Peter Gabriel's All-Time Favorite Tracks

Feb. 26, 2010— -- For Grammy-award winning artist and humanitarian Peter Gabriel, imitation may be the most sincere form of flattery. On his new album, "Scratch My Back," Gabriel puts his own spin on hits by David Bowie, Radiohead, Regina Spektor and others -- a concept he admitted he's had for several years.

"You do one of my songs, I do one of your songs," Gabriel said. "It's been very interesting because you can try to get into someone else's head a little bit and do your thing with their material. And then a little while later, you get something back from them where they've done the same thing with a song of yours."

Gabriel recently sat down with "Nightline" at Kellari's Parea Bistro in New York City to discuss his new album, which will be released March 2. He said part of the challenge was playing the role of interpreter instead of writer.

"I began as a songwriter, really," he said. "I think in the Genesis days too, we were a bunch of songwriters rather than a bunch of musicians, which is how most people start out. That's always been a passion for me."

Gabriel was born in England in 1950. His mother gave him an appreciation for music at a young age by teaching him to play the clarinet.

"The first record I bought when I saved up my pocket money was 'With The Beatles,'" said Gabriel. "'Please, Please Me' was coming over the radio. I would sit in the back of my parents' car when we were on these long drives down to the coast. And what people forget, I think, is that at the time, it was really rebellious, rough, mischievous and full of life, and irresistible to any young person. The Beatles were a huge influence as I was growing up, and continued to be as there was all that revolution around their success."

In 1967, Gabriel formed the group Genesis with friends from Charterhouse, where he attending boarding school. That same year, he saw Otis Redding perform.

"I was extremely lucky in 1967, when I was 17 years old, to go and see Otis Redding perform at the Ram Jam Club in Brixton in London," he said. "When he came on, it was like the sun coming out. It was just this amazing voice, totally in command, great band, great grooves and passion that permeated everything."

"I think I would have to choose an Otis track, and 'Change Gonna Come' might be one," he said. "Obviously that's a song associated with other people and Sam Cooke and so on. But it's just the way Otis put the message over. I think he's a supreme interpreter, and what a heart."