but you could transpose it then, and you were like, okay, reggae doesn t work and i m going to do something else. well, i said, let s come up with a different kind of, rhythm. like a, instead of, we did a shuffle. so, i credit the band for a lot of the arrangements. things that you might have done, well, only the good die young what s what i said only the good die young sometimes your lyrics seem to me to be counteracting the melody. so, for example, always a woman to me. the music is very soft and lyrical, but then the words are kind of cutting. it s an effective technique for writing a song, they re opposites. she can kill with a smile. she can wound with her eyes. la, la, la you don t think that s going to
your hand was a big hit. and this was different. what is that? who is that? that s the beatles, and it changed my life. that s why i do what i do now, because of what the beatles did. this was like a band from a neighborhood, kind of like me and my friends. they were working class guys, and they were hugely successful and they made their own music. i said, that s what i want to do. how old were you, when you were thinking it? in 1964, i was 14 years old. but at this point, you have already had, ten years of classical piano lessons yes. because you started at four. right. do you look at that as, a body of work and training, that allowed you to do the kind of music you do now? now, i would have to say yes. at the time, i didn t know to what end i was learning how to play the piano. my father played the piano, he
you re an instant star. there s a lot of work involved. but there s also the background. i grew up hearing all kinds of music. i was exposed to classical music at a young age, broadway shows, folk music. what was the first tune that you ever played? the first tune i ever played, wait a minute, i ll show you this. my daughter has the same book, i think i m plugging this shamelessly. the john thompson. the john thompson piano course. book 1, first-grade book. john thompson used it for piano. the first piece i learned was called, believe it or not, off we go to music land. do you remember it? yes. can you play it without looking at it? here it is, okay. and it goes like this. and even has words.
was a good pianist, but he worked at a corporation, doing another kind of work. my mother was very musical, she sang. and i took piano lessons, because my mom wanted me to take piano lessons. i lived in a little levitt house on a quarter acre, and we had an old lester upright piano, which was not a very good piano and i was taking lessons. to what end? i didn t know. when you look at it now, do you think people have a gene for music and musical talent? because your father was a great pianist. your half-brother is a great conductor. he s an opera conductor. your daughter now is an accomplished performer. alexa, yes. or was it the hard work of all those years at the piano, and then later with the bands? i think it s a combination of the two. i think there must be something genetic, which is inherent to be musical. you don t just pick up a guitar and stoke a bang, and then