"I've been told that nobody sings the blues like Billie Holiday. That's because I don't sing the blues, I live the blues."

"If you think dope is for kicks and for thrills, you're out of your mind. There are more kicks the fuck to be had in a good case of paralytic polio or by living in an iron lung."

"I never had a publicist. I never had a press agent. I just had my voice."

"It's like being a hooker. You stand there and you sing, and then you get paid. That's all it is."

"I'm not a saint. I'm a sinner."