I was a kid from Oklahoma who never wanted to be a singer, but was told I could sing. And things snowballed.

Your voice dries up if you don't use it.

Happiness, you'll find, is the greatest magnet in the world.

Don't keep telling your parents they don't understand you. Believe me it's much worse when they do. There's just a chance, you know - they really might.

Charm is simply the art of being pleasing.

The best substitute for money is ingenuity.

When there's friction in the house, the only answer is good manners.

it follows that if you aren't happy with yourself, you won't be happy with others.

people have a way of laughing at our deams until we make them come true.

youth has everything - everything but experience and tolerance.

What I like about singing is that, for me, it's a substitute for the psychiatrist's couch.

A little creativity can make something ordinary, extraordinary, and something extraordinary that much more so.

Not every good thing in life will remain forever

The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you free.

There are a lot of things that you can like at a distance without spending a huge amount of time pondering. It's not so complicated.

I would rather be right and die than be wrong and kill.

Each and every being has an innate ability to heal as a gift from the gods.

Our distrust is very expensive.

When Christ possesses the will He keeps it fixed. The trouble comes when we take matters out of His hand and try to handle them ourselves.

Motivation means we have an idea and we are going to carry through on that idea. We work hard at it, and we are disciplined.

I stayed with them for about a year up there and, at night, worked over in Long Island at a club called The High Hat Club which was like a pseudo jazz / blues place.