I got the idea of meditation from The Beatles. It was a fad, but I've found it beneficial in my crazy life.
I've always been a Jeff Beck fan. Who isn't? He is in a league of his own.
I have a lot of analog. I think a lot of people do. There are a lot of people that are re-discovering it. I still have a lot of my old records from back in the day. It's a joy to play things like Junior Wells' 'Hoodoo Man Blues,' and John Mayall & The Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton. There's a warmth that you can still feel.
I look at John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters, guys who had a fantastic longevity, and I learned something from them. They didn't try to sell records. They weren't saying, 'Ok, what can I write, what can I do in the studio that will sell?' They were just doing their thing, and people picked up on it. I like the idea of that.
With Free, we had phased out all of the blues material and wanted to phase in all original material, and the only song that stayed from our blues past was 'The Hunter' by Albert King. People just loved that. And I said, 'We have to write a song that will top that - otherwise, what are we doing here?' That was the birth of 'All Right Now.'
'That's How Strong My Love Is' carries a message that resonates with the broken-hearted, and most of us have been there.
I enjoyed playing with the guys in Free Spirit so much because they really dug into Free material, and I really liked how they expressed it. They have a lot of dynamics.
It's important to me to be able to hit the notes and just be able to fly when I sing.
I had a band when I was 14, and we would play around in my hometown of Middlesbrough, and we'd go to the club afterwards, which was the Purple Onion then. There would be live bands playing, and in between that, the DJ would be playing records.
I saw The Jeff Beck Group at the Marquee Club in 1967, when he was with Rod Stewart, and holy smokes, they were amazing.
There are just so many people making music out there. I've always promoted the idea that everybody needs to make music. I think the more music there is in the world, the better, but it does make it highly competitive.
I have a secret weapon. My wife Cynthia is very good at keeping me in shape. She's very good for me. She's the best thing that happened to me.
I get a bit quick-tempered sometimes.
I just try to keep an open mind, and that's the way a lot of good things happen.
The Skynyrds and I go back to the '70s and the days and nights at the Hyatt House on Sunset in L.A., aka the Riot House.
I've been influenced by so many great people , like Sam Moore, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, so many great blues and soul artists that I completely revere. So it's strange for me, actually, to hear somebody say, 'Oh, I was deeply influenced by your music.'
If not for music in my life as a young person, who knows where I would have focused my energy.
You go through periods of times where bands are calling the shots, and then sometimes, you've got the record companies calling the shots. I think it has to be a bit of both to make the thing work.
I didn't really like the '80s, to be honest with you. There was some good music that came out, but it went a bit disco for me.
One of my dreams was always to have a piano - a room with a piano overlooking the ocean or a lake.
