Top 114 Quotes by James McBride

You can't write just anything. Your story needs structure.

James Brown was the Monday-to-Friday guy. He was the hardest man in show business. He was like your dad and your uncle: He showed up, and he hit hard.

I don't like a bunch of writers sitting around, puffing smoke, they like this book, he wrote this - tell me a dirty joke, you know. It's just not my style, I've never been that kind of person.

James Brown's music still sounds as fresh and as good and as new as it did when he first created it.

I just love music, and I love what music does for people.

Essentially, I'm a storyteller, and I make my living by telling stories, be they music or nonfiction or fiction.

I'm not one of those deeper, ethereal writers. I'm just trying to get it done.

Writing teaches writing.

My family is my career.

If you can whistle the melody, then the song will stick. But if you need a bunch of machines to make it sound good, you're probably not writing anything that's going to last a long time.