Jerry Leiber Quotes & Sayings (Page 2)

“The Jewish background is not that far from the black groove. Blacks are downtrodden, Jews are downtrodden, therefore they have something in common in that affliction. Being downtrodden often makes one more empathetic and sympathetic.”

“Listen to any cantor, any good hazan, sing and you can hear a little bit of Ray Charles going on.”

“I heard this music coming out of the radio and it was 'Ain't Nobody's Business.' It got me. I thought, 'I can do this.' I decided just like that. No romantic story.”

“I was brought up in black neighborhoods in South Baltimore. And we really felt like we were very black. We acted black and we spoke black. When I was a kid growing up, where I came from, it was hip to be black. To be white was kind of square.”

“Elvis Presley, you can't define him in a couple of sentences, but he was a country boy and he was very respectful.”

“Irving Berlin was the greatest songwriter of all time. I was in awe of him. But his music wasn't my music. My music was the blues.”