Miss Peggy Lee
Posted on 05/26/2007 4:43:16 PM PDT by Valin
Today is the anniversary of the birth of Peggy Lee. Lee had an improbably winding path to success from her hometown of Jamestown, North Dakota, to Fargo (where she took on her show business name), to Minneapolis and St. Louis, and to Chicago, where she was discovered by Benny Goodman at the moment he needed a replacement for Helen Forrest. In between St. Louis and Chicago were a couple of premature attempts on Hollywood. Once she caught on with Goodman in 1941, however, she never looked back.
She wrote several of her most successful songs, such as "It's a Good Day." She equally owned the songs she covered, including of course Little Willie John's "Fever" and the Leiber-Stoller composition "Is That All There Is?" They carry her personal stamp every bit as much as her own numbers. In the video above, Lee gives a sultry performance of "I Don't Know Enough About You," her first composing collaboration with husband Dave Barbour. (Don't miss Peggy raising her eyebrows at :55.) Barbour also provides the guitar accompaniment.
She was a musician's musician. Think of her terrific duets with Bing Crosby and Mel Torme. Recall that Paul McCartney proudly contributed the title track to Lee's 1974 "Let's Love." Listening to her music today, one is struck by how far she could go on her innate sense of swing and pure taste. For a heartfelt contemporary tribute to her, check out the beautiful "Fever" by the Twin Cities' own Connie Evingson.
When I first noted Lee's birthday a few years back, reader Bob Dodd wrote to capture a couple of points that had escaped my attention:
She was indeed a fantastic musician, which I wouldn't say of many people who were strictly singers. Did you know that she was given her stage name by Ken Kennedy of WDAY? I mention that only because you, as a fellow Fargo native of about my age, are probably one of a handful who might actually remember who Ken Kennedy was. By our era he had mostly moved from radio to TV.
One great thing about Peggy Lee was that she always seemed to maintain a fairly "down home" awareness that she was really Norma Egstrom of Jamestown, who played a character named "Miss Peggy Lee." Once, when she was going up in a hotel elevator to put on her make-up, stage clothes and jewelry for a show, a woman stared at her and finally asked, "Are you Peggy Lee?" She replied, straightforwardly, "No, not yet."
Tramp’s ex in Lady and the Tramp, right?
I remembered “We Ae Siamese If You Please” song, but didn’t know she wrote ‘Lady and the Tramp (1955) (writer: “He’s a Tramp”, “La La Lu”, “Siamese Cat Song”, “Bella Notte”, “Peace on Earth”) (performer: “He’s a Tramp”, “La La Lu”, “Siamese Cat Song”)”
Lovely tribute thread to her.
I've been playing that over and over, dang she was hot...still is
cool. I actually spent a summer in Jamestown. Guess that’s my brush with fame.
Miss Lee was in a class by herself. Seeing her in performance was the greatest experience.
“...and the Leiber-Stoller composition “Is That All There Is?”
She actually did an entire album with Leiber-Stoller called “Mirrors”. A beautiful, strange album with very dark lyrics. Definitely not mainstream Peggy Lee.
I bought it because I heard “Is That All There Is” in Martin Scorcese’s AFTER HOURS (the only film of his I really like).
Is that all there is?
beat me to it. LOL
Ms. Lee's voice exuded pure sex IMO.
You can still break out the booze...and have a ball...if that’s all...there is. :-)
I heard Ms. Lee at the Beverly Hill Supper club in Covington, Kentucky, in early 1977. It was a wonderful performance. One song she sang was either titled “Poor Butterly” or contained those words in the lyrics. It was a hauntingly beautiful song and I’ve tried to find a copy but to no avail.
The Supper Club burned to the ground in May, 1977, just a few weeks after Lee’s appearance. 165 persons died and hundreds were injured.
Peggy Lee, Brenda Lee and Patsy Cline.....In my opinion the three greatest female song artists of all time.
And to think that i grew up in the rock and roll era....
I never realized how seductive her lips were...
Not only did she do that little deal with her eyes,
she also did that smirk along with it...
oh man here come those dreams again
Another cool artist has a birthday today, too. Miles Davis.
“My Old Flame” :sigh:
*smiles* As I type this, my two sons (Robbie is 7, JJ is 10) are watching ‘Lady and the Tramp’, one of our all-time favorite Disney animated classics. The special features on this 2-disc DVD set include the making of the wonderful songs. Peggy Lee was a beautiful woman with an amazing voice.
“We are Siamese if you Pleeeeeease.”
I have heard that song, only sung by Sarah Vaughn on a CD I have.
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