Peggy Lee Dead at 81

AP via ^ | 1/22/02 | Greg Risling

[GeneD]

The AP is posting a byline but no obit. More to come, I guess.

[GeneD]

Pardon me, I was in such a hurry I screwed up on the link. It's on www.wire.ap.org.

[jennyp]

The name is vaguely familiar. Who was she again?

[jennyp]

(AP) Peggy Lee, the singer-composer whose smoky, insinuating voice in such songs as "Is That All There Is?" and "Fever" made her a jazz and pop legend, has died. She was 81.

Miss Lee died from a heart attack at her Bel Air home on Monday night, said her daughter, Nicki Lee Foster. Lee repeatedly battled injury and ill health, including heart trouble, in order to maintain a career that brought her a Grammy, an Oscar nomination and sold-out houses worldwide.

During more than 50 years in show business, which began during a troubled childhood and endured through four broken marriages, she recorded hit songs with the Benny Goodman band, wrote songs for a Disney movie and starred on Broadway in an autobiographical show, "Peg."

Her vocal flexibility and cool, breathy voice brought sultry distinction to big band showstoppers, pop ballads and soulful laments. She was considered in the same league as Billie Holiday, Mildred Bailey, Ella Fitzgerald and Bessie Smith.

Her hits touched generations of listeners. Miss Lee's more notable recordings included "Why Don't You Do Right?," "I'm a Woman," "Lover," "Pass Me By," "Where or When," "The Way You Look Tonight," "Hallelujah I Just Love Him So," "I'm Gonna Go Fishin"' and "Big Spender." The hit "Is That All There Is?" won her a Grammy for best contemporary female vocal performance in 1969.

Jazz critic Leonard Feather once remarked, "If you don't feel a thrill when Peggy Lee sings, you're dead, Jack."

And critic John Seagraves wrote: "Peggy Lee can do more for a song by a mere rolling of her eyes or with a quick, crooked smile than most pop singers can with all the vocal diction training possible and years of dramatic tutelage."

Miss Lee's sultry voice kept her a favorite in radio, on records and later in television. She became an accomplished songsmith, co-writing "Manana'' and "It's a Good Day'' with Barbour.

She recalled in a 1988 interview that her husband "thought of me as a jazz singer. I never did. I didn't know what I was. I just liked to think of interpreting.''

She collaborated with Sonny Burke on the songs for Disney's "The Lady and the Tramp,'' and was the voice for the wayward canine who sang "He's a Tramp (But I Love Him).''

Her work on that 1955 film led to a landmark legal judgment 36 years later when a California court awarded her $2.3 million after she sued for a portion of the profits from the videocassette sale of the movie. The case hinged on a clause in her pre-video-era contract barring the sale of "transcriptions'' of the movie without her approval.

In 1956, she was cast her as a boozy blues singer in "Pete Kelly's Blues,'' and she was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar. She also appeared opposite Danny Thomas in an update of "The Jazz Singer,'' but her film career was short-lived.

"My agents decided they could make more money from me on the road,'' she said.

She sang to standing ovations from New York to Australia. With her creamy-blonde hair and languid manner, she seemed to exude sex. She protested that it came naturally: "Anything that's forced comes over fake.''

She recorded more than 600 songs and wrote many others, including themes for such movies as "Johnny Guitar'' and "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.'' Her return to recording in 1988 after a hiatus of more than a decade netted her a Grammy nomination for "Miss Peggy Lee Sings The Blues'' in 1989 and another for "The Peggy Lee Songbook: There'll Be Another Spring'' in 1991.

[StoneColdGOP]

She's dead?!

Sadness!

:-(

[GeneD]

Thank you, jennyp. I was going to do that myself. You saved me some trouble.

[jennyp]

whose smoky, insinuating voice in such songs as "Is That All There Is?" and "Fever"

Omigod, that Peggy Lee!

[jennyp]

<sigh> I'll be breaking out the ol' Wild, Cool & Swingin' CD tomorrow for track 4.

[ppaul]

Is that all there is?

[Las Vegas Dave]

She collaborated with Sonny Burke on the songs for Disney's "The Lady and the Tramp,'' and was the voice for the wayward canine who sang "He's a Tramp (But I Love Him).''

I remember the old DISNEY show on Sunday evening which featured Peggy Lee recording songs for Lady&the tramp (the cartoon movie not x42 & the Mrs.), including the song, "We are Siamese if you please...", the two cats who always got into trouble with Lady.

[knarf]

I remember, way back in the late '50's somewhere, an AM jock (I guess that was the only kind then) locked himself into the studio and played 'Fever' over and over and over again. You could hear the voices of men outside the studio room banging to get in and pleading with this guy to open the door.

I was about 9 or 10 yrs. old at the time and I remember the big boys (real teenagers!) laughingly commenting how this guy was nuts but O so cool.

I remember too, listening to the alleged break-in of the studio and the question "Why?" answered with ... "Because nobody would buy me coffee."

I say 'alleged' because, in later years, I've heard that this was a tactic radio stations would use to increase listenership.
Was that the case with Peggy Lee and Fever?

I don't know, but I became a listener to the radio at that time and because of that incident.

Two things happened back then ...
I started to think about what the 'fever' was all about and started my socio/political consciousness ... man takes over radio station.

Enter, the 60's

Thank you Peg.

[quimby]

One of the greats. Must have been a "fever" !

[StoneColdGOP]

[kcvl]

[StoneColdGOP]

Yup, back when I did my radio DJ thing, playing Peggy Lee music alongside Sinatra, et al. was a pleasure for me. What a great talent.

God bless you, Peggy!

[kcvl]

Dear Friends:

I am deeply saddened to inform you that my mother passed away last night (January 21, 2002) at approximately 8 p.m. My children David, Holly, and Michael and I were comforted by the fact that she was at home, and that I was able to be by her side.

My mother was always very appreciative of the love and loyalty she received from her wonderful fans, and so this is the first announcement to be made. A copy of our family's statement to the press is below.

Love, Nicki

Singing legend Miss Peggy Lee, 81, passed away at her Bel Air home on Monday, January 21, 2002. Her daughter, Nicki Lee Foster, was by her side. The cause of death has preliminarily been determined as a myocardial infarction, a result of the stroke she suffered three years ago.

In addition to her daughter, Miss Lee is survived by her grandchildren David Foster, Holly Foster-Wells, and Michael Foster; and her great-grandchildren Teagan Foster, Caleb Foster and Carter Wells.

[johnny7]

She was a so-called “Torch Singer.”

I liked “Fever”... it summed her up. Where did the nomer Peggy come from?

I know it's a nickname, but for the life of me I can't remember it's derivation.

I had an aunt who was burdened by this.

[leadpenny]

After reading those song titles I now have many of those tunes floating around in my head.

Thank you, Peggy Lee.

[bleudevil]

Peggy is usually a nickname for Margaret, but maybe not in this case.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

It's hard to find the words to say in times like this. I'll miss her and her dedication to hard work and her fans. Here's to a woman who cared about what the final product looked like. She had talent, always put 100% into her performances and it showed.