MEMORIES:
CATCH PHRASE:
“You give me fever, when you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
Fever all through the night”
Peggy Lee was the chanteuse with a little voice and inexhaustible talent. Generations after her the height of her career, she is considered a staple and a standard in the genres she perfected. A product of the big-band era, she had a powerful enough voice to be heard over the noise of the brass and drums, but quiet enough so that in her prime she was known for her trademark soft, cool, almost ethereal sound.
Born Norma Deloris Egstrom in North Dakota, she was encouraged by some recognition she got from singing in choirs and glee clubs in school. As a young woman, Norma picked up a job singing on KOVC radio in Valley City, North Dakota. She eventually got her own series which was sponsored by a local restaurant that paid her in food. She took whatever jobs she could, whether it was waitressing or singing odd jobs for other stations. A radio director changed her name from Norma to Peggy Lee, and tired of living with her abusive stepmother, after graduation Peggy Lee left home in the hopes of a career in Hollywood. Making little headway in the movie capital, she came back home to North Dakota and eventually landed a gig at The Buttery, a Chicago nightclub, and home to Benny Goodman. She joined his band in 1941 and stayed there for two years. It was with them she had her first #1 hit, “Why Don’t You Do Right?” The song sold over a million copies and made her famous. She also scored a couple of other hits, such as “I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good)” and “Winter Weather.” Peggy Lee also went on to sing with Goodman in two 1943 films, Stage Door Canteen and The Powers Girl.
In the same year, she met and married Dave Barbour, and the two left the band. The plan was that Barbour would go back to work in the studios and Peggy Lee would stay home to raise their daughter, Nicki. However, she was soon lured back into songwriting and recording for Capitol Records, producing a long string of hits, including “Golden Earrings,” “I Don’t Know Enough About You” and “It’s a Good Day.” After going to #1 with her hit, “Mañana (Is Soon Enough For Me),” she officially came out of retirement. In 1948, she joined Perry Como and Jo Stafford as one of the hosts of the NBC musical radio program, Chesterfield Supper Club.
In the early 50s, she left Capitol Records for a brief period and signed with Decca Records, with whom she would record one of her most acclaimed and popular albums, Black Coffee. The recording found hits with “Lover” and “Mr. Wonderful.” She would eventually return to Capitol, recording her famous rendition of the Little Willie John hit, “Fever.”
Peggy Lee also got a lot of recognition as a songwriter, penning hits such as songs for the Disney film Lady and the Tramp. Even as times and tastes changed to rock and R&B, Peggy Lee remained a mainstay for Capitol Records. She would routinely produce recording after recording, mastering the blues, jazz, and other vocal standards. She also kept things going as an actress, playing opposite Danny Thomas in 1952 for the film The Jazz Singer. In 1955, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as a despondent alcoholic blues singer in the film Pete Kelly’s Blues. By the end of her career, she was nominated for twelve Grammy Awards, taking home Best Contemporary Vocal Performance for 1969’s “Is That All There Is?” In 1995, she was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Acheivement Award. With countless awards in various societies, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999 for her work. In 2002, Peggy Lee passed away at the age of 81. Though she may be gone, her music and her immense talent will always be with us.
