The colored folks been singing it and playing it just like I'm doin' now, man, for more years than I know. I got it from them.
Elvis PresleyRead
When I sang my father's songs in concert, that was all people wanted to hear. I was always asking myself, 'Can I measure up?'
Interpretation
Natalie Cole reflects on the pressure of living up to her father's legacy through music.
In this quote, Natalie Cole expresses the burden she felt as an artist performing her father's songs, questioning whether she could meet the expectations set by his iconic status. This highlights the challenges that come with familial legacy, especially in the creative arts, where comparisons are inevitable and can lead to self-doubt.
In practice
In a speech honoring a music festival, I might share this quote to discuss the pressure artists face.
The colored folks been singing it and playing it just like I'm doin' now, man, for more years than I know. I got it from them.
This is the thing about hip-hop music and where people get it most misconstrued: It's all hip-hop. You can't say that just what I do is hip-hop, because hip-hop is all energies. James Brown can get on the track and mumble all day. But guess what? You felt his soul on those records.
People want to listen to a message, word from Jah. This could be passed through me or anybody. I am not a leader. Messenger. The words of the songs, not the person, is what attracts people.
I realized what Led Zeppelin was about around the end of our first U.S. tour. We started off not even on the bill in Denver, and by the time we got to New York we were second to Iron Butterfly, and they didn't want to go on!
There is nothing to keeping a band together. You simply have to have a gimmick, and the gimmick I use is to pay them money!
Without Tony Allen, there would have been no Afrobeat.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.