Quotes About Influence

My education as a film composer, you can't not - if you like the orchestra like I do, if you are a symphonist like I am - you can't not listen to John Williams' work.

I grew up listening to Steve Martin and Robin Williams, so I didn't ever intend to be a musical comedian. I sort of stumbled into it.

I'm a product of my surroundings. I grew up on Hank Williams Jr., Johnny Cash, Jerry Reed, and also Run-D.M.C., the Beastie Boys, the Fat Boys, and Biz Markie.

I grew up listening to Hank Williams and Johnny Cash, so arriving in Nashville in the '60s was really exciting for me.

I played with the likes of Kelly Smith, Rachel Yankey, and Fara Williams - all these great players. Everybody knew who they were, and I was turning into one of these girls who were always my heroes.

My father took me to see Hank Williams on December 14th, 1952. I was two years and four months of age. And I remember a little cool eddy of hair hitting my cheek, and I remember the smell of his hair oil, and I remember the mingling tonality of the small talk before the show started. Those are my memories.

I grew up watching the Williams sisters. I did a lot of research on Serena and kind of stole some things from her.

I love Glenn Gould. Max Steiner. John Williams. Louis Prima. Benny Goodman. Miles Davis. John Philip Sousa.

I think most people read and re-read the things that they have liked. That's certainly true in my case. I re-read Pound a great deal, I re-read Williams, I re-read Thomas, I re-read the people whom I cam to love when I was at what you might call a formative stage.

For me, Robbie Williams was a massive influence when I was growing up. But also Cheryl Cole. Being in her presence was intimidating, because she's so hot.

I didn't know who Jimmy Choo was. I think Vanessa Williams was also a very big part of that, teaching me about the designers. I had no choice but to learn, and I'm glad I did.

I don't think you'd call me a traditionalist. But you can say I have an old soul, because I grew up listening to Conway Twitty and Hank Williams.

Oh, I think country has changed tremendously. I think country has totally changed. Country music when I was a kid was Hank Williams. If you put Hank and Elvis together, there wasn't that musical difference. But as the Beatles showed up and the English invasion, I think country music got pretty far away from rock n' roll.

Tennessee Williams was so adept at portraying characters who are both fallible and vulnerable. Women were a huge influence in his life, his mother and sister in particular.

I am very indebted to southern writers and not just Flannery O'Connor. Also Harry Crews, Larry Brown, Tennessee Williams, Barry Hannah and William Gay.

I grew up watching stuff with Jim Carey, Robin Williams and Sandra Bullock in them. I've always been attracted to the actors who are a little more off beat.

It wasn't until I was an adult reader that I began to fathom the influence of fairy tales on writers I was in love with over the years, from Louisa May Alcott to Bernard Malamud to John Cheever to Anne Frank to Joy Williams.

One of my major goals off the field is to conduct myself in a way that... parents are proud to say, 'Oh yeah, look, he wants to be like Sonny Bill Williams.'

I've done the Kennedy Center many times. I've sang for Marian Anderson. I've sang for Marion Williams. I've sang for Lionel Hampton.

When my generation, those early days of television - I know I've been thinking about this lately - my two flashes of me as a little boy. One, I'm standing in front of the radio freaking out that Nat King Cole's singing 'Lady of Spain', just this stuff coming out of the radio, and Guy Williams singing 'Wild Horses' coming out of the radio.

Hank Williams' music - it just doesn't go away, for some reason.

I love singers like Hayley Williams from Paramore and Amy Lee from Evanescence.

My heroes were always Looney Toons, Robin Williams, the Three Stooges. I think everything I do is kinda funny. I think I'm sort of ridiculous.

To me, Hank Williams is the first rock-and-roll star.