A Quote by Michael McDonald
I'd say that Ray Charles is definitely the biggest influence on my singing. Also Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.
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I can't be Stevie Wonder; I can't be Marvin Gaye, but I can be the foundation that I think withholds that mold.
I was a big fan of Marvin Gaye, and when my parents were at work, I would get in front of the mirror, put my father's clothes on and pretend I was singing Marvin Gaye songs.
There were certain Ray Charles albums and a couple of early Marvin Gaye records that I used to listen to with a vengeance. That's how you forge a style. It excites you, and you lean toward it almost unconsciously. I was also a Beatles fanatic, but I didn't emulate them the way I did the R&B artists.
I'm a big Otis Redding fan, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye. My hero is David Bowie. But I like the Beatles, the Stones.
When I think of musical geniuses, I think of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson and Prince. That's who comes to mind.
I was raised on Marvin Gaye. Before I knew Babyface or anyone else, I knew Marvin Gaye. My mother played Marvin Gaye.
The guys that I look up to - Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder - were always in touch with an emotion that is familiar to every man: the emotion of love for a woman. That's what I do.
I think I'm more influenced, just in general, not by blues artists, but more by stuff from Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder. Stevie Wonder is probably my biggest musical influence of all. And Donny Hathaway.
Ray Charles, who said to Stevie Wonder, Maybe we're white. Never got a dinner!
Early inspirations included Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie... Those were the people I actually wound up studying just to hone my craft.
I show more blind rage than Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles wrestling in a steel cage.
Lauryn Hill, P-Funk, Marvin Gaye, Public Enemy - I have a very diverse palate for music. I can go from Judy Garland to Jimi Hendrix to Stevie Wonder to Rachmaninoff. I just love great music.
The first artist I really loved was Stevie Wonder. That opened the doors to other soul singers like Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin.
When I joined, I was one of the first artists to sign on to the Motown West label when they opened their first studio in California. At the studio, you'd run into Stevie Wonder, you'd run into Marvin Gaye…it was very special.
My favorites are Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, but those are a little off in terms of getting Detroit right on the head. But of course, you know, "Dancing In The Streets." You can't forget the Motor City. And we can't forget the Motor City.
I grew up listening to the greats of the '80s and, thanks to my parents, the '70s - the Doobie Brothers, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Luther Vandross, Lionel Richie.
