Ella Fitzgerald Quotes & Sayings

Did I do all right? — Ella Fitzgerald

I think I do better when I sing. — Ella Fitzgerald

Once, when we were playing at the Apollo Theater, Holiday was working a block away at the Harlem Opera House. Some of us went over between shows to catch her, and afterwards we went backstage. I did something then, and I still don't know if it was the right thing to do - I asked her for her autograph. — Ella Fitzgerald

Whatever she does to my songs, she always makes them sound better. — Ella Fitzgerald

I used to be very self-conscious. I used to wish I was pretty. My cousin Georgia always taught me that if you smile, people will like you. Sometimes people will say something you don't like, and you get angry a bit, but you just smile. You let it go by, even if you really would like to choke 'em. By smiling, I think I've made more friends than if I was the other way. — Ella Fitzgerald

When we were at the Apollo, Holiday was a block away. I asked her for her autograph. — Ella Fitzgerald

[On bebop years] All I did was sing 'How High the Moon.' It seemed like the only song I ever sang. — Ella Fitzgerald

Music is the universal language ... it brings people closer together. — Ella Fitzgerald

Some kids in Italy call me 'Mama Jazz; I thought that was so cute. As long as they don't call me 'Grandma Jazz.' — Ella Fitzgerald

What everyone wants more than anything else is to be loved. — Ella Fitzgerald

I stole everything I ever heard, but mostly I stole from the horns. — Ella Fitzgerald

Listen to her voice, don't look at her. — Ella Fitzgerald

When I'm on stage I feel at home — Ella Fitzgerald

Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong. — Ella Fitzgerald

I guess what everyone wants more than anything else is to be loved. And to know that you loved me for my singing is too much for me. Forgive me if I don't have all the words. Maybe I can sing it and you'll understand. — Ella Fitzgerald

I'm very shy, and I shy away from people. But the moment I hit the stage, it's a different feeling I get nerve from somewhere; maybe it's because it's something I love to do. — Ella Fitzgerald

The fabulous places I've been, wonderful things that've happened, great people I've met ought to make a story. — Ella Fitzgerald

I know I'm no glamour girl, and it's not easy for me to get up in front of a crowd of people. It used to bother me a lot, but now I've got it figured out that God gave me this talent to use, so I just stand there and sing. — Ella Fitzgerald

A lot of singers think all they have to do is exercise their tonsils to get ahead. They refuse to look for new ideas and new outlets, so they fall by the wayside ... I'm going to try to find out the new ideas before the others do. — Ella Fitzgerald

It isn't where you came from; it's where you're going that counts. — Ella Fitzgerald

Sometimes when we're flying or in the hotel, I might run over songs, or in the bathroom. — Ella Fitzgerald

Coming through the years, and finding that I not only have just the fans of my day, but the young ones of today - that's what it means, it means it was worth all of it. — Ella Fitzgerald

I don't want to say the wrong thing, which I always do. I think I do better when I sing. — Ella Fitzgerald

The only thing better than singing is more singing. — Ella Fitzgerald

Nobody else even approaches the trumpet like [Sweets Edison] does: Never too much and always plenty. He's the greatest trumpet player to play along with singers. He exactly knows how to play with you, how to answer you about what you just sang ... On top of that, he has some great sense of humor, both as a musician and as a man. Every time I see him, I'm laughing so much. Sweets is impeccable and incomparable. — Ella Fitzgerald

She is amazingly creative, bringing so much more to a song than just a singer. She is a first-class musician and the most gracious person in the world. — Ella Fitzgerald

You take romance - I'll take Jell-O. — Ella Fitzgerald

Ella knows her way around her voice as very few people today. But there are times when she seems to be unaware there are things the human voice just doesn't do. She does them. — Ella Fitzgerald

She has been more famous, over a longer time span, than any other female singer. — Ella Fitzgerald

Everybody wants to know about my style and how it came about. It's no big secret. It's the way I feel. — Ella Fitzgerald