I hate straight singing. I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it. That's all I know..

I joined Count Basie's band to make a little money and to see the world. For two years I didn't see anything but the inside of a Blue Goose bus, and ….

You've got to have something to eat and a little love in your life before you can hold still for any damn body's sermon on how to behave..

New Orleans is the only city in the world you go in to buy a pair of nylon stockings they want to know your head size..

Them that's got shall get, Them that's not shall lose. So the Bible says, And it still is news. Mama may have, Papa may have, But God bless the child….

One day a whole damn song fell into place in my head..

In this country kings or dukes don't amount to nothing. The greatest man around then was Franklin D. Roosevelt, and he was the President; so I starte….

If I'm going to sing like someone else, then I don't need to sing at all..

If you think dope is for kicks and for thrills, you're out of your mind. There are more kicks to be had in a good case of paralytic polio or by livin….