I met Leo Fender, who is the guru of all amplifiers, and he gave me a Stratocaster. He became a second father to me.

My uncle gave me a trumpet, but I loved the Louis Armstrong sound and the Harry James sound and I played by ear and I played always soulful or very direct from the gut.

When I first played the guitar without plugging it into an amplifier, the people at Fender were blown away. They couldn't believe the sound. I said, 'See, gentlemen, the world is no longer flat.'

My father was a motorsports journalist and a motorbike fan. He gave me my motocross bike.

Buddy Rich was one of the most incredible technicians in the world, on this planet, but the only people he could really impress, who knew what he was doing was another musician or another drummer.

Little Richard, he'd say, 'Oh Dick Dale! You have luscious lips!'