--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never imagined that I would have a…" description: "\"I never imagined that I would have a successful solo career, let alone one in musical theater.\" — Dennis DeYoung" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/dennis-deyoung-5112_alone_i-never-imagined-that-i-would-have-a-suc_2369039.jpg" --- # I never imagined that I would have a successful solo… ![“I never imagined that I would have a successful solo career, let alone one in musical theater.” quote by Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/dennis-deyoung-5112_alone_i-never-imagined-that-i-would-have-a-suc_2369039.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/dennis-deyoung-5112_alone_i-never-imagined-that-i-would-have-a-suc_2369039.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/dennis-deyoung-5112_alone_i-never-imagined-that-i-would-have-a-suc_2369039.jpg) > “I never imagined that I would have a successful solo career, let alone one in musical theater.” [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unexpected success can arise from daring to pursue personal passions despite initial doubt. **In simple terms:** Surprising success follows bold personal pursuits. Key Takeaway Embrace unexpected opportunities. Themes self‑belief career music risk growth Mood hopeful determined Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - career planning - musical theater auditions - solo project launches - networking events Key Concepts confidence career development creative risk personal fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - What personal goal feels out of reach? - How can you prepare for unexpected opportunities? A Different Perspective Success may depend on external support and timing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Musical theater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musical-theater/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [For me to do a project - I have a pretty successful solo career, so - for me to even want to do Primus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-claypool/for-me-to-do-a-project-i-have-a-pretty-successful-solo-career-so-for/) [Les Claypool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-claypool/) > [Music for me, it's pretty annoying, because I've never had a successful solo career and it bugs me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-walters/music-for-me-it-s-pretty-annoying-because-i-ve-never-had-a-successful/) [Ashley Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-walters/) > [Nadine from Girls Aloud could definitely go solo - she's the one with the talent and will have a successful solo career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-walsh/nadine-from-girls-aloud-could-definitely-go-solo-she-s-the-one-with/) [Louis Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-walsh/) > [Now my main goal is my solo career, so I want to keep doing that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-taylor/now-my-main-goal-is-my-solo-career-so-i-want-to-keep-doing-that/) [Paul Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-taylor/) > [I've always looked on myself as one of a band and never sought a solo career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-stewart/i-ve-always-looked-on-myself-as-one-of-a-band-and-never-sought-a-solo/) [Rod Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-stewart/) > [ We always talked \[with Andrew Ridgeley\] about when it would happen - we always knew that I would go on to have a solo… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-michael/we-always-talked-with-andrew-ridgeley-about-when-it-would-happen-we/) [George Michael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-michael/) > [There was no such thing as a solo career in East Germany. You had to get the best orchestra job that you could.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-vogler/there-was-no-such-thing-as-a-solo-career-in-east-germany-you-had-to/) [Jan Vogler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-vogler/) > [Around New York, our group had become known as 'Dee Dee and her girls' because we were used on everything, so going out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-warwick/around-new-york-our-group-had-become-known-as-dee-dee-and-her-girls/) Dee Dee Warwick > [Having a solo career is a funny thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hall/having-a-solo-career-is-a-funny-thing/) [Daryl Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hall/) > [If a band is really good and the chemistry is unique, it should continue. But I guess David is just very happy doing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-frantz/if-a-band-is-really-good-and-the-chemistry-is-unique-it-should/) [Chris Frantz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-frantz/) > [If I would have ever dreamed that I wouldn't be in Van Halen anymore and was going to have resume my solo career again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-hagar/if-i-would-have-ever-dreamed-that-i-wouldn-t-be-in-van-halen-anymore/) [Sammy Hagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-hagar/) > [By the time my first solo record came out, I was making a handsome living as a record producer. I had worked with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-rundgren/by-the-time-my-first-solo-record-came-out-i-was-making-a-handsome/) [Todd Rundgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-rundgren/) > [I believe that if each one of us have successful solo careers, it can only help the group's growth. It will allow the fans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romeo-santos/i-believe-that-if-each-one-of-us-have-successful-solo-careers-it-can/) [Romeo Santos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romeo-santos/) > [I call Earth, Wind & Fire my day job and my solo career my night gig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-bailey/i-call-earth-wind-fire-my-day-job-and-my-solo-career-my-night-gig/) [Philip Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-bailey/) > [I didn't have the confidence to leave the band because of a solo career, or anything like that. I just wanted to grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-ramone/i-didn-t-have-the-confidence-to-leave-the-band-because-of-a-solo/) [Dee Dee Ramone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-ramone/) ## More by Dennis DeYoung > [I'm proud of the body of work I was part of and I want people to enjoy it as long as they choose to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-m-proud-of-the-body-of-work-i-was-part-of-and-i-want-people-to/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [Winners are losers who got up and gave it one more try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/winners-are-losers-who-got-up-and-gave-it-one-more-try/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [Many musicals you can take and throw in the garbage can because no one took the time to write a song you can care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/many-musicals-you-can-take-and-throw-in-the-garbage-can-because-no/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [If you're in rock 'n' roll, you're not supposed to admit to liking theatre stuff, but I'm a big theatregoer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/if-you-re-in-rock-n-roll-you-re-not-supposed-to-admit-to-liking/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [I'm very proud of it. 'Hunchback' contains some of my favorite music I've ever written in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-m-very-proud-of-it-hunchback-contains-some-of-my-favorite-music-i/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [I was damn lucky to choose this profession. I had no idea when I started out that I was really an illusionist and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-was-damn-lucky-to-choose-this-profession-i-had-no-idea-when-i/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [If you think marriage is gonna be easy, don't do it because when there are children involved, you screw up the rest of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/if-you-think-marriage-is-gonna-be-easy-don-t-do-it-because-when-there/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [I just believed in 1979 that prog rock was finished. I just saw the handwriting on the wall. And I believed that if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-just-believed-in-1979-that-prog-rock-was-finished-i-just-saw-the/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [To be successful in your life, you have to be convinced in your own mind that you have the ability to accomplish your goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/to-be-successful-in-your-life-you-have-to-be-convinced-in-your-own/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [How lucky am I? I'll go to Naperville and people will come up to me and thank me for coming to Naperville. That's how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/how-lucky-am-i-i-ll-go-to-naperville-and-people-will-come-up-to-me/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [Technology has made music ultimately more democratic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/technology-has-made-music-ultimately-more-democratic/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [If you pretend to be somebody that you're not when you write songs - and I did that on some of the early Styx…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/if-you-pretend-to-be-somebody-that-you-re-not-when-you-write-songs/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [Nobody can figure out why it does what it does to human beings. But there is no other art form greater than music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/nobody-can-figure-out-why-it-does-what-it-does-to-human-beings-but/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [I love Styx as much as I could love anything in my life. I started playing in the band when I was 14 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-love-styx-as-much-as-i-could-love-anything-in-my-life-i-started/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [I think the music business is as crass and as unrewarding as it has ever been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-think-the-music-business-is-as-crass-and-as-unrewarding-as-it-has/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) [Explore all 103 Dennis DeYoung quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) ## More Alone quotes > [I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-taken-away-from-myself-quite-easily-i-kind-of-start/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [Perhaps our own opposition to even the level of European integration we have now, let alone any more, is well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/perhaps-our-own-opposition-to-even-the-level-of-european-integration/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/) [Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/) > [With my songs, the question is always, 'Can you pull it off live, alone on just an acoustic guitar?' That's the litmus test. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-colvin/with-my-songs-the-question-is-always-can-you-pull-it-off-live-alone/) [Shawn Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-colvin/) > [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. I go to sleep when I'm tired, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-should-have-liked-to-get-married-but-over-many-decades-i-have-lived/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [I am not alone in that I've had times of unemployment - unemployment is huge amongst disabled people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-jones/i-am-not-alone-in-that-i-ve-had-times-of-unemployment-unemployment-is/) [Rosie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-jones/) > [I never knew a heart could feel so cold so empty so broken until now , I don't know what to say I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-knew-a-heart-could-feel-so-cold-so-empty-so-broken-until-now/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you're disabled or different from what general society deems normal, it's fine. There will always be people who won't accept you, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-simmonds/if-you-re-disabled-or-different-from-what-general-society-deems/) [Millicent Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-simmonds/) > [Real love is a permanently self-enlarging experience…A Journey With My Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luckybannu/real-love-is-a-permanently-self-enlarging-experience-a-journey-with/) Luckybannu > [“What I'm trying to say is that I spent the last four months learning to be alone, avoiding the world, hating pretty much anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-cremer/what-i-m-trying-to-say-is-that-i-spent-the-last-four-months-learning/) [Andrea Cremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-cremer/) > [I'm used to being alone in a quiet, isolated environment - I'm kind of a low-energy, low-vibration, low-stamina person to begin with - so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-m-used-to-being-alone-in-a-quiet-isolated-environment-i-m-kind-of-a/) [Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I have developed a nasty habit of losing to the guy who wins the tournament, and that alone makes you think what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-robertson/i-have-developed-a-nasty-habit-of-losing-to-the-guy-who-wins-the/) [Neil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-robertson/) > [As a child, I was this record collector/listener that would sit in a room and listen to the entire Beatles catalog alone, over and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/as-a-child-i-was-this-record-collector-listener-that-would-sit-in-a/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) > [How one hates to think of oneself as alone. How one avoids it. It seems to imply rejection or unpopularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/how-one-hates-to-think-of-oneself-as-alone-how-one-avoids-it-it-seems/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) [Browse all 3,082 Alone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never imagined that I would have a successful solo career, let alone one in musical theater.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dennis DeYoung" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-never-imagined-that-i-would-have-a-successful-solo-career-let-alone/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alone" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-never-imagined-that-i-would-have-a-successful-solo-career-let-alone/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/dennis-deyoung-5112_alone_i-never-imagined-that-i-would-have-a-suc_2369039.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/dennis-deyoung-5112_alone_i-never-imagined-that-i-would-have-a-suc_2369039.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/dennis-deyoung-5112_alone_i-never-imagined-that-i-would-have-a-suc_2369039.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I never imagined that I would have a successful solo career, let alone one in musical theater.” — Dennis DeYoung", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dennis DeYoung", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I never imagined that I would...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-never-imagined-that-i-would-have-a-successful-solo-career-let-alone/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-never-imagined-that-i-would-have-a-successful-solo-career-let-alone/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```