Peggy Lee

American popular music and musical-theater vocalist and songwriter

• Born: May 26, 1920
• Birthplace: Jamestown, North Dakota
• Died: January 21, 2002
• Place of death: Bel Air, California

A jazz and pop artist, Lee developed a signature style of singing softly and intimately to capture listeners’ attention.

The Life

Peggy Lee was born Norma Deloris Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota, to Marvin and Selma Egstrom, who were of Scandinavian heritage. Her mother died when Lee was four, and her father married Min Schaumberg, with whom Lee had a bad relationship. Music proved her escape. Lee sang with local bands and on the KOVC and KRMC radio stations, and she was hired by WDAY in Fargo, where she was persuaded to change her name to Peggy Lee. In 1938 she left for Hollywood and Palm Springs. Frank Bering hired her to sing at the Buttery Room in the exclusive Ambassador West Hotel in Chicago. Here she frequented jazz clubs on Rush Street. Bandleader Benny Goodman discovered Lee at the Buttery Room, and he hired her as his lead singer. She recorded with the Benny Goodman Orchestra and toured with his band. She married guitarist David Barbour in March, 1943, and they divorced in 1951, after having a daughter, Nicki. Lee was called out of retirement by Capitol Records, contributing to the album New American Jazz (1943).

Lee became an award-winning singer, a songwriter, and a film actor, and she also was a painter, a sculptor, a poet, and a philanthropist. She was married again: to Brad Dexter from 1953 to 1954; to Dewey Martin from 1956 to 1957; and to Jack Del Rio in 1964.

The Music

Early Works. Lee began recording with the Benny Goodman Orchestra in 1941. She made her first radio broadcast singing “Daddy” on NBC. She appeared on Matinee at the Meadowbrook, a CBS radio show, singing “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire.” She recorded Duke Ellington’s “I Got It Bad (and That Ain’t Good)” and Cole Porter’s “Let’s Do It.” Her song “Somebody Else Is Taking My Place” was her first record to reach number one. The Goodman Orchestra appeared in the film The Powers Girls (1941), in which Lee sang “The Lady Who Didn’t Believe in Love.” With Goodman’s band, she sang at the Terrace Room of the Hotel New Yorker. Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington came to hear her, acknowledging that she had “soul.” In 1942 she played the Paramount Theatre with Goodman and Frank Sinatra.

“Why Don’t You Do Right?” Recorded with Columbia Records on July 27, 1942, “Why Don’t You Do Right?” made Lee a star. Blues singer Lil Green had made an earlier version, and Goodman made a special arrangement for Lee, creating a hit record. Goodman used Barbour as guitarist. This was Lee and Goodman’s greatest hit, premiering in January, 1943, and peaking at number four on the charts. Her first official Capitol album was Capitol Collectors Series, Vol. 1: The Early Years, recorded July 30, 1945, featuring “Waitin’ for the Train to Come In,” which reached the Top 10. This album showcased several songs written by Lee and Barbour, and it sold 750,000 copies. The Lee-Barbour team collaborated on “I Don’t Know Enough About You,” and Lee won Best Female Singer awards from Down Beat and Metronome in 1946. In May she appeared on Bing Crosby’s NBC radio show Kraft Music Hall as his lead vocalist, which continued until 1954. She made her first appearance singing on television in 1946, on NBC’s Hour Glass, a variety show.

“Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me).” A Lee-Barbour composition, “Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me),” sung by Lee, earned $750,000 in royalties in 1948, and it was filmed by Snader Telescriptions, a precursor to music videos. (Lee’s Latin inspirations continued with Latin à la Lee, Olé à la Lee, and Guitars à la Lee.) She sang numerous signature film songs, such as “Bali Ha’i” from South Pacific (1949). Her version of “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)” peaked at number two. In 1949 Billboard magazine voted Lee America’s Number One Female Singer of the Year, and she was Capitol Records’ Top Money-Making Female Vocalist.

“Lover.” Lee moved to Decca to record “Lover,” which she sang at Liederkranz Hall in New York on May 1, 1952. The song was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, and Lee worked out a new Latin arrangement, with bongos playing straight eights, congas playing six-eight, and the drummer playing a fast four. Lee won a film role in the remake of The Jazz Singer (1953), in which she sang “Lover” in her trademark white strapless gown. She collaborated with Victor Young in 1953, creating their greatest hit, “Johnny Guitar,” inspired by Lee’s love for Barbour. Black Coffee was the first Lee concept album offering a common mood. The recording speed was 33⅓ on a ten-inch disc holding eight songs instead of the former three-minute 78-rpm records. Black Coffee opened the door for popular singers to be heard on long-playing albums, formerly reserved for symphonic and operatic works.

Lady and the Tramp. With Sonny Burke, Lee coauthored the score and lyrics for Walt Disney’s Lady and the Tramp (1955), and she did the singing voices of four characters—Darling (the mother), Si and Am (Siamese cats), and Peg (torch-singing chanteuse). Her joyous renditions endeared her to children and adults alike. In 1991 she successfully sued the Disney organization for a share of royalties from the sale of videos of this film, setting an important industry precedent in protecting performing artists’ interests.

Pete Kelly’s Blues. Lee’s dramatic performance as an alcoholic singer in Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955) earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, an Audie Award, a Laurel Award, and the New York Film Critics Award. She returned to Capitol Records in 1957, recording The Man I Love with Frank Sinatra, who conducted the entire album of songs arranged by Nelson Riddle.

“Fever.” In 1958 Lee modified the arrangement of “Fever” written by John Davenport and Eddie Cooley, adding verses referring to Romeo and Juliet and Captain Smith and Pocahontas. Her smoldering rendition became a trademark song. She played at the nightclubs Ciro’s, Copacabana, and Basin Street East. Blues Cross Country, an album written with Quincy Jones, showcased “Kansas City.” The Lee-Benny Carter album Mink Jazz debuted in 1963, and her Big Spender album was released in 1966. “Is That All There Is?”—written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who had written “I’m a Woman” earlier—was prelude to Lee’s A Natural Woman album, embracing rock.

Later Works.Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota in 1972 was Lee’s last album with Capitol Records, and it became a classic. The song “Let’s Love” was written by Paul McCartney for Lee, and she recorded it with Atlantic Records in 1974. Peggy Lee—Live in London recorded her 1977 concert at the London Palladium at which she sang career signature songs for posterity. In 1983 she wrote the autobiographical Broadway musical Peg.

Musical Legacy

Lee is a legend for her stylistic singing in jazz, blues, pop, swing, and rock. She excelled as a composer of lyrics and musical scores, which influenced younger singers and actors, such as Madonna and McCartney. Lee received a Grammy Award for Best Female Vocalist for “Is That All There Is?” in 1969. Her efforts in obtaining royalties on video sales paved the way for other artists to benefit from their performances.

Principal Recordings

albums:Rendezvous with Peggy Lee, 1952; Black Coffee, 1953; Selections from Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, 1954 (with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye); Songs in an Intimate Style, 1954; Songs from Pete Kelly’s Blues, 1955; Songs from Walt Disney’s Lady and the Tramp, 1955; Dream Street, 1957; The Man I Love, 1957; Sea Shells, 1958; Beauty and the Beat!, 1959 (with George Shearing); I Like Men!, 1959; Jump for Joy, 1959; Miss Wonderful, 1959; Things Are Swingin’, 1959; All Aglow Again!, 1960; Christmas Carousel, 1960; Latin à la Lee!, 1960; Olé à la Lee!, 1960; Pretty Eyes, 1960; Blues Cross Country, 1961; If You Go, 1961; Sugar ’n’ Spice, 1962; I’m a Woman, 1963; In Love Again, 1963; Mink Jazz, 1963; In the Name of Love, 1964; Pass Me By, 1965; That Was Then, This Is Now!, 1965; Big Spender, 1966; Guitars à la Lee, 1966; Extra Special!, 1967; Somethin’ Groovy!, 1967; Is That All There Is?, 1969; A Natural Woman, 1969; Bridge Over Troubled Water, 1970; Make It with You, 1970; Where Did They Go, 1971; Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota, 1972; Let’s Love, 1974; Mirrors, 1975; Close Enough for Love, 1979; You Can Depend On Me, 1981; Peggy Lee Sings with Benny Goodman, 1984 (with Benny Goodman); Miss Peggy Lee Sings the Blues, 1988; Jazz Collector Edition: Peggy Lee with the Dave Barbour Band, 1991; Love Held Lightly: Rare Songs by Harold Arlen, 1993; Moments Like This, 1993; Peggy Lee Sings for You, 1995.

musical theater (singer, librettist, and lyricist): Peg, 1983 (music by Paul Horner).

singles (solo): “I Don’t Know Enough About You,” 1944; “It’s a Good Day,” 1946; “Golden Earrings,” 1948; “Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me),” 1948; “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend),” 1949; “Lover,” 1952; “Johnny Guitar,” 1954; “Let’s Love,” 1974.

singles (with Benny Goodman): “Elmer’s Tune,” 1941; “I Got It Bad (and That Ain’t Good),” 1941; Let’s Do It,” 1941; “Winter Weather,” 1941; “Somebody Else Is Taking My Place,” 1942; “Why Don’t You Do Right?,” 1942.

Bibliography

Lee, Peggy. Miss Peggy Lee: An Autobiography. New York: Donald I. Fine, 1989. Lee tells the compelling story of her own life and of those who assisted her career.

Richmond, Peter. Fever: The Life and Music of Miss Peggy Lee. New York: Henry Holt, 2006. This excellent biography relies on personal interviews with many songwriters and performers who worked with Lee.

Strom, Robert. Miss Peggy Lee. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2005. Chronologically arranged, this includes all important Lee works, reviews, and an appendix listing compact discs.