“In the United States, we spend millions of dollars on sports because it promotes teamwork, discipline, and the experience of learning to make great progress in small increments. Learning to play music does all this and more.”

“I'll occasionally go and do an honor like the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund because it raises money for a very worthy organization.”

“There should not be a question of legal or illegal immigration. People came and immigrated to this country from the time of the Indians. No one's illegal. They should just be able to come.”

“I got to sing with Placido Domingo... I got to sing with Aaron Neville, who is one of my favorites. Got to sing with Brian Wilson, one of the great high tenors. And Ricky Skaggs, a bluegrass tenor. I'm also proud of my musical friendship with Emmylou Harris.”

“Art is for healing ourselves, and everybody needs their own personal art to heal up their problems.”

“I didn't think I was a famous singer. I didn't think I was a star or that I could make the waters part - just that singing was what I was going to do.”

“I wanted to sing when I was little. That's what I liked doing. It didn't occur to me that you became famous or anything like that.”

“In the United States, we spend millions of dollars on sports because it promotes teamwork, discipline, and the experience of learning to make great progress in small increments. Learning to play music does all this and more.”

“The dream world of sleep and the dream world of music are not far apart. I often catch glimpses of one as I pass through a door to the other, like encountering a neighbor in the hallway going into the apartment next to one’s own. In the recording studio, I would often lie down to nap and wake up with harmony parts fully formed in my mind, ready to be recorded. I think of music as dreaming in sound.”