Kate Smith Quotes

#1. In nearly all ballads, the words set the mood and meaning, while the music intensifies or enhances them.

Kate Smith

#2. After several months of probation work, standing on my feet some ten to twelve hours a day, I decided that as a nurse I was a pretty good entertainer.

Kate Smith

#3. In 29 years, I had recorded over 2,200 songs. I was amazed.

Kate Smith

#4. I have personally believed in every product I have ever advertised.

Kate Smith

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

Kate Smith

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

Kate Smith

#7. It is important that the audience should understand every syllable of every word, for only then can they grasp the meaning of the song.

Kate Smith

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

Kate Smith

#9. It became obvious in 1957 that I was endangering my health by carrying so much weight.

Kate Smith

#10. An entertainer should in his public performance keep himself out of any controversy, political or otherwise.

Kate Smith

#11. Public and employer opinion often defeat society's best interests with a prejudice against middle-aged women.

Kate Smith

#12. And when all is said and done, there is no greater success in the world than just being happy.

Kate Smith

#13. I could see myself in a white nurse's uniform, working unnoticed for many years and at last dying, unknown, unmarried and unsung.

Kate Smith

#14. I could not separate myself off stage from myself on stage, as so many actors can.

Kate Smith

#15. I am continually embarrassed by people who point me out as an example of what can be done without training.

Kate Smith

#16. I was always daydreaming about singing in big productions on Broadway.

Kate Smith

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

Kate Smith

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

Kate Smith

#19. Because of my voice, speaking words which had been carefully chosen, women had used money they had set aside for other purposes to buy war bonds.

Kate Smith

#20. It's up to the audience. It always has been.

Kate Smith

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

Kate Smith

#22. There's no second chance on stage, and I was trained to make the most of my first chance.

Kate Smith

#23. I have been extremely lucky with reviewers and critics throughout my career.

Kate Smith

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

Kate Smith

#25. I love animals to the extent that my home is my dog's home! Which means that nothing is too good for my Freckles-chairs, couches, beds. But I do draw the line on chipmunks nibbling at my table linens, bedding, blankets, etc.

Kate Smith

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

Kate Smith

#27. Since I have been singing for so many years, I don't always need to approach a song quite so laboriously and meticulously.

Kate Smith

#28. I learn my songs by ear.

Kate Smith

#29. I have never known stage-fright at any time.

Kate Smith

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

Kate Smith

#31. As soon as I began to earn what might be called fairly large sums, I bought a car and began to explore the country around New York.

Kate Smith

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

Kate Smith

#33. I just can't read music.

Kate Smith

#34. I sometimes get that wonderful sympathy between me and the audience, telling me I've reached their hearts. And when I do, the thrill is mine.

Kate Smith

#35. This nation loves singing and loves acting.

Kate Smith

#36. 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.

Kate Smith

#37. I know I'm fat and I know my hair is straight, but I can sing.

Kate Smith

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

Kate Smith

#39. I am harder on myself than anyone else could be.

Kate Smith

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

Kate Smith

#41. During the presidential primaries of 1940, I received a request from the Democratic National Committee to sing God Bless America before the speeches.

Kate Smith