"I must work hard to make my singing above reproach; there must be no faults which hard work would take care of"
About this Quote
Kate Smith’s line has the plain-spoken steel of a performer who knows the audience isn’t obligated to be generous. “Above reproach” isn’t an artistic aspiration so much as a survival strategy: in an industry that polices women’s voices and bodies with special zeal, competence has to be airtight before anyone will even consider calling it talent. She’s not romanticizing the muse. She’s building a fortress out of discipline.
The phrasing draws a sharp boundary between what’s fixable and what isn’t. “Faults which hard work would take care of” implies a moral dimension to craft: if a flaw can be corrected, leaving it in is almost an ethical lapse. That’s a quietly radical position for a pop figure in the early-to-mid 20th century, when charisma could be marketed as destiny and mistakes could be framed as charm. Smith refuses that bargain. She insists on respectability not as a personality trait, but as a technical standard you can grind your way toward.
The subtext also hints at class and credibility. Smith’s career was built on radio and mass reach, a space often sneered at by cultural gatekeepers. “Above reproach” reads like a preemptive rebuttal to critics who’d dismiss popular music as sloppy or unserious. Hard work becomes her credential, the argument you can’t heckle.
It’s an ethic that still lands today, in a culture addicted to “authenticity” but quick to punish imperfection. Smith isn’t chasing perfectionism for its own sake; she’s demanding that the parts under her control never give anyone an excuse to doubt her.
The phrasing draws a sharp boundary between what’s fixable and what isn’t. “Faults which hard work would take care of” implies a moral dimension to craft: if a flaw can be corrected, leaving it in is almost an ethical lapse. That’s a quietly radical position for a pop figure in the early-to-mid 20th century, when charisma could be marketed as destiny and mistakes could be framed as charm. Smith refuses that bargain. She insists on respectability not as a personality trait, but as a technical standard you can grind your way toward.
The subtext also hints at class and credibility. Smith’s career was built on radio and mass reach, a space often sneered at by cultural gatekeepers. “Above reproach” reads like a preemptive rebuttal to critics who’d dismiss popular music as sloppy or unserious. Hard work becomes her credential, the argument you can’t heckle.
It’s an ethic that still lands today, in a culture addicted to “authenticity” but quick to punish imperfection. Smith isn’t chasing perfectionism for its own sake; she’s demanding that the parts under her control never give anyone an excuse to doubt her.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work Ethic |
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