I stole everything I ever heard, but mostly I stole from the horns.
Everybody wants to know about my style and how it came about. It’s no big secret. It’s the way I feel.
I don’t want to say the wrong thing, which I always do. I think I do better when I sing.
I’m very shy, and I shy away from people. But the moment I hit the stage, it’s a different feeling I get nerve from somewhere; maybe it’s because it’s something I love to do.
The only thing better than singing is more singing.
What everyone wants more than anything else is to be loved.
I guess what everyone wants more than anything else is to be loved. And to know that you loved me for my singing is too much for me. Forgive me if I don’t have all the words. Maybe I can sing it and you’ll understand.
You take romance – I’ll take Jell-O.
Ella knows her way around her voice as very few people today. But there are times when she seems to be unaware there are things the human voice just doesn’t do. She does them.
I know I’m no glamour girl, and it’s not easy for me to get up in front of a crowd of people. It used to bother me a lot, but now I’ve got it figured out that God gave me this talent to use, so I just stand there and sing.
I think I do better when I sing.
She has been more famous, over a longer time span, than any other female singer.
When I’m on stage I feel at home.
When we were at the Apollo, Holiday was a block away. I asked her for her autograph.
Whatever she does to my songs, she always makes them sound better.
I’ve had some wonderful love affairs and some that didn’t work out. I don’t want to dwell on that and I don’t want to put people down, but I think all the fabulous places I’ve been, the wonderful things that have happened for me, the great people I’ve met – that ought to make a story.
She is amazingly creative, bringing so much more to a song than just a singer. She is a first-class musician and the most gracious person in the world.
Coming through the years, and finding that I not only have just the fans of my day, but the young ones of today – that’s what it means, it means it was worth all of it.
The fabulous places I’ve been, wonderful things that’ve happened, great people I’ve met ought to make a story.
Listen to her voice, don’t look at her.
Sometimes when we’re flying or in the hotel, I might run over songs, or in the bathroom.