A Quote by Roland Gift

While growing up in Birmingham around a lot of West Indian people, reggae and calypso were big influences early on but Otis Redding was the one person who made me wanna sing myself.

Roland Gift

Quote Topics

Around Big Birmingham Calypso Early Growing Growing Up Indian Indian People Influences Lot Made Me Myself People Person Reggae Sing Up Wanna Were West While

Quote Author

Roland Gift
British - Singer
Born: May 28, 1961

I think for me, growing up as an only child, I didn't have a lot of people around me or a lot of foreign influences, so growing up, I really kind of got lost in my imagination - for the better.

Tyler Henry

There were many influences on me while growing up. In the late Seventies and early Eighties when I was growing up in Hyderabad, it was a bit more laid-back, and that gave you time to think about things differently without perhaps being caught up in the narrow approach to one's journey through life.

Satya Nadella

Growing up, I was listening to a ton of Motown music, Otis Redding, Aretha, and then there was the Beatles and Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin. These were all people that I felt as though they truly felt every single lyric they said, and they weren't afraid of imperfection.

Bishop Briggs

People always ask me who my role models are and who I want to be like, and I don't wanna be like anybody; I wanna be me. I look up to a lot of people, and they have had great influences on me, but I wanna be original and different.

Lauren Alaina

As a kid, I loved to sing along to the Drifters and Otis Redding.

Paolo Nutini

People like Sam Cooke and Otis Redding - I do not put myself in that category.

Lewis Capaldi

While growing up in Scotland, which has a large Indian population, I would end up eating a lot of Indian dishes. So, it is familiar to me.

Jock Zonfrillo

Growing up, I listened and was influenced by a lot of those around me. I have a big family, and my dad listened to '80s music, my mom listened to Motown, my brother listened to reggae, and my granddad was the one that got me into jazz and swing music.

Ella Henderson

Since my father's death, a lot of people have made it clear that they're not ready to give up the music. For me, it's a big, fat gift. I get to sing with a big orchestra and get to sing orchestrations that will never be old.

Frank Sinatra Jr.

I want people to see an honesty within me. I'm not trying to be the next Sam Cooke or Otis Redding.

Leon Bridges

I just think, who wants new soul? I want my soul to be the same as Otis Redding, I don't wanna have a new one.

Raphael Saadiq

My big influences are Joni Mitchell, and a lot of classical and Indian music, as well as Nina Simone and the personal blues and jazz of Billie Holiday. Other influences for me include Bjork, Nick Drake, and Sufjan Stevens.

Yael Naim

My upbringing in Birmingham gave me a sense of reality. I could not pick another city I would rather have grown up in. Growing up around really good, solid, godly people, it helped me to find those kind of great people in L.A., too, which can be hard for some people.