“I get letters constantly from all over the world, telephone calls from...” — Renata Tebaldi Quote

“I get letters constantly from all over the world, telephone calls from America, Brazil, Australia, all over, especially on my birthday. A family? I have a huge international family. That's all I need.”

“My mother was my best friend and confidante.”

“I gave my last concert in 1976. For 32 years, I had given everything I had. I wanted to stop. My last big debut was in Russia in 1973. After I retired, I didn't have to worry about going out in bad weather. I could stay up late.”

“The only thing better than singing is more singing.”

“I thought it would be cool to Skype with fans on their birthday and spend, like, a half-hour with them. I did a couple of two-hour Skypes. I just hang out with them and play songs and stuff. At first they're kind of shy, but after a while they open up. I've had a lot of people tell me I'm doing something no one has ever done before.”

“Jesus' birthday is commercialized, so of course, Black History Month is commercialized.”