I do read music, but I prefer playing from the heart.

Sometimes you just do things and let your natural self become a part of what you're doing.

Before the Berlin Wall came down, we played behind the Iron Curtain and sang, 'Born in the U.S.A.,' and I thought, 'We're all going to die. The man is going to get us all killed.' But then you saw all these kids with the American flag and German flags together and singing the song, and it was, wow, like 'We Shall Overcome.'

Being involved in the well-being and advancement of one's own community is a most natural thing to do.

When a fan says, 'Man, you saved my life; I heard 'Jungleland'... and I cried... and I felt joy in my life again,' that's my hall of fame.

The calm mind allows one to connect with the inner self, the Soul, the very source of our being. That's where the music lives. That's where my music comes from.

When you learn a Bruce Springsteen song, it's like learning to ride a bike. You don't forget it.

I wanted an electric train for Christmas but I got the saxophone instead.

When you die, we go back to the white energy of all the white energy: white heat that's flung against the sky and becomes a star.

All this pain is going to come back and make me stronger.

There'll be no oiling up with this band. The oil has been there for years and it only gets better.

As a horn player, the greatest compliment one can get is when a person comes to you and says, 'I heard this saxophone on the radio the other day and I knew it was you. I don't know the song, but I know it was you on sax.'

I look forward to working out every day.

The word spiritual, not the word religious, is the key.

I like health-conscious cooking, but growing up in the South, I do love southern cooking; southern France, southern Italy, southern Spain. I love southern cooking.

In the mental calmness of a spiritual life, I have found that the answers to the whys in our lives are able to come to you. In my music I find the same thing.

I take my job as a rock and roll sax player very seriously. To do it the way that I must do it, I must be in good condition. The better shape you're in, the harder you can rock.

It's a matter of choosing what is most important to you and putting that first. Once you have recognized your true purpose in life, this becomes much easier.

Now that I am much older, I have had a number of sax players tell me I was responsible for them playing sax. Some of them I have admired over the years.

I found out how great the E Street Band is. The reality of a band that you can't scoop aside, can't put in a corner.

When I grew up, there was one music: rock n' roll. Somewhere along the line, there was a separation. I don't know why it happened, but it did happen.

The first time I ever saw a black audience at our concert, we were in Zimbabwe.

When I walk on stage, it's the 'healing floor.' No matter how bad I'm hurting, I get out there and do it.

It's like Liverpool. Everybody went for the music. All the young musicians seemed to gravitate to Asbury Park.

I got into the soul music, but I wanted to rock. I was a rocker.

I was a born rock n' roll sax player.

I grew up with a very religious background.

You had your black bands, and you had your white bands, and if you mixed the two, you found less places to play.

Rock-and-roll, to me, is very serious because we deal with the young people. We deal with people who need something, and that's the same thing that a preacher does. He feeds you something that you need spiritually in your soul and in your makeup.

As long as my mouth, hands, and brain still work, I'll be out there doing it. I'm going to keep going 'til I'm not there anymore. This is what's keeping me alive and feeling young and inspired.

More than 50 percent of kids who play an instrument go on to college, yet music education programs at the inner city public schools who need them most continue to be hit hard with budget cuts.

To me, the sax is rock n' roll, even though electric guitars kind of pushed it aside for a while.

I'm a mellow fellow. Nothing much bothers me.

It used to take a day to get over the partying. But I don't party anymore. I don't miss it, either.

Nobody played instruments in my family. My father got that bug and said he wants his son to play saxophone.

I have no agenda - just to be loved.

Somebody said to me, 'Whenever somebody says your name, a smile comes to their face.' That's a great accolade. I strive to keep it that way.

I have faith in the judicial system.

I'll never be rude to another news person. It's a tough job, a thankless job. You really have to get out there and grovel to get your story.

Cooking is an art form, a creative thing.

I've been thinking about a cookbook. I've been making notes and promising myself I'll do it some day. I have an idea for a cookbook and music together.

I don't care about the gold records and all of that stuff. I care about what we do onstage, and the joy that we bring to people.

Small clubs aren't as lucrative, but spiritually, they're my favorite places to play. It's a homey kind of thing. I refer to it as the Church of What's Happening Now.

When I go out before a crowd, I ask God to give me inspiration to be the light.

Money is a hazard.

I'd rather somebody punch me in the face than drop my sax.

Working out has always been a way of life for me.

It's a crazy world, so I meditate for 20 minutes. I also meditate for 20 minutes before a concert.

I'm like the Bionic Man.

I'm blessed with nice legs, but I see lots of guys with big upper bodies and pencil legs.