I used to be very self-conscious. I used to wish I was pretty. My cousin Georgia always taught me that if you smile, people will like you. Sometimes people will say something you don't like, and you get angry a bit, but you just smile. You let it go by, even if you really would like to choke 'em. By smiling, I think I've made more friends than if I was the other way.

Everybody wants to know about my style and how it came about. It's no big secret. It's the way I feel.

[On bebop years] All I did was sing 'How High the Moon.' It seemed like the only song I ever sang.

When I'm on stage I feel at home

Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do.

What everyone wants more than anything else is to be loved.

I don't want to say the wrong thing, which I always do. I think I do better when I sing.