My mother always wanted me to be a jazz singer, but I always wanted to be raunchy.

I'm not a braggart, but when I was a little girl people used to come from all over Hollywood to hear me sing.

Now I can stand up on the stage again like I used to after five years of sitting down while I sang.

I really turned into, you know, the real street kid. I was kind of like a runaway, but I had a mother, you know what I mean, and I had a place to stay.

And as I started reaching deeper I realized that most of the blues of that day was done by men. Women just didn't have the nerve.

I like to shop, but I don't like to go out to dances.

The only time that I am really truly happy—when I feel at my best—is when I'm on the stage.