"We decided to do some of Merle's things with modern instrumentation. We used a flute, a bass clarinet, a trumpet, a clarinet, drums, a guitar, vibes and a piano."

"Sixteen Tons was written eight years before I recorded it."

"You can keep rummaging around until you find a song you like, but you can't predict whether it'll hit or not."

"When you do a show five days a week and one night a week, the way I was doing, you use up so much music every day that pretty soon you find yourself hustling for material."