“If you’re going to write a song, try to get together with a collaborator because it’s better to write with collaborators.”

The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Phil Spector. Those were my idols.

I’m happy; I’m a happy person.

I can write songs, I’ve had songs in movies, but I can’t compose film scores, you know?

Surfing music is dead. It was just a summer craze for kids on the beach. I’m finished with it.

I’d earned over a million dollars by the time I was old enough to vote.

I meditate and I also think about meditation. Which is funny. I think about Maharishi, about just the idea of meditating. It gives me something.

I’m not a genius. I’m just a hard-working guy.

I’m doing good. I’ve had a slight nervous breakdown in the ’60s. I got through that. And I got through the ’70s. And I was in a doctor’s program during the ’80s and then I met Melinda and we’ve been together ever since. I’ve got a happy life.

You don’t really know what to believe until the Government denies it.

Gershwin inspired me very much. The concept of ‘That Lucky Old Sun’ was inspired by ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ – not influenced, but inspired.

I’m just a shy and retreating kind of person. Sometimes I get in a real talkative mood – but not very often.

Any article’s good. Long as it’s publicity, I think that’s all that matters. I think it’s advancement for my career.

I play piano all the time. I’m always at my piano, playing music.

So it’s 1976 and we’re still riding on our past success. I mean I’ve gone on like that for I don’t know how long.

I sit and I write automatically. I don’t really try to write. My subconscious mind takes over and writes the songs for me. Songs come very easily for me. When I’m inspired, it takes me 20 minutes to write a song.

I think about God, yes, and I wonder if there is a God. And if there is a God, will God please help me through my hard trips.

Basically, I enter into it knowing we are collaborators.

The most abundant resources that we possess amongst the 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States are passion and knowledge, yet our most scarce resource is collaboration.

Filmmaking is such a collaborative piece of art that you can’t look to one person – you couldn’t look to me, you couldn’t say, ‘Because Vin’s in it, it’s this or that.’ It’s really all of us coming together for that period of time to try and make magic.

I always want another actor to shine in my scene because it makes the film stronger. I would encourage people to scene steal, because filmmaking is a collaborative effort.

Success takes communication, collaboration and, sometimes, failure.

I know when it comes to the actual narrative of my solo music, it’s its own thing. That’s why I went out of my way after ‘Crew’ to not do a bunch of collaborations.

I mainly try to foster long-term collaborative relationships.

People were like, ‘he’s collaborating with Taylor Swift’ and I was like, ‘I am?’ I think she’s wonderful. Her songwriting has inspired me for years.