Well, I had always done that, but the session work had been so lucrative that I'd put all my energies into that. I'd still play at weekends, playing the clubs on Saturday nights, that sort of thing.

No, I wasn't aware of it at the time. Now when I hear it all, I think that was quite an era in music. Nobody knew then that it would have the impact that it has now. The Beach Boys stuff for example, was just great. We got to play on everyone's sessions in those days.

That would be a big one all right! You know, we played on The Monkees' session, we did Sinatra and Dean Martin, I was a Beach Boy for a while too. It was just crazy. I even played and did the chord sheet on the Irish Rovers' 'The Unicorn'.

I remember on 'Good Vibrations', he was sitting around doing the electronic slide board effect. He must have spent at least an hour just playing around with it, asking everybody what they thought of it. We totally went with it though, it sounded cool.

We were doing a Janet Dean session in the studio and I saw this album on the wall with 'By The Time I Get To Phoenix' on it. I was homesick at the time, I hadn't been home for about three years. I thought it was a great title too, but I didn't know whether it was referring to a bird flying out of the ashes or what. I played it on the way back to Arkansas, where I'm from, and I was so damn homesick it just floored me. I didn't particularly like the guy's arrangement of it though. I then made a beeline to find Jimmy Webb and get every song he'd ever done. I thought 'MacArthur Park' was just a genius record. You know we're all born with talents, but people like Jimmy Webb and Brian Wilson have a double dose of it.

Yes, I've heard some of it, it's good! I don't think it's quite as well conceived as the old man's, but it's good.

I don't know! [Laughs] Well, you know it was record of the year here in the States in 1975 and I really do like what the song says. It knocked me out when I first heard it. I first heard the update when Rikki came over and played it for me. I took him into my studio here and sang 'Rhinestone Cowboy' for him about three or four times and he showed me what he was doing with it. I just laughed and laughed, it was like the craziest thing I've heard in my life.

No, I didn't know anything about techno. I'd heard some on the radio, while flipping through stations, but I'd never heard it to that extent. I think it's cool though.

I listen to the radio all the time, but I think it's hard to find a really good ballad song these days. I think there would be a place for another 'Rhinestone Cowboy' or 'MacArthur Park'.

I have no qualms about it one way or the other. If someone can use a sample and make a great sounding record from it then more power to them. As long as everybody involved get's what's due to them, and that's the tricky part.

I'm going out on a Christmas tour next week, for 17 days. I get to do all my favourite old singers, like Nat King Cole as we get closer to Christmas. [He sings "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..."] We start out in Florida and go up the east coast.

About two and a half years ago, on tour. It went really well.

Well, I'm going to have to get off the road for a while to work that out. I'm listening to songs at the moment and still playing, but I think I'm just about ready to hang up the guitar and put my golf things on for a while.

Yeah, I guess I could do that. You know those were fun days, I got to work with literally everyone in the business; Nat King Cole, Sinatra, Dean Martin, The Beach Boys, The Mamas and Papas and all the other rock bands that came out of LA. It was an incredible era and I've been out there playing and singing for as long as I can remember. I probably will do another album, I just don't know when.