Quotes from Leon Bridges

The first time I heard Sam Cooke was in the 'Malcom X' film. I was with my father, and that's the first time I heard his song. I remember my father telling me the story of Sam Cooke.

Fame and all that type of stuff is inevitable, but I'm very content having a good band with no negativity, and everyone is on the same page.

The first time I shared my music and style with my mom, she said, 'Boy, you look like you came right out of the 1950s.'

My father would play Stevie Wonder in the car, but that never sunk in.

I love the pioneers like Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, but when I write music, it comes out in my own way.

I've always had a very clear vision of what I wanted to do.

It's kind of weird - I get shy when I'm around new people, still, even when I'm onstage. I come from not really wanting to be in lights or known or in front of people.

I'm very content to have great management and a great label. But for me, success started when my managers came to me and told me, 'Go ahead and quit your job.' I told them, 'As long as I don't have to wash dishes anymore, I'm good.'

I was washing dishes at Del Frisco's Grille and busing tables at a Tex-Mex place and writing songs the whole time. I did a lot of my writing at those jobs, thinking up melodies in my head.

I never really thought about my music being universal. When I set out to write, it is just a feeling that feels good to me. I never thought about being able to reach everybody.

When I started writing, I just wanted to do something different and creative. I first thought neo-soul was a good pathway for me, so I tried that out but realized I didn't want to be placed in that box.

The thought of me not having to clock in for a job anymore is something that I can't really put into words, aside from 'amazing' and 'awesome.'

Because my career has gone so fast, I haven't been able to become confident.

People tell me they use my song 'Coming Home' at their weddings. My audience seems to range from young to old, and it's cool when you really get to connect with all different people.

When I started writing the music, I wanted everything to be consistent from the way I dressed to the way I presented myself online. I wanted everything to match what I was doing on stage.

I shop at thrift stores and consignment shoppes. I wear my clothes as is, and maybe get them dry cleaned whenever possible.

The heart of man will always be dark. There will always be evil people. The problem is that there is nothing we can humanly do to change them.

I'm not trying to compete with any other revival soul acts. It's just Leon Bridges, a kid from Fort Worth trying to be himself and give people hope. It's great music to dance to and just love.

I like to groove a little bit!

My mother and my great-aunt told me stories, like how when my grandfather first met my grandmother at a party, he noticed her long legs and was like, 'Woo woo!' I like to incorporate those stories into my music. They just seem to fit.

I've always had a great work ethic, even when I was washing dishes.

One time, when I was about eight, these guys started throwing water balloons at me. That really did ruin my summer.

I don't live in this soul music bubble. I love Young Thug, Drake, Kendrick Lamar. I even heard that Kendrick was a fan of my music. Hopefully there's a door open for us to do music together. He's one of my favorite artists. I love Jazmine Sullivan, Lianne la Havas, Usher, Ginuwine. It goes further than classic soul.

I don't like a lot of attention. That's kind of who I am at heart. So I see everything, the people circulating around me and a lot of people know me - it kind of feels like a heavy weight sometimes.