What She Said

What She Said is a collection of inspiring quotes by inspiring women in music. Below you will find a collection of all previously published quotes.

DECEMBER 2012

12/3/12 – “Sometimes opportunities float right past your nose. Work hard, apply yourself, and be ready. When an opportunity comes you can grab it.” – Julie Andrews

12/10/12 – “Songwriting is a very mysterious process. It feels like creating something from nothing. It’s something I don’t feel like I really control.” – Tracy Chapman

12/17/12 – “There’s still not as many women in music as men, and I don’t really know why. I don’t have the answers. I do wish there were more women that played music.” – Mary Timony (Wild Flag guitarist)

12/24/12 – “I had a boyfriend who told me I’d never succeed, never be nominated for a GRAMMY, never have a hit song, and that he hoped I’d fail. I said to him, ‘Someday, when we’re not together, you won’t be able to order a cup of coffee at the (expletive) deli without hearing or seeing me.’” – Lady Gaga

12/31/12 – “People are always telling me that I’m not like other girls…that I don’t dress like other girls…that I dont act like other girls. But I’m my OWN person…I go to the beat of my own drum.” – Miley Cyrus

JANUARY 2013

1/7/13 – “Make me sound like I’m a big, fat, sweaty guitar-player guy. Don’t think about my gender. I’ve said from the beginning, whatever you do, don’t think, ‘This is Rosie, I have to make her guitar sound sweet.'” – Rosie Flores

1/14/13 – “It’s not about who can play the fastest. Everyone plays differently. If you love it, you can play an A chord like you mean it.” – Orianthi

1/21/13 – “I grew up in a world that told girls they couldn’t play rock ‘n’ roll. My parents taught me I could be anything in the world I wanted to be. That made me confused. I figured out it was a social thing, what women were allowed to do. At a very young age, I decided I was not going to follow women’s rules.” – Joan Jett

 

1/28/13 “You’re gonna have to learn to get out there in front of those cameras and hold your head up. Take charge when you’re singing.” – Patsy Cline 

FEBRUARY 2013

2/4/13 “If you know what you’re doing and you’re good at what you’re doing, then the guys and girls, whoever you’re working with, all recognize that and respect you.” – Chrissie Hynde* 

2/11/13 “If everyone thinks you’re nuts, chances are you’re on the right track.”Paris Hampton* 

2/18/13 “Female musicians aren’t taken seriously because a lot of us don’t take our music seriously.”Bibi McGill* 

2/25/13 “The truer you are to yourself, the more you connect”Johnette Napolitano*

*These are quotes from the book GRL Talk: 231 Memorable Quotes from ROCKRGRL Magazine.

MARCH 2013

3/4/13 “There’s something gutsy about being a woman in music and a woman in rock n’ roll”Lzzy Hale

3/11/13 “Play with anyone you can who’s better than you. Leave your ego on the side of the road. Be aggressive about it, be like, ‘show me how to do that.’ That’s how I learned a lot, by being a pushy New Yorker!” – Jessie Murphy

3/18/13 “My tactic has always been to have a firm handshake, stand my ground, and above all, maintain a sense of humor!” – Dale Krevensy, VP Tech 21

3/25/13 “Any woman with a love for music should never be afraid to pursue a profession in the field. Hard work, talent and drive are not limited to one gender.” – Cindalee Hall, President of Rickenbacker International

APRIL 2013

4/1/13 “That’s the beauty of art. It can help you recycle pain in a beautiful way and come out with something great on the other side.”Danielia Cotton

4/8/13 “If people watch my videos and think that I don’t know what I’m talking about because I’m a girl, I’m going to double down on my research and preparation to blow them out of the water next time. I like to win!” – Premier Guitar Web Content Editor, Rebecca Dirks

4/15/13 “I see people who work on their look, and they work on their poster, and their website and, you know, the music will speak for itself no matter what. So if you put maybe like 95% of your energy on music and 5% on playing out and telling people about it, that’s kind of a good equation. You can fix everything else. You can get a haircut, you can go shopping for the proper shoes, but you really can’t make your music better unless you work on it. You know what I’m saying? The other things are easy, that’s the hard stuff.” – Kaki King

4/22/13 “We just looked at the musicians we admired who were all men, and we saw what they were doing, and we just thought, ‘why can’t we do that too?'” Ann Wilson, Heart

4/29/13 “People will think you’re just a pretty face put up there. They think there is no connect between the fact that you have to be there dedicated to the band. They didn’t just pluck out a Barbie and put her onstage.” – Kobra Paige (Kobra and the Lotus)

MAY 2013

5/6/13 “Like anything, if you have an interest, go for it. Life should not be divided by gender. Although having said that, you’ll be a minority at guitar school or in a shop, so learn to talk shop and reserve some time for regular manicures; you’ll need it.” – Guitar Builder & Singer-Songwriter, Meredith Coloma

5/13/13 “For me, music is a vehicle to bring our pain to the surface, getting it back to that humble and tender spot where, with luck, it can lose its anger and become compassion again.” – Paula Cole

5/20/13 “Music for me is what I do. It’s not just creating and performing music. It’s teaching, inspiring others to find the music inside of them.”Julia Jordan via Making Music magazine

5/27/13 “I faced many obstacles as a woman and as a Latina, and frankly I continue to face them. I think the most important advice is to follow your heart. It is important to seek your passion and then set goals. Goals aren’t anything without a plan.”Santa Cecilia Orchestra Conductor, Sonia Marie De Leon de Vega

JUNE 2013

6/3/13 “Ultimately, I believe that those who succeed are the ones who will continually bring value to the market and drive a business result—regardless of gender.” – Dean Markley USA CEO, Lori McCallian

6/10/13 “Music is therapy for me. It takes you out of yourself—calming the ripples of your mind. I couldn’t imagine my life without it.” – Danielle Hirsch (Lucky Finn) via Making Music Magazine

6/17/13 “There will always be challenges regardless of your gender. The most important thing is to be comfortable in your own skin, whether you’re a man or a woman. People will learn to respect you because you respect yourself.” – Pauline France, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation Publicist

6/24/13 “Do I believe in feminism? Of course I do, I’m a [expletive] feminist. Do I believe that there are a lot of us out there? No. I really don’t.” – Courtney Love via Bust Magazine

 JULY 2013

7/1/13 “Shine a light on others as much as you possibly can. Ask how can I help instead of how can others help me, and watch the magic that will unfold.” – Ariel Hyatt, Female Entrepreneur in the Music Business since 1996, Founder Cyber PR, Author and Cheerleader for Musician

7/8/13 “Remember that the world does not revolve around you. Be patient, be forgiving and be nice to everyone. Say thank you. Be prepared to hear ‘no’ more than you hear ‘yes,’ and don’t lose sleep over it. When every door is closed you can always just make your own damn building.” – Cellist and composer Zoe Keating as seen in Cyber PR’s “51 Quotes by Female Entrepreneurs”

7/15/13 “To this day I get excited any time I hear one of my tunes in a supermarket, on TV, the radio, the internet; it’s all validating. When you have a worldwide hit, you feel like you’re stretching your arms around the world and reaching hearts and minds that really aren’t a whole lot different from yours.” – Singer-Songwriter, Musician, and 2013 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Holly Knight

7/22/13 “My life is a testament to believing that if you want something you can make it happen.”Stevie Nicks

7/29/13 “It’s hard being such a powerful woman in the business. I’m known for not always being warm and fuzzy, because you’ll just get bulldozed over.” – Christina Aguilera

AUGUST 2013

8/5/13 “Heartbreak can definitely give you a deeper sensibility for writing songs. I drew on a lot of heartbreak when I was writing my first album; I didn’t mean to but I just did.” – Adele

8/12/13 “In this life, to earn your place you have to fight for it.” – Shakira

8/19/13 “Don’t think that sticking your boobs out and trying to look f*ckable will help. Remember you’re in a rock and roll band. It’s not ‘F*ck me,’ it’s ‘F*ck you!” – Chrissie Hynde

8/26/13 “It’s all about confidence and knowing that you’re here for a reason.” – Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes)

SEPTEMBER 2013

9/2/13 “Some of the most difficult deals you will work on will become some of the proudest moments of your career.” – Marcie Allen, President of MAC Presents, as seen in Cyber PR’s “51 Quotes by Female Entrepreneurs”

9/9/13 “It’s not really the gender; it’s the attitude.”Roni Lee, Lead Guitarist, Vocalist, Founder of Play Like a Girl Records

9/16/13 “I’d like to encourage more women to become composers and producers. I used to think you had to be a total tech geek to be good at it, which was intimidating to me for a long time – but that’s not true. You just have to love music.”Wendie Colter, Songwriter/Composer

9/23/13 “My guitar is not a thing. It is an extension of myself. It is who I am.” – Joan Jett

9/30/13 “If you’re in the public eye and you have young girls who look up to what you do, they’re going to look to you for certain cues, so you have to take that as a responsibility, whether you think you deserve it or not.” –Zooey Deschanel

OCTOBER 2013

10/7/13 “Think before speaking, and speak with conviction.” – Sara Jayne Crow, Director of Stray Poodle Media, as seen in Cyber PR’s “51 Quotes by Female Entrepreneurs”

10/14/13 “Men are allowed to have passion and commitment for their work… a woman is allowed that feeling for a man, but not her work.” – Barbra Streisand

10/21/13 “If you can speak ill of others, you must learn to listen, too.” – Christina Aguilera

10/28/13 “The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing – and then marry him.” – Cher

NOVEMBER 2013

11/4/13 “I am the youngest of 14 children, so I rarely got a chance to speak. If I have an opportunity for talking, I talk.” – Celine Dion

11/11/13 “I didn’t have anybody, really, no foundation in life, so I had to make my own way, always, from the start, I had to go out in the world and become strong, to discover my mission in life.” – Tina Turner

11/18/13 “An artist is somebody who enters into competition with God.” – Patti Smith

11/25/13 “Concentrate on bringing your gift to the world rather than becoming a star, because STAR spells RATS backwards!”Musician, author, and women In jazz South Florida founder, Joan Cartwright

DECEMBER 2013

12/2/13 “When I’m feeling a little low, I put on my favorite high heels to stand a little taller.”Dolly Parton

12/9/13 “I’m always amazed at how records can make you feel like somebody else understands you.” – Orianthi

12/16/13 “I didn’t have anybody, really, no foundation in life, so I had to make my own way. Always, from the start, I had to go out in the world and become strong, to discover my mission in life.” – Tina Turner

12/23/13 “Women should not have to apologize for putting strong music out there – and by apologize, I mean be encouraged by anyone to sell an image that’s not them.” – Singer-Songwriter Naomi Less

12/30/13 “I’ve never wanted to look like models on the cover of magazines. I represent the majority of women and I’m very proud of that.” – Adele

JANUARY 2014

1/6/14 “I like to find songwriters who not only write songs, but actually have something to say. I like musicians who not only know how to play their instruments, but are in love with the art of creating music. And I like performers who are keenly aware that this is not just the music business, it’s the entertainment industry.”Sings Like Hell Concert Series Music Producer Peggie Jones

1/13/14 “Your self-worth is determined by you. You don’t have to depend on someone telling you who you are.” – Beyoncé

1/20/14 “I have always had a certain song in my head, a certain chemistry of sounds.”Björk

1/27/14 “The most important thing to me as a songwriter is the breath. The most important thing I could ever say to somebody is, ‘Sometimes I just breathe you in.'” – Tori Amos

FEBRUARY 2014

2/3/14 “Most of my songs are about relationships, and relationships cover so many different intensities of emotions. To me, that’s what songwriting is about: human relationships and telling stories.” – Kate Bush

2/10/14 “It’s about being alive and feisty and not sitting down and shutting up, even when people would like you to.” – P!nk

2/17/14 “Being fearless isn’t being 100% not fearful, it’s being terrified but you jump anyway.”Taylor Swift

2/24/14 “Don’t ask permission.” – Joan Jett

MARCH 2014

3/3/14 “I was just a soloist singing other people’s songs. Now I really want to be an artist… I have my own visions I want to bring to life.” – Jennifer Hudson

3/10/14 “I like being a woman, even in a man’s world, after all, men can’t wear dresses but we can wear the pants .” – Whitney Houston

3/17/14 “Girls have got balls. They are just a little higher up, that’s all .” – Joan Jett

3/24/14 “Most of my songs are about relationships, and relationships cover so many different intensities of emotions. To me, that’s what songwriting is about: human relationships and telling stories.” – Kate Bush

3/31/14 “I can’t talk about my singing: I’m inside it. How can you describe something you’re inside of?” – Janis Joplin

APRIL 2014

4/7/14 “Songs need to have a secret, cryptic, thematic thing about them, otherwise they are just messy and all over the place.”Courtney Love

4/14/14 “Success happened little by little. It took me a long time to get here.” – Shakira, February 2014 issue of Glamour magazine

4/21/14 “Somebody once said we never know what is enough until we know what’s more than enough.” – Billie Holiday

4/28/14 “My sisters have great fashion sense – better than I do. Believe me, there are pictures of me from the past that I hope never come out.” – Alana Haim, April 2014 issue of Marie Claire magazine

MAY 2014

5/5/14 “Tina Weymouth in Stop Making Sense dressed cool, had a lot of attitude, and was kind of a babe. So I thought, playing bass is OK!.” – Este Haim, April 2014 issue of Marie Claire magazine

5/12/14 “I’m so cool that the kids come to my bedroom and go ‘Mom! Turn the music down!” – Melissa Etheridge

5/19/14 “I’ve never written songs for the radio. I’ve never written for anybody but myself.”Sarah McLachlan via Music Radar

5/26/14 “I will always make music. When I said it could be my last, that’s because tomorrow’s not promised to anyone.”Mariah Carey via Billboard magazine

JUNE 2014

6/2/14 “Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.” – Maya Angelou

6/9/14 “A girl should be THREE things: classy, fabulous & a beast on her instrument.”Nik West

6/16/14 “How you gonna win when you ain’t right within.” – Lauryn Hill

6/23/14 “I’ve always said it’s a good thing I was born a woman or I would have been a drag queen. I think they definitely relate to my flamboyance.” – Dolly Parton in Billboard magazine

6/30/14 “Creativity is in my DNA.” – Janelle Monáe in Marie Claire Magazine

JULY 2014

7/7/14 “I eat chicken backstage during costume changes. Once I came out with chicken in my teeth. Listen, I cook better than I sing.”Patti LaBelle saying she carries “my own kitchen” while on tour – via Billboard magazine

7/14/14 “I love being a performing artist.” – Erykah Badu in People magazine

7/21/14 “You don’t have to have an expiration date.” –Jennifer Lopez in Billboard magazine

7/28/14 “I want to make my music and be a happy woman, a good wife, a good mom and one day hopefully have a child of my own.” – LeAnn Rimes

AUGUST 2014

8/4/14 “It’s better to have three broken engagements than three divorces.” – Sheryl Crow in Billboard magazine

8/11/14 “You’ve got to work like it’s your first day on the job every day. That’s what I do. I work hard, laugh later.” – Nicki Minaj in Marie Claire magazine

8/18/14 “I’m not anti-men, I love men. But there’s an option if someone doesn’t present himself.”Katy Perry in People magazine on having a baby with or without a man

8/25/14 “Tape the sound of your baby son crying. Let him listen to the tape when he is going through pain as a grown man.” – Yoko Ono in Billboard magazine

SEPTEMBER 2014

9/1/14 “If I read hate about me, I don’t care. They’re entitled to their opinion. I’m doing what I love.” –Ariana Grande in People magazine

9/8/14 “He said, ‘I know who you are. You’re a megastar. You think I’m stupid? I was like, ‘No Mr. President, I’m so sorry, you’re not stupid!.”Demi Lovato quoted in Billboard magazine sharing her conversation with President Barack Obama after reminding the president that they had met once already

9/15/14 “The best part of breaking up is going on first dates … OMG, I need a hot guy. Where are the hot guys here tonight?” – Britney Spears quoted in Billboard magazine talking about her recent split from boyfriend David Lucado during her Aug. 31 show in Las Vegas’ Planet Hollywood

9/22/14 “EDM is an easy way to categorize a bunch of people who like similar things but doesn’t consider the subgenres of the music.” – Mtheory Management Tour Producer Paddy Scace quoted in Billboard magazine in an article on Electronic Dance Music

9/29/14 “Passion, knowledge, experience and drive trump any and all gender assumptions.” – Mixtape Media Owner Maggie Poulos

OCTOBER 2014

10/6/14 “I have a wonderful mother, so if I can be even a little bit like that, I think we’ll be good.” – Carrie Underwood on motherhood, as quoted in People magazine

10/13/14 “The main problem in the public perception of women in jazz is not a resistance to their potential future roles, but a failure to recognize the profound impact those musicians have already had on the game.” – Janis Stockhouse, co-author of Women Jazz Musicians: Conversations with Twenty One Musicians

10/20/14 “I don’t understand why I’m supposed to write a song about living in the outback and riding a kangaroo to be authentic.” –Australian native Iggy Azalea quoted in Billboard magazine, responding to people who question her hip-hop credentials

10/27/14 “No just means try harder.”Classical guitarist Sharon Isbin

NOVEMBER 2014

11/3/14 “Flight attendant looked at me and didn’t believe I was in first class.” – Meghan Trainor quoted in Billboard magazine

11/10/14 “If you want to call me a diva, I’ll say ‘cool’… But if you want to call me a bitch, that’s not accurate.” –Ariana Grande reacting to media portrayals of her in an interview with The Telegraph

11/17/14 As a preteen, I got weird and gothy and just never grew out of it.” –Dum Dum Girls’ Dee Dee quoted in SPIN Magazine

11/24/14 “If they tell you you can’t do it, you just turn it up and play like a girl…”Fanny Co-Founder and Guitarist June Millington

DECEMBER 2014

12/1/14 “Sometimes as women in the industry – if you’re sexy or like doing sexy things – some people subconsciously negate your brain. They think you’re stupid.”Nicki Minaj quoted in Billboard magazine

12/8/14 “Stand naked in front of the mirror and say, ‘I’m f*cking sexy.’ That’s where it starts.” –Rita Ora on loving her body, quoted in Cosmopolitan magazine

12/15/14 “You can’t have only good things happen to you all the time. It has to be balanced.” –Lorde quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

12/22/14 “We all have a voice – we just need to know how to make it heard.”Alicia Keys, Social Good Summit

12/29/14 “I try to be collaborative and try to empower people. I like to surround myself with smart collaborators.” –Avedis Zildjian CEO Craigie Zildjian quoted in Music Inc Magazine

JANUARY 2015

1/5/15 “It’s not just about playing rock & roll. It’s about doing whatever you want to do in life.” –Joan Jett

1/12/15 “To be an artist – actually, to be a human being in these times – it’s all difficult… What matters is to know what you want and pursue it.” –Patti Smith

1/19/15 “I have an office everywhere, but I usually work on the couch. I have all these offices – just like I have all these swimming pools, and I never swim.”Dolly Parton quoted in Billboard Magazine

1/26/15 “It’s important to find good mentors and people you can rely on for advice. While you should always trust your intuition, it’s vital to have a trusted network you can bounce ideas off of also. And don’t forget to pass it on. Be open to taking others under your wing.”Owner of Undercover Tracks Isabel Pappani as seen in Cyber PR’s “51 Quotes by Female Entrepreneurs”

FEBRUARY 2015

2/2/15  “My way has always been, kill them with kindness, and then when the show begins, I’m going to rattle your liver with my snare drum. Ha!-Drummer and Founder of Zepparella, Clementine

2/9/15 “There is nothing more inspirational than helping a student learn an instrument.” – NAMM Director of Public Affairs and E.D. of the NAMM Foundation, Mary Luehrsen quoted in MMR Magazine

2/16/15 “Support music every day. Because there isn’t a day music won’t be there to support you.” Paramore singer, Hayley Williams

2/23/15 “I realized that I don’t want to die. I started praying and crying, and my life shifted.” – Mary J. Blige quoted in Billboard magazine

MARCH 2015

3/2/15 “Other people will call me a rebel, but I just feel like I’m living my life and doing what I want to do. Sometimes people call that rebellion, especially when you’re a woman.” – Joan Jett

3/9/15 “I think that bass is the soul of music and as a female bassist I can be the heart and soul of any genre of music.” – Iranian bassist Golbarg Parvizi

3/16/15 “If you act like there is no difference between you and your male counterparts, there most likely won’t be.Jenny Conlee, The Decemberists

3/23/15 “The music industry tends to be an old-school guys’ club, but don’t be intimated by that. Find something you love to do and immerse yourself in it. Act professionally if you want to be treated professionally. Bright ideas and hard work trump all biases.” – Lori Hagopian, Hal Leonard Publicity Manager

 3/30/15 “Being honest is my job. That’s what music is for me.” – Erykah Badu

APRIL 2015

4/6/15 “Even when I was broke and didn’t know what I was going to eat, or how I was going to put gas in my car, or if I was down to my last five dollars, my parents always said I had a great thing and to not give up.” – Bibi McGill quoted in GRL Talk: 231 Memorable Quotes from ROCKRGRL Magazine.

4/13/15 “I’m even inspired by fruits and vegetables in the store.” – Beth Orton quoted in GRL Talk: 231 Memorable Quotes from ROCKRGRL Magazine.

4/20/15 “When it’s two in the morning and I’m hit with a song or story in my sleep, I shake myself into semi-alertness so I can write down the colors of the words in the dream.” Caroline Aiken quoted in GRL Talk: 231 Memorable Quotes from ROCKRGRL Magazine.

4/27/15 “My professional attitude, getting along very well with the men, being on time and being dependable got me the studio sessions.” – Carol Kaye quoted in GRL Talk: 231 Memorable Quotes from ROCKRGRL Magazine.

MAY 2015

5/4/15 “What is as brutal as a period? NOTHING.” – Hayley Williams via Twitter as seen in Billboard magazine

5/11/15 “I like to play blackjack. I played for 12 hours straight yesterday. I changed clothes in the bathroom. I’m awful.” – Iggy Azalea via Extra as seen in Billboard magazine

5/18/15 “A man writing about his feelings is brave; a woman writing about her feelings is whining.” – Taylor Swift in an interview with Maxim as seen in Billboard magazine

5/25/15  “I know you have to find the best person for the job, but I really like it when the best person is a female person.” – Jan Tilley quoted in GRL Talk: 231 Memorable Quotes from ROCKRGRL Magazine.

 JUNE 2015

6/1/15 “Hey, men – do me and yourselves a favor and don’t underestimate my skill.” – Lorde via Twitter

6/8/15 “My piano is one of my best friends.” – Sara Bareilles via Music & Musicians magazine

6/15/15 “I am literally open to every single thing that is consenting and doesn’t involve an animal and everyone is of age.” – Miley Cyrus explaining her sexuality to Paper magazine

6/22/15 “I am tired of living in a world where women are referred to as a man’s past, present or future property/possession.” – Ariana Grande via Instagram