Kate Smith

“I shall always respect the composer. If I embellish, it is his idea I am embellishing.”

“Ice cream was my undoing, and six chocolate milk shakes in a row were nothing to me at one time.”

“I am exceedingly lucky that my voice, along with perfect pitch and perfect rhythm, was given me at birth.”

“Most of the people who act and sing do so for their own pleasure and that of their friends and family.”

“I must work hard to make my singing above reproach; there must be no faults which hard work would take care of.”

“I have always examined closely the motives of any group for which I am asked to raise money.”

“My singing is part of me, like my stoutness, or my light hair, or my poor eyesight.”

“Many people submit to excessive appetites without realizing that they do not need to eat so much food.”

“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 see myself in a white nurse's uniform, working unnoticed for many years and at last dying, unknown, unmarried and unsung.”

“If rock-and-roll is well done, there's nothing so terribly wrong with that kind of music. But the lyrics are another story.”

“Middle-aged women have greater stability, they are more loyal, and their capacity for steady work is greater than that of younger women.”

“This nation loves singing and loves acting.”

“Every small town has its dramatic group, its barber-shop quartet, every home has music in one form or another.”

“It's up to the audience. It always has been.”

“I have been extremely lucky with reviewers and critics throughout my career.”

“I have personally believed in every product I have ever advertised.”

“Intelligent analysis of the composer's intention and strict adherence to it automatically ensures sincerity.”