--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I kept playing blues-based music all…" description: "\"I kept playing blues-based music all during the 1980s, and it was tough.\" — Rory Gallagher" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/rory-gallagher-12913_1980s_i-kept-playing-blues-based-music-all-dur_3055570.jpg" --- # I kept playing blues-based music all during the 1980s, and… ![“I kept playing blues-based music all during the 1980s, and it was tough.” quote by Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/rory-gallagher-12913_1980s_i-kept-playing-blues-based-music-all-dur_3055570.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/rory-gallagher-12913_1980s_i-kept-playing-blues-based-music-all-dur_3055570.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/rory-gallagher-12913_1980s_i-kept-playing-blues-based-music-all-dur_3055570.jpg) > “I kept playing blues-based music all during the 1980s, and it was tough.” [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Playing blues in the 80s was challenging, reflecting personal and cultural struggles. **In simple terms:** Blues music was tough to pursue then. Key Takeaway Persist despite genre challenges. Themes music culture resilience artistic expression Mood nostalgic determined Type musical personal When to use this quote - performance - songwriting - cultural analysis Key Concepts blues 1980s music scene career obstacles Questions to Reflect On - What kept you motivated during tough times? - How did the era shape your music? A Different Perspective Genre trends can marginalize artists. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blues/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [The 1980s were tough for most of Britain, but nowhere more so than Tottenham.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lammy/the-1980s-were-tough-for-most-of-britain-but-nowhere-more-so-than/) [David Lammy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lammy/) > [I could've kept playing, but football didn't define me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-rodgers/i-could-ve-kept-playing-but-football-didn-t-define-me/) [Jordan Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-rodgers/) > [Playing live is much more natural for me. The instant reaction and the feedback from the audience is great for me. I really relish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/playing-live-is-much-more-natural-for-me-the-instant-reaction-and-the/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [“And that song, it wasn’t ending. It kept on playing, that stupid, upbeat swing of voices and plucked strings, the promise of a future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-bracken/and-that-song-it-wasn-t-ending-it-kept-on-playing-that-stupid-upbeat/) [Alexandra Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-bracken/) > [Disneyland is a work of love...Drawing up plans and dreaming of what I could do, everything. It was just something I kind of kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/disneyland-is-a-work-of-love-drawing-up-plans-and-dreaming-of-what-i/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I was too jitterbuggy happy to sleep, and the whole day kept playing in my brain's little screening room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-was-too-jitterbuggy-happy-to-sleep-and-the-whole-day-kept-playing/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [ I did once leave one of \[my kid\] watching something on YouTube, something completely innocuous, and I went out of the room and the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-did-once-leave-one-of-my-kid-watching-something-on-youtube/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [Kept playing love like it was just a game, pretending to feel the same then turn around and leave again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maroon-5/kept-playing-love-like-it-was-just-a-game-pretending-to-feel-the-same/) [Maroon 5](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maroon-5/) > [From the first album, we've had songs like 'The Jack' that are blues based. We also did it in 'Ride On,' where we went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-young/from-the-first-album-we-ve-had-songs-like-the-jack-that-are-blues/) [Angus Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-young/) > [All of my solos are blues based. Even though a lot of my songs get into pop, I wind up going back to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orianthi/all-of-my-solos-are-blues-based-even-though-a-lot-of-my-songs-get/) [Orianthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orianthi/) > ['Year Of The Tiger' definitely has much more of a blues-based vibe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-kennedy/year-of-the-tiger-definitely-has-much-more-of-a-blues-based-vibe/) [Myles Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-kennedy/) > [When I did my rock band, I pined for a more soulful sound. I wanted music that was very melodic and blues-based.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-bailey-rae/when-i-did-my-rock-band-i-pined-for-a-more-soulful-sound-i-wanted/) [Corinne Bailey Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-bailey-rae/) > [A lot of people don't know this, but I started out as a blues-based player, and then, when I realized after playing 18 hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yngwie-malmsteen/a-lot-of-people-don-t-know-this-but-i-started-out-as-a-blues-based/) [Yngwie Malmsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yngwie-malmsteen/) > [I was living and working with adult men who were playing a real art form. And I had been playing blues all my life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-miller/i-was-living-and-working-with-adult-men-who-were-playing-a-real-art/) [Steve Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-miller/) > [When you're 12 and, you know, slightly overweight and - for lack of a better word - white, and you're playing blues, you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bonamassa/when-you-re-12-and-you-know-slightly-overweight-and-for-lack-of-a/) [Joe Bonamassa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bonamassa/) ## More by Rory Gallagher > [One thing I really hate about people who play both acoustic and electric is if they try to play electric style on an acoustic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/one-thing-i-really-hate-about-people-who-play-both-acoustic-and/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [Touring doesn't have to be a harried, cliched way of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/touring-doesn-t-have-to-be-a-harried-cliched-way-of-life/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [There was nobody in the city I came from - Cork, Ireland - that I could link up with to teach me the guitar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/there-was-nobody-in-the-city-i-came-from-cork-ireland-that-i-could/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [Basically, I like anything with guts - Lead Belly, Bill Big Broonzy, Johnny Winter, the Stones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/basically-i-like-anything-with-guts-lead-belly-bill-big-broonzy/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [It's dangerous not to tour, because people assume you've faded away, or have no interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/it-s-dangerous-not-to-tour-because-people-assume-you-ve-faded-away-or/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [I started on acoustic guitar after I heard Leadbelly and Big Bill Broonzy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/i-started-on-acoustic-guitar-after-i-heard-leadbelly-and-big-bill/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [One of the things that was crucial for me I got from Rory Gallagher, which was the idea of, like, being a guitar player…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/one-of-the-things-that-was-crucial-for-me-i-got-from-rory-gallagher/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [I could bear being in the charts and being on everyone's car radio 10 times a day. I'm just terrified of... a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/i-could-bear-being-in-the-charts-and-being-on-everyone-s-car-radio-10/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [I'm a great listener - I play records all the time at home. And I play guitar as a hobby. So inspiration has never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/i-m-a-great-listener-i-play-records-all-the-time-at-home-and-i-play/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [I think that I set such high standards for myself that sometimes I expect other people to live up to these standards, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/i-think-that-i-set-such-high-standards-for-myself-that-sometimes-i/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [Playing live is my natural element. It's too hard to relax in the studio because there are too many options. It's just not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/playing-live-is-my-natural-element-it-s-too-hard-to-relax-in-the/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [Obviously, I would like to play to bigger audiences and have a bit more success, but not if I have to commercialize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/obviously-i-would-like-to-play-to-bigger-audiences-and-have-a-bit/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [As a kid, I loved any guitarists, whether it was Elvis Presley, Lonnie Donegan, Chuck Berry or even the cowboy guitarists like Gene Autry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/as-a-kid-i-loved-any-guitarists-whether-it-was-elvis-presley-lonnie/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [My favorite lineup is just a trio, because then every night you can improvise and change the repertoire. Keyboards and brass can be great,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/my-favorite-lineup-is-just-a-trio-because-then-every-night-you-can/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) > [Basically, I try to treat the electric guitar like an acoustic guitar. What you have to do is attack the instrument and know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/basically-i-try-to-treat-the-electric-guitar-like-an-acoustic-guitar/) [Rory Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) [Explore all 52 Rory Gallagher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/) ## More 1980s quotes > [There was a time in the 1980s when I worked in 22 films a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radha-ravi/there-was-a-time-in-the-1980s-when-i-worked-in-22-films-a-year/) [Radha Ravi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radha-ravi/) > [“Everything worth knowing about the 1980s I learned from obsessively reading Bloom County collections when I was nine and Derek Jarman's diaries when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruadh-n-j-mcelroy/everything-worth-knowing-about-the-1980s-i-learned-from-obsessively/) [Ruadhán J. McElroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruadh-n-j-mcelroy/) > [“Dilettantes,’ Art3mis said. ‘It’s their own fault for not knowing all the Schoolhouse Rock! lyrics by heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/dilettantes-art3mis-said-it-s-their-own-fault-for-not-knowing-all-the/) [Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/) > [I was a safari guide in the 1980s in Kenya.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/i-was-a-safari-guide-in-the-1980s-in-kenya/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [“As he defended the book one evening in the early 1980s at the Carnegie Endowment in New York, I knew that some of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/as-he-defended-the-book-one-evening-in-the-early-1980s-at-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Nuclear power will be the Vietnam issue of the 1980s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-brown/nuclear-power-will-be-the-vietnam-issue-of-the-1980s/) [Jerry Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-brown/) > [The 1980s were all about synths for me, and it never went away after that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grant/the-1980s-were-all-about-synths-for-me-and-it-never-went-away-after/) [John Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grant/) > [The 1980s was the era of the blonde cheerleader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/the-1980s-was-the-era-of-the-blonde-cheerleader/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [In the 1980s and the 1990s, when HIV hit its peak, the gay community was at the forefront of the fight against the silent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-flock/in-the-1980s-and-the-1990s-when-hiv-hit-its-peak-the-gay-community/) [Elizabeth Flock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-flock/) > [The 1980s really ended for me in 1992 with the film Kika.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-almodovar/the-1980s-really-ended-for-me-in-1992-with-the-film-kika/) [Pedro Almodovar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-almodovar/) > [Eventually, our kind of music, whether it's us or Motley or Poison of whoever, will define the 1980s. That's something to be proud of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jani-lane/eventually-our-kind-of-music-whether-it-s-us-or-motley-or-poison-of/) [Jani Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jani-lane/) > [Back in the 1980s, state-of-the-nation fictions were all set in Manhattan. Now, they're all in Trump country. Early in 'S-Town,' we're introduced to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hepworth/back-in-the-1980s-state-of-the-nation-fictions-were-all-set-in/) [David Hepworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hepworth/) > [“Reading about Bordertown was the first time I saw people like me in speculative fiction. Messed-up kids, making messsed-up choices. I couldn't be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/reading-about-bordertown-was-the-first-time-i-saw-people-like-me-in/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [I was kind of freaked out by the art world in the 1980s. Just the money thing. All the competition over artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-gordon/i-was-kind-of-freaked-out-by-the-art-world-in-the-1980s-just-the/) [Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) > [I remain extraordinarily proud of the Vaughan Williams symphonies I recorded with the LSO, and in the 1980s and '90s, I made an almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-previn/i-remain-extraordinarily-proud-of-the-vaughan-williams-symphonies-i/) [Andre Previn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-previn/) Browse all 91 1980s quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I kept playing blues-based music all during the 1980s, and it was tough.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rory Gallagher" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/i-kept-playing-blues-based-music-all-during-the-1980s-and-it-was-tough/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "1980s" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/i-kept-playing-blues-based-music-all-during-the-1980s-and-it-was-tough/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/rory-gallagher-12913_1980s_i-kept-playing-blues-based-music-all-dur_3055570.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/rory-gallagher-12913_1980s_i-kept-playing-blues-based-music-all-dur_3055570.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/rory-gallagher-12913_1980s_i-kept-playing-blues-based-music-all-dur_3055570.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I kept playing blues-based music all during the 1980s, and it was tough.” — Rory Gallagher", "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": "Rory Gallagher", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-gallagher/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I kept playing blues-based music all...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/i-kept-playing-blues-based-music-all-during-the-1980s-and-it-was-tough/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-gallagher/i-kept-playing-blues-based-music-all-during-the-1980s-and-it-was-tough/#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 } } ] } ```