I remember tap-dancing and singing in front of the TV when I was a kid, telling my dad to stop watching Ed Sullivan or Milton Berle and watch me.
My dad didn't want me to listen to Zeppelin, I think because it reminded him of his wilder days, and now he's a retired Southern Baptist minister.
My dad is a big dreamer, so I got that from him. Golf was my main thing when I was a teenager, and that's what I wanted to do.
My dad was into the 1950s doo-wop era. If you look at those groups, or at James Brown, Jackie Wilson and the Temptations in the 1960s, you'll see you had to be sharp onstage.
My dad always used to tell me that if they challenge you to an after-school fight, tell them you won't wait-you can kick their ass right now.
My dad is into movies, and they let me watch movies. I was obsessed with Monty Python when I was in preschool - I don't know why.
I'm in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the One-Hit Wonder Wall. I'm still very troubled by the fact that I'm in the hall and my dad isn't.
I saw 'The Empire Strikes Back' the week that it came out. My father was a huge 'Star Wars' fan. And so when it came out, my dad took me.
I grew up in Birmingham, but my parents are originally from Barbados. My dad, Romeo, was a long-distance lorry driver, and my mother, Mayleen, worked in catering.
Although I grew up in London, I spent summers in Missouri, where my dad lived. It's quite a liberal town, Kansas City. You'd be surprised.
When I was a boy, I used to pull a big cross saw with my dad. He'd use his right hand, so I'd have to use my left.
I was very lucky growing up, and I got all my dad's and aunts' toys from the 1950s and 1960s and loved those old pedal cars.
My dad would always say, 'What can you do to make the world a better place?' Well, I can make people laugh.
I can go without make-up and go fishing with my dad; other times, I buy pink shoes and shop for dresses.
I can talk to my dad like he's my manager, and put 'Dad' on the back burner. We've been doing it since I was 13.
My dad was a soul fan and a singer himself, and he loved vocal harmony, stuff like the Beach Boys and Motown like the Four Tops, which was a big influence on me.
More of him came from my step-dad, who is now passed away. The initial creators of the show kind of based the character on their dads and then I added my dad.
I would ask my dad what he did, and he'd say, 'I listen to people's problems.' In some way what he did for a living is in my genes.
The most challenging part of being a dad is self-restraint. So often your instinct is to teach and tell. I am constantly reminding myself to listen to them.
Parents don't understand kids and kids don't understand parents. My parents were divorced when I was really young and I went to live with my dad.
I've dated all kinds of guys and didn't know who I'd end up with. But I kind of assumed it would be someone more like my dad than not.
