it's going from the air through you into this meticulously crafted, layered piece of work.

- Daryl Hall

Through, Studio, Very, External

Every artistic form has its golden age, and unfortunately I think the golden age for whatever I do probably ended about 1990.

- Daryl Hall

Think, I Think, About, Golden Age

To write a good song, an artist has to drawn from reality. There has to be some spark from realism that communicates a real feeling to someone else. You have to be real. Or you have to be a really good storyteller.

- Daryl Hall

Song, Some, Good Song, Spark

Everybody who I ever cared about has told me that they like my music: Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Al Green, The Spinners, Smokey Robinson. Everybody that matters.

- Daryl Hall

Green, Like, Everybody, None

If Paul McCartney tells me that so-and-so song is his favorite song, what do I care? What do I care what anybody else says?

- Daryl Hall

Song, Anybody, McCartney, None

I think Philadelphia has been underrated over the years as a musical region.

- Daryl Hall

Think, Over, Been, Underrated

My house is actually two houses that were deconstructed. They were Connecticut Valley houses built in 1771 and 1781. I took them down piece by piece and reconstructed them about 50 miles to the west on the New York/Connecticut border.

- Daryl Hall

House, Two, About, Connecticut

I grew up in a very racially integrated place called Pottstown. It was an agricultural / industrial town which has since become a suburb of Philadelphia. I grew up basically in a black neighborhood.

- Daryl Hall

Town, Very, Which, Suburb

Most artists try to avoid cliches, but it's pretty hard to avoid them if you yourself end up being one.

- Daryl Hall

Pretty, Them, Being, Cliches

Who knows what the right time to get married is?

- Daryl Hall

Right, Get, Get Married, Right Time

You externalise extreme emotions, and you look at them objectively and understand them from a different standpoint.

- Daryl Hall

Emotions, Understand, Them, Objectively

I've watched the world crash and burn in every sense. I've watched the record industry crash and burn; politically I've watched it crash and burn, financially crash and burn.

- Daryl Hall

World, Burn, Watched, Financially

I've always been a spontaneous singer. And all the stuff that you hear on the end of the songs, what they call the ad libs - that just comes out of my head. That's not thought out at all. I have the verses and the choruses, and then after that it's total improvisation.

- Daryl Hall

Thought, Singer, Been, Verses

My fan base is really expanding into an inter-generational thing - it's what every artist probably hopes for.

- Daryl Hall

Artist, Expanding, Really, Fan Base

In my Philly neighborhood, black and white kids hung together without even thinking about it. The spirit of Martin Luther King was alive and well.

- Daryl Hall

Alive, Philly, Martin Luther, Neighborhood

I was just like a 21st century person waiting to be born, and this is the medium that I thrive in. And I feel stronger now than I did any time since I've been a teenager - I mean, musically, creatively.

- Daryl Hall

Waiting, Feel, Been, 21st Century

The biggest honor of my career was when I won R&B Artist of the Year back in the 1970s. I look at that as a major honor.

- Daryl Hall

Career, Artist, Year, 1970s

Reject what you don't want. Get rid of dead wood.

- Daryl Hall

Want, Get, Reject, Wood

I've always been a guy who likes to stretch my limits - to find out if I have any, really.

- Daryl Hall

Always, Guy, Been, Limits

I wanted to show the world, and myself too, what I can do. I came up in the world of Philadelphia soul, but I'm fluent in a lot of languages musically and I like working with different people from different generations.

- Daryl Hall

Soul, Different People, Like, Fluent

I was a pioneer in MTV and I was there from the very beginning. So I saw how that developed and how loose it was and how much fun it was in its looseness. And I was influenced a lot by that.

- Daryl Hall

Beginning, Influenced, Very, Loose

The late 20th century had just enough communication abilities to allow superstar-ness and communality to happen. It was a musical renaissance that rivals the visual one that happened in the 1400s.

- Daryl Hall

Happen, Allow, Musical, 20th Century

Late 20th century music was a really important thing. It changed the world, and I'm part of that, and now I'm part of the museum that celebrates that.

- Daryl Hall

Part, Important Thing, 20th Century

The song 'Laughing Down Crying' is not a typical Daryl song.

- Daryl Hall

Song, Crying, Typical, Laughing

The whole American pop culture started in Philadelphia with 'American Bandstand' and the music that came out of that city.

- Daryl Hall

Music, Philadelphia, Pop, Bandstand

I'm in the trenches; I do the best work I can always do. Having said that, the way that what I do converges with the outside world is fascinating to me. Because it ebbs and flows. People's interest and understanding, it changes all the time.

- Daryl Hall

Best, Changes, I Can, Trenches

Nobody's going to sell 10 million records by not working hard.

- Daryl Hall

Records, Going, Million, Working Hard

I was always an introvert as a kid. Then, when I first kind of came out as a human being, I used to be one of those guys who'd go nuts on the dance floor, and people would gather around.

- Daryl Hall

Kid, Used, Around, Introvert

I've been watching RFD-TV for a few years. As a person who lives mostly in the country, I appreciate a network that shows the many facets of rural life.

- Daryl Hall

Country, Been, Mostly, Facets

I definitely dislike pomposity and artifice. I hope that I'm not that. Once I write a song, it belongs to the world, and the way people perceive it, it's cool.

- Daryl Hall

Song, Dislike, I Write, Artifice

Like all soul singers, I grew up singing in church but sometimes I would leave early and sit in the car listening to gospel band, The Blind Boys of Alabama. Hearing their lead singer Clarence made me connect the idea of church and show business and see how I could make a career singing music that stirred the soul.

- Daryl Hall

Career, Blind, Singer, Hearing

I specialize in early homes, and what I care about the most is renovating a home and taking it back to its original construction idea.

- Daryl Hall

Original, Idea, About, Early

Yes, I travel in unusual circles. George Osborne and his wife Frances are my cousins.

- Daryl Hall

Wife, Yes, Circles, Unusual

I'm a born collaborator. This is what I was born to do, really.

- Daryl Hall

Born, I Was Born, Really, Collaborator

I knew that I would be making music for my whole life; as far as how many people respond to it, you can't plan for that.

- Daryl Hall

Making, Knew, Whole, As Far As

Americans think that if you're popular, there must be something wrong with you.

- Daryl Hall

Think, You, Must, Popular

For years and years, I was beset with snide remarks by certain members of the press, where they would turn John Oates into a joke, or they would trivialize what I do, which never really bothered me all that much.

- Daryl Hall

Turn, Which, Years And Years, Members

Having a solo career is a funny thing.

- Daryl Hall

Career, Funny Thing, Having, Solo

As a singer, I float around. I'm kind of scatty, bouncing around a lot. I try to adapt to what's going on around me in the song and the arrangement.

- Daryl Hall

Song, Singer, Going, Bouncing

I hear a lot of people singing in funny voices and singing like they're stupid. Singing in a deliberately fey and dumb and childish way. And I find it to be a disturbing trend.

- Daryl Hall

Stupid, Singing, Like, Fey

I'm used to the egos in the 1960s, '70s and '80s where people just expected massive success and thought it was their birth right to be successful.

- Daryl Hall

Thought, Birth, Expected, Egos

Some artists are nervous - most of them are, to tell you the truth, and they have different ways of exhibiting that. Some of them are boisterous, some are really quiet.

- Daryl Hall

Tell, Some, Different Ways, Exhibiting

The first thing I ever did was play talent shows at the Uptown Theater and the Adelphi Ballroom.

- Daryl Hall

Play, Shows, Ever, Ballroom

I'm not a big fan of any video, especially my own. In a word, I hated the Hall & Oates videos.

- Daryl Hall

Big, Own, My Own, Hated

The difference between me and other people in my generation is instead of saying the Internet's killing the record business, I say, 'Who cares about the record business, the Internet is enhancing music.'

- Daryl Hall

Generation, Other, Enhancing, Who Cares

I've got a sense of humor. I'm a funny guy.

- Daryl Hall

Humor, Sense Of Humor, Sense, Funny Guy

I love antique architecture, so if I have any indulgences, I have owned and renovated and reconstructed a lot of old houses.

- Daryl Hall

Love, Old, Any, Antique

I think an artist's true worth comes through an inter-generational thing - when you go beyond your own time, and start influencing people in a greater way than just what surrounds you.

- Daryl Hall

Through, I Think, True Worth, Greater

In the early '70s, I started to feel like Philadelphia soul was the black-sheep brother of rock and roll. I decided to try to get away from it.

- Daryl Hall

Rock And Roll, Away, Like, Philadelphia

I never felt entitled to anything. I'm the hardest worker I know.

- Daryl Hall

Never, Entitled, Felt, Worker

When I was a kid, I always looked up to people like B.B. King and Ray Charles.

- Daryl Hall

Always, Like, Looked, Ray

To me, there's two kinds of music these days. There's ephemeral music, and there's music that has lasting power and depth.

- Daryl Hall

Music, Me, Days, Depth

The younger generation gives me more respect than I could ever hope for.

- Daryl Hall

Generation, Younger, Ever, Gives

I was very inspired by my mother. She was a vocal teacher and sang in a band, and my first memories of her were going out with her on the local circuit.

- Daryl Hall

Going, Very, Circuit, Band

I do a project, and then I move on.

- Daryl Hall

Project, Move, Then, Move On

You don't have to be a good musician if you've got certain computer skills.

- Daryl Hall

Good, Skills, Computer, Musician

The 'Daryl's House' thing has made me into a live musician even more than I ever was, and even in the way I record.

- Daryl Hall

House, More, Made, Musician

I'm quite an eclectic musician.

- Daryl Hall

Quite, Eclectic, Musician

I'm constantly on my toes and re-examining my own music.

- Daryl Hall

Music, Own, My Own, Toes

I'd like to see more crossover between white and black music. That's something I've been advocating for years.

- Daryl Hall

Like, Been, Crossover, Advocating

Success and failure are equally surprising.

- Daryl Hall

Success, Failure, Equally, Surprising

Art is a continuum.

- Daryl Hall

Art, Continuum

All artists have insecurity.

- Daryl Hall

Artists, Insecurity

If you're African American, you are forced into making different choices, in a lot of cases, than you are as a white person.

- Daryl Hall

Making, African American, African

Traditionally, duos get accused of lots of things.

- Daryl Hall

Get, Things, Lots, Accused

I don't like showboating. I was never a fan of showing off.

- Daryl Hall

Never, Fan, Like, Showing

If you can sing, you never lose your voice. If you don't know how to sing, your voice goes away because you sing from your throat.

- Daryl Hall

Voice, Goes, Away, Throat

You don't have to be a good singer any more if you can rap well.

- Daryl Hall

Singer, More, Well, Rap

Nixon was the beginning of people not trusting politics.

- Daryl Hall

Beginning, Politics, Nixon, Trusting

I've been traveling around the world forever.

- Daryl Hall

World, Forever, Been, Traveling

I'm just about the best singer I know, and it's time for everybody to say that. I have total facility with my voice. And for some weird reason, critics don't talk about it.

- Daryl Hall

Voice, Reason, Some, Facility

If you see me walking down the street, you're gonna see the same guy as you do on stage, dressed the same, looking the same, and nothing changes. I'm just one person.

- Daryl Hall

Changes, Nothing, Gonna, Street

I don't really strain my voice.

- Daryl Hall

Voice, Really, Strain

I have an English family and I've lived in England for years.

- Daryl Hall

Family, England, Lived, English

Any song I don't feel good about, I shelve. Anything you ever hear me sing, it's because I want to.

- Daryl Hall

Song, Want, About, Feel Good

I always say the same thing - believe in what you do, do it, and don't veer away from the truth of it.

- Daryl Hall

Say, Always, Away, Same Thing

Nobody really cares about what other people think anymore; they're all about themselves.

- Daryl Hall

Think, Other, Themselves, Cares

Being at college, I think that's the time when you really start searching for things outside yourself.

- Daryl Hall

College, Think, I Think, Searching

The Philadelphia/New York world of the music business is a tough place to be.

- Daryl Hall

Business, Music, World, Music Business

If you work hard and you're good, you can build something for yourself.

- Daryl Hall

Work, Yourself, Work Hard, Build

I'm very enthused about everything. I have a lot to say and a lot of things I'm interested in.

- Daryl Hall

Very, About, Lot, Enthused

What I do isn't black music; it's just my music.

- Daryl Hall

Music, Black, Just, Black Music

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