I think I copied my style from Louis Armstrong. Because I used to like the big volume and the big sound that Bessie Smith got when she sang ... So I liked the feeling that Louis got and I wanted the big volume that Bessie Smith got. But I found that it didn't work with me, because I didn't have a big voice. So anyway between the two of them I sorta got Billie Holiday.

You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation.

You've got to have something to eat and a little love in your life before you can hold still for any damn body's sermon on how to behave.

I hate straight singing. I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it. That's all I know.

When you sing, always tell the truth.

Sometimes it's worse to win a fight than to lose.

If I'm going to sing like someone else, then I don't need to sing at all.