I used to play flute and clarinet at school, and although I wasn't thinking about making a living or getting a pay cheque, I already knew I was going to play music all my life.
Every record I have done was because I was a person's friend. The only time we did not continue to be friends was if the record did not become a hit. If it did, we became great friends.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Friendship can both inspire collaboration and determine the strength of relationships based on success.
This quote reflects the importance of friendship in creative endeavors, particularly in the music industry. Nile Rodgers conveys that many of his records were born out of personal connections, suggesting that the bond and collaboration with friends can lead to successful outcomes. However, he also highlights the paradox in these relationships, where the success of a record can dictate whether friendships continue to flourish, implying that success can complicate personal dynamics.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about teamwork, one might quote this to emphasize the value of friendships in achieving success.
More from Nile Rodgers
All quotes →Music has to keep moving. But I was lucky. For me there was always something around the corner.
There's been this strange irony to my whole life. All my original bandmates have died, when I was the most wild and most reckless of us all. But I'm still here.
Music is the one part of the entertainment business where you can't fool anybody into buying a record.
With Sumthin Else Music Works, I wanted to spread the love and give newcomers a chance to make it because something that really helped me were all the people who had given me an opportunity when I was putting my career together.
I'd probably be a super wealthy guy if I had sat around writing songs and getting them placed like everyone else I know. But I write songs about people or after I meet them and they're somewhat biographical - they're fiction but also non-fiction.
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As the yellow gold is tried in fire, so the faith of friendship must be seen in adversity.
My friendship with Mitzi was like the friendship that many children have with their pets. My mother and father thought it was "good for me" to have a dog for a companion. Well it was good for me, but it was only many years after she died that I began to understand how good it was, and why.
Never contract friendship with a man that is not better than thyself.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel; But do not dull thy palm with entertainment Of each new-hatch'd, unfledg'd comrade.
I don't want enemies. I want friends, and I want them in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and loving whoever they want to.