There is some sampling on my records and a lot of what I call replays, where I'd have musicians come in the studio and replay the sample from the original record. But mainly, we'd come up with our own music.
Back when we were first making records, you didn't just make the music, you put a great deal of energy into the way it looked, and every word that was written on the whole thing.
I did throw a lot of eggs into one basket, as you do in your teenage years - 'I am buying these records, I am wearing this'. I did quite a bit of that. You have to do it, wear your stupid shoes, wear your stupid hair.
Apollo Records signed me for my gospel ability.
Actually freestyle really comes from 'Planet Rock'. If you listen to all the freestyle records you'll hear that they are based on 'Planet Rock'. All the Miami Bass records are based upon Planet Rock.
I usually make records very quickly. I usually go in and record them and mix them, and I'm done within a couple of weeks.
I never thought I'd be doing records a year after I started - I had no idea it would last as long as it did.
I couldn't possibly have lived all the things that Ice-T on the records lived.
I've had a couple of guys that I've had co-produce records with me through my career, and it's fun to work with a co-producer.
Playing shows and making records keeps been getting easier and more fun.
The majority see the obstacles; the few see the objectives; history records the successes of the latter, while oblivion is the reward of the former.
I feel like I'd like to continue putting out records and start putting them out more rapidly than I have until now and for me if I can keep selling the records to the fans that already like me that's fine.
All I've ever wanted to do was play music and go on the road and make records.
So people think I'm lying about my age all the time? It's the records that are wrong. I've never told anyone how old I am. The minute they ask me, I say 'That's none of your business.' So that means I've never once lied about my age. Now that's true!
I'm not trying to sound pretentious, but we did sell 12 million records on the first album, so we did get paid a little bit.
When we started Allman Brothers, Atlantic Records kept telling us there was no way it was going anywhere.
Even by the time I was four or five, I had Gene Autry records.
So I played the acoustic guitar and harmonica and stomped my foot and I think I was right in assuming that Greenwich Village would be the best place to perform my own material and possibly get some attention, move on to making records and all.
I don't do concept records anymore - I just prefer doing good songs.
If I never sang on a record again I can still look at my walls. They are covered floor to ceiling with gold and platinum records from all over the world.
I set records that will never be equaled. In fact, I hope 90% of them don't even get printed.
I'm competitive, so I don't like to feel marginalized by the people who sell a lot of records.
The jazz records come out a lot. You find that with many musicians - we don't listen to our own music for relaxation.
What does it mean to a person whose identity is very wrapped up in the music she makes, if her worth is measured by how many records she sells?
I'm bad with numbers. My husband is the keeper of the records.
Someone at Disney heard one of the records and called me in to do the sounds of Lucifer the Cat in Cinderella.
I've been around for such a long time. My first hit record was over 20 years ago and the people who bought my records then are married now and they probably still play these records and their children like them.
I haven't seen any of the Cung Le movies, but I have seen the Cung Le Q&A that he did in San Jose, and I've got to say that was pretty hard to watch. That was pretty cringeworthy. Listen: stick to kicking; sticking to kicking eggs and setting Guinness World Records, because entertaining a crowd certainly isn't your thing.
Those early steps are very important in understanding the evolution. But in themselves, maybe now you need the later records to understand the significance of the earlier records!
When I'm done with something, I'm done. I don't go back and listen to and pine for my old albums, or the Lollapalooza days, or 'Psalm 69' selling millions of records. Maybe I'm really just getting old and mellow.
The first time I ever heard the blues, my parents had a stack of records that they weren't using anymore. I found them when I was ten; I didn't know what it was. But I found Lightnin' Hopkins.
After he was assassinated, his family and the men who had served him continued the lying and began the destruction, censoring and hiding of JFK's medical records.
Nobody's going to sell 10 million records by not working hard.
There's a lot of people over time who have brought out all these funky records that everybody has started jumping on like a catch phrase... When Planet Rock came out, then you had all of the electro funk records.
That Mississippi sound, that Delta sound is in them old records. You can hear it all the way through.
I'm excited to be launching D'Leon Records to support other young talent in their development. I have been very fortunate to have been able to break through and succeed in this tough industry, and this is one of my ways of giving back.
