The way I teach people to sing... I have them talk the lyric out until it sounds like something they really believe, like an actor with a monologue.

[On the premiere of a dull show:] I've seen more excitement at the opening of an umbrella.

Johnny Mercer was my father's best friend and became mine as well. And Harold Arlen, whom I would call Uncle Harry, and Harry Warren: those were ones who I really became close to.

The musicians recommend that I sing a sing the way it is written the first time and then start to look for other notes that aren't in the melody.

I had years of experience that I still needed to accumulate and go through.

That's really what was wonderful for me growing up, since I got to know so many of the songwriters who liked me and thought I had talent. They would then tell me how to read a lyric and sing a song, and challenge me to try and find a different end to a song.

The way I teach people to sing... I have them talk the lyric out until it sounds like something they really believe, like an actor with a monologue.