Mick Taylor Quotations

I don't know why, but I never felt I was gonna stay with the Stones forever, even right from the beginning.

I have a really good band, and just returned from a short tour in California. It hasn't always gone that well.

If it wasn't for Mick, the group would've fallen apart a long time ago.

I actually played rhythm guitar for many, many years before I discovered I had the ability and feel to play rock and roll music or rhythm and blues.

The one thing perhaps I do regret is not making more albums. I have written a lot of music that should be recorded... that will be recorded.

It's nice to finally have a CD out which reflects my songwriting, my singing and the band that I have.

It's nice to be living in England again. I only moved back four years ago. This is where my roots are, most of my family and friends.

It's sometimes impossible to fit in all the music we want to fit in, in an hour and 45 minute show.

It was a pleasant surprise in California to see people react to music they had never heard before. That was the most encouraging thing really.

I'm sure if we had made an album that was more traditional would have been released immediately. When we actually play this music on stage and people become familiar with it, it will become more popular.

I'm mostly known for my guitar playing. Most people know me for my work with the Rolling Stones. Others might know about stuff I did with Bob Dylan.

I didn't think of myself as a lead player, especially when we did live shows, because me and Keith used to switch around all the time. He'd take a lead, I'd play rhythm. Sometimes even within one song. It wasn't strict and regimented.

I certainly want to get back to the U.S. to play. It's such a big country. I've always liked playing there, and enjoyed living there. I lived in New York, LA, and Florida.

Altamont... I remember all of that. That was an awful day.

I do remember actually learning chords to Beatles songs. I thought they were great songwriters.

If you've been playing for a few years, especially in a group context, you'll see if you have the ability or the passion to want to carry on. It's something that you have to be dedicated to and you've got to love, no matter what happens

What I've always lacked is a really strong band to back me up

I suppose because I have a good ear, I could pick out harmonies and learn by ear. I still think that you have to have an ear for music to really be able to feel and understand what you're playing. You can learn by watching and listening to other people.

I play the piano a lot at home. I write songs on the piano and guitar. I would like to actually play piano on stage. I don't think I'll get the chance for a while.

I never advise anyone to sacrifice something else because of music, but then I don't see why they would have to anyway.

I certainly want to get back to the U.S. to play. It's such a big country. I've always liked playing there, and enjoyed living there. I lived in New York, LA, and Florida.

I do to keep things sounding fresh. Sometimes just changing the running order of the show is a good idea.

The most important thing is to follow your instinct and get involved with some friends who have similar tastes and aspirations and like music as much as you do.

I was very influenced by Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, both of whom I had the pleasure of playing with and becoming friends with.

The Blues scene now is international. In the '50s it was purely something that you would hear in black clubs, played by black musicians, especially in America. But from the '60s onwards it changed

These days there's so much technology and ways you can learn. There are videos and CD roms

I had to learn chord shapes. I bought books with chord charts. I used to listen to all kinds of pop music.

The Stones don't really need to do it for money, so they must get some kind of pleasure out of it. They're not like a group that's disbanded and gone away and made a comeback. They've always been there.

Maybe if I go far enough back into my ancestry, I have African roots or something. I've got no idea

I've written lots of songs on the piano. My mother had a piano and it was the first instrument I played

It's frustrating actually, the time involved in getting something released these days. My new CD has actually been finished for a year. It's only now that it's being released

It's not rubbish to say that I was a bit peeved about not getting credit for a couple of songs, but that wasn't the whole reason. I guess I just felt like I had enough. I decided to leave and start a group with Jack Bruce

The Stones are a different kind of group. I realized that when I joined them. It's not really so much their musical ability, it's just they have a certain kind of style and attitude which is unique

In this world, there's people like me, there's people like you. People like me eat people like you.

The Beatles and The Stones were basically inspired by American Rhythm and Blues

I've never stopped learning.

Blues music is becoming more and more popular than it ever was. I'm always meeting people on the road that are really young, and are guitar players. male and female.