If everybody’d agree to quit using money, I’d be happy to play for free every day for awhile. But I don’t play benefits or any kind of fund-raisers. I prefer to play at hospitals, for people who otherwise can’t see us. But I can’t see playing for causes, whatever the cause may be. Leon Russell Read Quote
I didn’t start out to become famous, so when it disappeared, I thought, well, that happens sometimes. Leon Russell Read Quote
I was playing with George Harrison one time, and George loves takes. This song was up to Take 160. I said, ‘George, do you want me to play the same thing or 160 different things?’ It drove me crazy because, in general, I’m ready to play my part. Leon Russell Read Quote
I have damaged nerve endings on the right side, so my piano style comes from designing stuff I can play with my right hand. And some of it effectively mimics classical stuff. Leon Russell Read Quote
I belonged to the Columbia Record Club, and that’s where my records came from. For some reason, I was in the ‘jazz’ category. I got Benny Goodman records and Miles Davis, J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding, and that kind of stuff. I really was not a jazz guy at all, but I knew some of those names. Leon Russell Read Quote
I like the Beatles very much, and there are certain things about the Stones that I like. Leon Russell Read Quote
For a couple of years, I’d work from 6 to 11 P.M., then 1 to 5 A.M., and then got up and tried to go to school. That was pretty rough, but I got a lot of experience playing music. Leon Russell Read Quote
I studied classical music for a long time, maybe 10 years, and I realized finally I was never going to have the hands to play that stuff. Leon Russell Read Quote
