William Revelli

"Ninety - nine percent right is still one percent wrong!"

"Rock and roll is written by illiterates and listened to by illiterates. Ironically, we see today a moronic individual with a guitar - and he is a failure unless his records sell a million copies. Jazz was born and bred in the honkytonks of New Orleans and will always be a part of American music - but rock and roll isn't and never will be. The worst part in current trends in music today is the effect it has on the youth of today. The kind of music a person hears is the kind he learns to appreciate. What is happening when these youths leave school? Where are the adult bands and orchestras? What is happening to the sense of values of a nation which has no place in its adult life for music? Russia has the greatest music education program of any nation on earth. [Both Italy and France] have eight conservatories of music. We have none. In Paris, you can hear any of three 100-piece orchestras 24 hours a day on radio, subsidized by the government."