Phil Ramone Quotations

You can only mentor somebody if they want to be.

When you get to know an artist, you find out the things that have peeved them over the years, and it's generally the stuff that has to do with somebody not wanting to do things their way in the studio.

The record producer is the music world's equivalent of a film director.

There's a lot about New York that is unique, and there's always a culture and a subculture going on everywhere.

I started playing the violin at age 3, and I was very fortunate because there were people who heard me who were influential in getting me auditions. By the time I was 7, I was playing concerts - it was just ridiculous.

If an artist wants to work with me because they feel I've made some credible albums and there've been things that are long-lasting, it's because those artists took the time and we built an idea.

If you follow anything that I've ever done, I never stick to one thing more than one year. I'm just afraid to get typecast.

Don't speak if you don't have to about trivia. The time for joking comes because of the trust, and you have to earn the trust. So, I don't alibi for anything, and I'll take the heat. That's the other thing. Don't let them take the heat. We take the heat.

Rudeness is something I just can't tolerate.

I gotta think that one that becomes a philosophy of work, which is "no excuses."

It's important not to be afraid ego-wise to share your information.

Substance should outweigh perfection...