Arizona Replublic - Boz Scaggs Interview

In 1976, Boz Scaggs became a huge star with Silk Degrees, a classic example of tangy blue-eyed soul that sold more than 5 million copies. At 62, the singer-songwriter still tours, offering the hits (Lido Shuffle and Breakdown Dead Ahead are our favorites) among a tasty mix of blues and standards.

Q: Are fans receptive to hearing new music from you?

Boz: I don't know the answer to that question. Sometimes I play places and they just want to hear the hits. But in places like Dallas or Phoenix or San Diego, the audiences are musically a little hipper. They want to hear a little more progressive material sometimes.

Q: Do you get tired of the hits?

Boz: Not really. I have a great band and the arrangements evolve over time. What's the old proverb: "You can never step into the same river twice?" Every time you play, it's different. It really is.

Q: Do you ever play Lowdown but are thinking, "Man, I have to get home and feed the dogs and pay the bills?"

Boz: All the time. Well, not all the time, but sometimes, you just can't help it. You're just staring into space and it's hard to concentrate. I've never done it for a whole show. Usually it's just a fleeting thing, and you drift back into the present sooner or later.

Q: Silk Degrees is 30 years old this year: Does it feel like it should be that old?

Boz: It's strange how you revisit that kind of thing. I was in the studio the other day because we're going to release an anniversary edition of it. I listened to it and thought, "If I only knew then what I know." I like the music, but as a vocalist it's cringe city for me. I can't stand the way I sound.

Q: So you don't like listening to your old records?

Boz: I'll listen to old records, just not to mine.

Q: Your album of standards (2003's But Beautiful) was excellent. Do people come up to you with suggestions for the next volume?

Boz: All the time. Some are good.

Q: I have one. You should do Frankie Laine's We'll Be Together Again.

Boz: Ah! That's a very charming lyric. (singing) "Remember there's always tomorrow/So what if we have to part/We'll be together again." I like the Louis Armstrong version. Look when the album comes out next year. Maybe it will be on there.

We'll Be Together Again - Lyrics:

No tears, no fears
Remember there's always tomorrow
So what if we have to part?
We'll be together again

Your kiss, your smile
Are memories I'll treasure forever
So try thinking with your heart
We'll be together again.

Bridge:

Now, there'll be times when I know you'll be lonesome
Times when I know you'll be sad
Don't let temptation surround you
Don't let the blues make you bad

Some day, some way
We both have a life-time before us
For parting is not good-bye
We'll be together again