Ella Fitzgerald

I just want to sing.

I just want to be me.

I just want to be free.

I just want to be.

It isn't as important to me to sing any particular song, as it is to sing a song someone likes.

Just improve yourself. That will be enough.

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.

I owe Louis Armstrong my career.

I'm very shy, I can barely speak.

After you make a lot of records, if you don't change, you're not going to seem up to date.

I've been lucky enough to have had the experiences I did in New York, but I do agree that if you know your craft and are hearty, there is no reason why you can't keep going.

My mother used to say, 'Ella, when you make that next move, make sure you make it with your head, not with your heart.'

Jazz is not just music, it's a way of life.

The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.

I sing like I feel.

Life is a song - sing it.

You don't rehearse jazz; you just play it.

Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.

I learned a long time ago that applause is the sweetest sound in the world.

Music is the universal language of mankind.