“ I like working alone. I feel freer, less constrained. I know what I have to do and I try to do it. There are no superficial hangups. Oliver
“ I don't think any responsible performer would go on stage high. If he convinced himself he is better that way, he is deluding himself. Oliver
“ I like performing because it's direct contact with live people. I write a good deal of the time but that's introspective creation rather than interaction. Oliver
“ I wouldn't say I'm happy, but I look at things in a soft way. I try to convey more personal interaction, rather than huge injustices. Oliver
“ I think some entertainers have been very irresponsible in their part in making drug use a fad among young people. They say, look at so-and-so, he's a pot head and look what it has done for him. The tr… Oliver
“ When I write I like to give equal justice to lyrics, too. I want the song to have meaning for me so I can make it have meaning for the audience. Oliver
“ My job is to entertain people by playing my music well. You shouldn't really be upset because people like you, should you? Oliver
“ I try to make the music give people a chance to become engrossed with what they hear enough to possibly experience things they've probably experienced on their own but don't normally let themselves go… Oliver
“ A song should stand on its own and on what a singer does with it. It shouldn't need a lot of extra help to be good. Oliver
“ I think of myself first as a singer, meaning an interpreter. Then I think of myself as a writer. It is an outlet I have to have. I get very hard to live with without something happening to write about… Oliver
“ If there is one sin—or rather one waste—it is not doing what you have the inclination or gift for. Oliver
