 Most of the people who act and sing do so for their own pleasure and that of their friends and family. |
| I vowed that whenever my family needed me, I would give up everything to go to them, no matter what. The show must go on was meaningless to me. |
| I could not separate myself off stage from myself on stage, as so many actors can. |
| As soon as I began to earn what might be called fairly large sums, I bought a car and began to explore the country around New York. |
| If rock-and-roll is well done, there's nothing so terribly wrong with that kind of music. But the lyrics are another story. |
| It's up to the audience. It always has been. |
| In nearly all ballads, the words set the mood and meaning, while the music intensifies or enhances them. |
| I am continually embarrassed by people who point me out as an example of what can be done without training. |
| In 29 years, I had recorded over 2,200 songs. I was amazed. |
| My singing is part of me, like my stoutness, or my light hair, or my poor eyesight. |
| I must work hard to make my singing above reproach; there must be no faults which hard work would take care of. |
| I was always daydreaming about singing in big productions on Broadway. |
| It is important that the audience should understand every syllable of every word, for only then can they grasp the meaning of the song. |
| I have been extremely lucky with reviewers and critics throughout my career. |
| I just can't read music. |
| I am harder on myself than anyone else could be. |
| I could see myself in a white nurse's uniform, working unnoticed for many years and at last dying, unknown, unmarried and unsung. |
| Every small town has its dramatic group, its barber-shop quartet, every home has music in one form or another. |
