Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

's big band, Lee created a sophisticated persona, writing music for films, acting, and recording conceptual record albums combining poetry and music. Called the "Queen of American pop music," Lee recorded over 1,100 masters and composed over 270 songs.

Early life

Lee was born Norma Deloris Egstrom in

Jamestown, North Dakota Jamestown is a city in Stutsman County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Stutsman County. The population was 15,849 at the 2020 census, making it the ninth largest city in North Dakota. Jamestown was founded in 1883 and is ...

, United States, on May 26, 1920, the seventh of the eight children of Selma Emele (née Anderson) Egstrom and Marvin Olaf Egstrom, a station agent for the Midland Continental Railroad. Her family were

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

. Her father was Swedish-American and her mother was Norwegian-American. After her mother died when Lee was four, her father married Minnie Schaumberg Wiese. Lee and her family lived in several towns along the Midland Continental Railroad (Jamestown, Nortonville and Wimbledon). She graduated from Wimbledon High School in 1937. The Wimbledon depot building, where she and her family lived and worked, became the Midland Continental Depot Transportation Museum, featuring The Peggy Lee Exhibit, in 2012. The upper floor of the museum, where the Egstrom family once lived, features exhibits that trace Lee's career and her regional and state connection. Lee began singing from a young age. In Wimbledon, Lee was the female singer for a six-piece college dance band with leader Lyle "Doc" Haines. She traveled to various locations with Haines' quintet on Fridays after school and on weekends. Lee first sang professionally over

KOVC KOVC (1490 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station based in Valley City, North Dakota, United States. It is a full service (radio format), full service station, with frequent weather, news and sports updates. KOVC plays mostly country music and c ...

radio in

Valley City, North Dakota Valley City is a city in Barnes County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Barnes County. The population was 6,575 during the 2020 census, making it the 12th largest city in North Dakota. Valley City was founded in 1874. Val ...

, in 1936. She later had her own 15-minute Saturday radio show sponsored by a local restaurant that paid her salary in food. Both during and after her high-school years, Lee sang for small sums on local radio stations. In October 1937, radio personality Ken Kennedy, of WDAY in Fargo, (the most widely heard station in North Dakota), auditioned Egstrom and put her on the air that day, but not before he changed her name to Peggy Lee. Lee left home and traveled to Hollywood, California, at the age of 17 in March 1938. Her first job was seasonal work on

Balboa Island, Newport Beach Balboa Island is a harborside community in Newport Beach, California, accessible to the public via bridge, ferry and several public docks. The community is surrounded by a paved concrete boardwalk open to pedestrian traffic, designated as a ...

as a short order cook and waitress at Harry's Cafe. When the job ended after Easter, she was hired to work as a carnival barker at the Balboa Fun Zone. She wrote about this experience in the song, "The Nickel Ride", which she composed with

Dave Grusin Robert David "Dave" Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television, and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record w ...

for the 1974 film of the same name. Later in 1938, Lee returned to Hollywood to audition for the MC at The Jade. Her employment was cut short when she fainted onstage due to overwork and an inadequate diet. After she was taken to the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center she was told she needed a

tonsillectomy Tonsillectomy is a list of surgical procedures, surgical procedure in which both palatine tonsils are fully removed from the back of the throat. The procedure is mainly performed for recurrent tonsillitis, throat infections and obstructive sleep ...

. Lee returned to North Dakota for the operation. The following year, remaining in North Dakota, she was hired to perform regularly at The Powers Hotel in Fargo, and toured with both the Sev Olson and the Will Osborne Orchestras. When Lee returned to California in 1940, she took a job singing at The Doll House in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

. Here, she developed her trademark sultry purr, having decided to compete with the noisy crowd with subtlety rather than volume. While performing at The Doll House, Lee met Frank Bering, the owner of the Ambassador East and West in Chicago. He offered her a gig at the Buttery Room, a nightclub in the Ambassador Hotel West. There, she was noticed by bandleader Benny Goodman. According to Lee: She joined his band in August 1941 and made her first recording, singing "Elmer's Tune". Lee stayed with the Benny Goodman Orchestra for two years.

Recording career

In 1942, Lee had her first number-one hit, "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place", followed in 1943 by "

Why Don't You Do Right? "Why Don't You Do Right?" (originally recorded as "Weed Smoker's Dream" in 1936) is an American blues and jazz-influenced pop song usually credited to Kansas Joe McCoy. A minor key twelve-bar blues with a few chord substitutions, it is considered ...

", which sold more than one million copies and made her famous. She sang with Goodman's orchestra in two 1943 films, ''

Stage Door Canteen The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers we ...

'' and ''

The Powers Girl ''The Powers Girl'', sometimes retitled ''Hello, Beautiful'', is a 1943 musical comedy film about women employed by John Robert Powers' modeling agency. Starring George Murphy, Anne Shirley, and Carole Landis, the film was directed by Norman Z. ...

''. In March 1943, Lee married

Dave Barbour David Michael Barbour (May 28, 1912 – December 11, 1965) was an American jazz guitarist. He was married to singer Peggy Lee and was her co-writer, accompanist, and bandleader. Biography Barbour was born in Long Island, New York, United States ...

, a guitarist in Goodman's band. Lee said: She drifted back to songwriting and occasional recording sessions for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

in 1944, for whom she recorded a long string of hits, many of them with lyrics and music by Lee and Barbour, including "I Don't Know Enough About You" and "It's a Good Day". Her recording of "Golden Earrings", the title song of a 1947

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, was a hit throughout 1947–1948. "Mañana", written by Lee and Barbour, was her eleventh solo hit recording, and remained on the charts for twenty-one weeks, nine of which were in the number one position. The song sold over a million copies, and earned the Top Disc Jockey Record of the Year award from ''Billboard'' magazine. From 1946 to 1949, Lee also recorded for Capitol's library of

electrical transcription Electrical transcriptions are special phonograph recordings made exclusively for radio broadcasting,Browne, Ray B. and Browne, Pat, Eds. (2001). ''The Guide to United States Popular Culture''. The University of Wisconsin Press. . P. 263. which wer ...

s for radio stations. An advertisement for Capitol Transcriptions in a trade magazine noted that the transcriptions included "special voice introductions by Peggy". In 1948, Lee joined vocalists

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

and

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

as a host of the

NBC Radio The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...

musical program ''

The Chesterfield Supper Club ''The Chesterfield Supper Club'' is an NBC Radio musical variety program (1944–1950), which was also telecast by NBC Television (1948–1950). Radio ''The Chesterfield Supper Club'' began on December 11, 1944, as a 15-minute radio program, ...

''. She was a regular on ''

The Jimmy Durante Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' and appeared frequently on

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

's radio shows during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Her relationship with Capitol spanned almost three decades aside from a brief detour (1952–1956) at Decca. For that label, she recorded '' Black Coffee'' and had hit singles such as " Lover" and "Mister Wonderful". In 1958, she recorded her own version of "

Fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

" by Little Willie John, written by Eddie Cooley and John Davenport,. Lee created a new arrangement for the song, and added lyrics ("Romeo loved Juliet", "Captain Smith and Pocahontas"), which she neglected to copyright. Her new version of "Fever" was a hit, and was nominated in three categories at the First Annual Grammy Awards in 1959, including

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

and Song of the Year. While Lee was in London for a 1970 engagement at

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, she invited Paul and

Linda McCartney Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...

to dinner at

The Dorchester The Dorchester is a five-star luxury hotel on Park Lane and Deanery Street in London, to the east of Hyde Park. It is one of the world's most prestigious and expensive hotels. The Dorchester opened on 18 April 1931, and it still retains its ...

. At the dinner, the couple gifted Lee with a song they had written entitled, "Let's Love". In July 1974, with Paul McCartney producing, Lee recorded the song at the

Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

in Los Angeles, and it became the title track for her 40th album, her only one on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

Acting career

Lee starred opposite

Danny Thomas Danny Thomas (born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an American actor, singer, nightclub comedian, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in one of the most successful and long-running sitc ...

in ''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolated ...

'' (1952), a remake of the Al Jolson film, ''

'' (1927). She played an alcoholic blues singer in '' Pete Kelly's Blues'' (1955), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Lee provided speaking and singing voices for several characters in the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

movie ''

Lady and the Tramp ''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American animated musical romance film produced by Walt Disney and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. The 15th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and ...

'' (1955), playing the human Darling, the dog Peg, and the two Siamese cats, Si and Am. She also co-wrote, with Sonny Burke, all of the original songs for the film, including "He's A Tramp", "Bella Notte", "La La Lu", "The Siamese Cat Song", and "Peace on Earth". In 1987, when ''Lady and the Tramp'' was released on VHS, Lee sought performance and song royalties on the video sales. When the Disney company refused to pay, she filed a lawsuit in 1988. After a prolonged legal battle, in 1992, Lee was awarded $2.3 million for breach of contract, plus $500,000 for unjust enrichment, $600,000 for illegal use of Lee's voice and $400,000 for the use of her name. Peggy Lee also wrote the lyrics for "

Johnny Guitar ''Johnny Guitar'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, Ernest Borgnine and Scott Brady. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures. The screen ...

" (with music composer Victor Young), the title track of the 1954 film, ''

'', which she sings partially at the end of the movie. During her career, Lee appeared in hundreds of variety shows, and several TV movies and specials.

Personal life

Lee was married four times: to guitarist and composer Dave Barbour (1943–1951), actor Brad Dexter (1953), actor Dewey Martin (1956–1958), and percussionist Jack Del Rio (1964). All the marriages ended in divorce. She gave birth to her only child at age 23, daughter Nicki Lee Foster, on November 11, 1943. Nicki's father was Peggy's first husband, Dave Barbour. Lee learned Transcendental Meditation and said she was taught "by the Maharishi personally and that was a great honor."

Death

Lee continued to perform into the 1990s, sometimes using a wheelchair. After years of poor health, she died of complications from diabetes and a heart attack on January 21, 2002, at the age of 81. She was cremated and her ashes were buried with a bench-style monument in

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue. The cemetery was ...

in Los Angeles.

Awards and honors

Lee was nominated for 13 Grammy Awards. In 1969, her hit "

Is That All There Is? "Is That All There Is?", a song written by American songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller during the 1960s, became a hit for American singer Peggy Lee and an award winner from her album of the same title in November 1969. The song wa ...

" won her the Grammy for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance. In 1995, she was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She received the Rough Rider Award from the state of North Dakota in 1975, the Pied Piper Award from the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

in 1990, the Ella Award for Lifetime Achievement from the

Society of Singers Society of Singers, (1984 – 2017), known as SOS, was an American nonprofit 501(c)3 charitable organization, the only one devoted exclusively to helping professional singers. History and programs SOS was co-founded in 1984 by Ginny Mancini, wido ...

in 1994, the Living Legacy Award from the Women's International Center in 1994, and the Presidents Award from the

Songwriters Guild of America The Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) is an organization founded in 1931, to help "advance, promote, and benefit" the profession of songwriters. It was founded as the Songwriters Protective Association by Billy Rose, George W. Meyer and Edgar Le ...

in 1999. Other honors include induction into the Big Band Jazz Hall of Fame in 1992, the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...

in 1999, and the Songbook Hall of Fame from the

Great American Songbook Foundation The Great American Songbook Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the music of the Great American Songbook. The Songbook Foundation's administrative offices are located on the Gallery lev ...

in 2020.

Tributes and legacy

Lee is often cited as the inspiration for the

Margarita A margarita is a cocktail consisting of Tequila, triple sec, and lime juice often served with salt on the rim of the glass. The drink is served shaken with ice (on the rocks), blended with ice (frozen margarita), or without ice (straight up). T ...

cocktail. In 1948, after a trip to Mexico, she and her husband ventured into the

Balinese Room The Balinese Room was a famous nightclub in Galveston, Texas, United States built on a pier stretching 600 feet (183 m) from the Galveston Seawall over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. For decades a dance hall and illegal casino, the Baline ...

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

. She requested a drink similar to one she had in Mexico, and the head bartender, Santos Cruz, created the Margarita, and named it after the Spanish version of Peggy's name. Lee was awarded a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

for Recording in 1960. The star is located at 6319 Hollywood Boulevard in California. Baseball's

Tug McGraw Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr. (August 30, 1944 – January 5, 2004) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher and long-time Major League Baseball (MLB) player, often remembered for coining the phrase "Ya Gotta Believe", which became ...

, whose career with both the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

ranged from 1965 to 1984, named one of his pitches the Peggy Lee. He explained to ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'': "That's the one where the hitter is out in front of it and says, 'Is that all there is?'" In 1971, Lee sang the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

at the funeral of

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

. The designer of the

Miss Piggy Miss Piggy is one of the Muppet characters known for her breakout role in Jim Henson's ''The Muppet Show''. Since her debut in 1976, Miss Piggy has been notable for her temperamental diva superstar personality, tendency to use French phrases i ...

Muppet The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are ...

Bonnie Erickson Bonnie Erickson (born September 20, 1941) is an American designer of puppets, costumes, toys, and graphics, best known for her work with Jim Henson and The Muppets, where her most notable creations include Miss Piggy, Statler and Waldorf, and as ...

, who grew up in Lee's home state of North Dakota, used the singer as inspiration for the Miss Piggy character in 1974. Originally called Miss Piggy Lee, her name was shortened to Miss Piggy when the Muppet gained fame. In 1975, Lee received an honorary doctorate in music from North Dakota State University, and in 2000, she received another from Jamestown University. In 1983, Lee had a hybrid tea rose named in her honor that was pink with a touch of peach. The Peggy Lee Rose was the 1983 American Beauty Rose of the Year. In 2003, "There'll Be Another Spring: A Tribute to Miss Peggy Lee" was held at Carnegie Hall. Produced by recording artist

Richard Barone Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert event ...

, the sold-out event included performances by

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, United States, to Eastern European Jewish parents ...

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatra ...

, Rita Moreno,

Marian McPartland Margaret Marian McPartland OBE ( Turner;Hasson, Claire"Marian McPartland: Jazz Pianist: An Overview of a Career" PhD Thesis. Retrieved 12 August 2008. 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English–American jazz pianist, composer, and wri ...

, Chris Connor,

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song "Midnight at the Oasis" and has ...

Dee Dee Bridgewater Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

Shirley Horn Shirley Valerie Horn (May 1, 1934 – October 20, 2005) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She collaborated with many jazz musicians including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Ron Carter, Carmen McRae, Wynton Marsalis and ot ...

, and others. In 2004, Barone brought the event to a sold-out

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

, and then to Chicago's

Ravinia Festival Ravinia Festival is an outdoor music venue in Highland Park, Illinois. It hosts a series of outdoor concerts and performances every summer from June to September. The first orchestra to perform at Ravinia Festival was the New York Philharmonic unde ...

, with expanded casts including

Maureen McGovern Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs " The Morning After" from the 1972 film '' The Poseidon Adventure''; " We May Never Love Like This Again" from '' ...

, Jack Jones, and

Bea Arthur Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress and comedian. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Arthur began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving ...

. The Carnegie Hall concert was broadcast on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's ''JazzSet''. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Lee's birth, May 26, 2020, The Grammy Museum hosted an online panel discussion featuring musicians

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single " Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, with whom ...

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical performances. Hits include the s ...

, Eric Burton (The Black Pumas), as well as Lee's granddaughter, Holly Foster Wells, and the author of ''Peggy Lee: A Century of Song'', Dr. Tish Oney. Lee has been noted as a musical influence on other artists such as

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

, k.d. lang, Elvis Costello,

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, '' Billboard'' maga ...

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on '' Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and t ...

, Rita Moreno, and

. In 2020, the

ASCAP Foundation The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

, along with Lee's family, established the annual Peggy Lee Songwriter Award. The inaugural award went to Michael Blum and Jenna Lotti for their song, "Fake ID".

Discography

* '' Rendezvous with Peggy Lee'' (Capitol, 1948; 1950 0" 1955 2" * ''Benny Goodman with Peggy Lee'' (Columbia, 1949) * ''My Best to You: Peggy Lee Sings'' (Capitol, 1950) * ''Road to Bali: Selections from the Paramount Picture'' (Decca, 1952) * '' Black Coffee'' (Decca, 1953; 1956 2" * ''

Selections from Irving Berlin's White Christmas ''Selections from Irving Berlin's White Christmas'' is an album with songs from the 1954 movie, '' White Christmas''. Among the featured artists are Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, and Trudy Stevens (who dubbed for Vera-Ellen in the ...

'' (Decca, 1954) * ''Peggy: Songs in an Intimate Style'' (Decca, 1954) * '' Songs from Pete Kelly's Blues'' (Decca, 1955) * ''Songs from Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp'' (Decca, 1955) * '' The Man I Love'' (Capitol, 1957) * '' Peggy Lee Sings with Benny Goodman'' (Harmony, 1957) * ''

Dream Street Dream Street were an American pop music, pop boy band that was formed in 1999 by Louis Baldonieri and Brian Lukow. The band disbanded in 2002 following a legal dispute between parents of the band members and the band's managers. History The ...

'' (Decca, 1957) * '' Jump for Joy'' (Capitol, 1958) * ''

Things Are Swingin' ''Things Are Swingin' '' is an album by jazz singer Peggy Lee with music arranged and conducted by Jack Marshall. Track listing # "It's a Wonderful World" (Harold Adamson, Jan Savitt, Johnny Watson) – 2:14 # "Things Are Swingin'" (Peggy Lee, ...

'' (Capitol, 1958) * ''

Miss Wonderful ''Miss Wonderful'' is a 1959 album by Peggy Lee that was arranged and conducted by Sy Oliver. Track listing # " Mr. Wonderful" ( George Weiss, Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener) - 3:18 # " They Can't Take That Away from Me" (George Gershwin, Ira ...

'' (Decca, 1958) * ''

Sea Shells A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washe ...

'' (Decca, 1958) * ''

Beauty and the Beat! ''Beauty and the Beat!'' is a 1959 album (see 1959 in music) by Peggy Lee, accompanied by the George Shearing Quintet. Sleeve notes The notes on the back cover of the original 1959 LP are in the exaggerated style that was common at the time an ...

'' with George Shearing (Capitol, 1959) * ''

I Like Men! ''I Like Men!'' is a 1959 studio album recorded by Peggy Lee, arranged and conducted by Jack Marshall. Track listing # "Charley, My Boy" (Ted Fio Rito, Gus Kahn) – 1:35 # "Good-For-Nothin' Joe" (Rube Bloom, Ted Koehler) – 2:32 # " ...

'' (Capitol, 1959) * '' Christmas Carousel'' (Capitol, 1960) * ''

Latin ala Lee! ''Latin a la Lee!'' is a 1960 album by Peggy Lee that was arranged by Jack Marshall. Marvin Schwartz won the Grammy Award for Best Album Cover at the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1959 for his work on ''Latin a la Lee!''. Track listing #"Heart" ...

'' (Capitol, 1960) * ''

Pretty Eyes ''Pretty Eyes'' is a 1960 studio album by Peggy Lee that was arranged by Billy May. Reception The Allmusic review by Dave Nathan awarded the album three stars and commented that "There's no brass in the orchestra, just flutes, woodwinds, ...

'' (Capitol, 1960) * ''

Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee ''Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee'' is a 1961 live album by Peggy Lee, arranged by Jack Marshall and Bill Holman, recorded at the Basin Street East nightclub in New York City. Reception The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awa ...

'' (Capitol, 1961) * '' If You Go'' (Capitol, 1961) * ''

Olé ala Lee ''Olé ala Lee'' is a 1961 album by Peggy Lee that was arranged by Joe Harnell. Track listing #" Come Dance with Me" (Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen) - 2:28 #" By Myself" (Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz) - 3:20 #"You're So Right for Me" ( Jay Li ...

'' (Capitol, 1960) * '' All Aglow Again!'' (1960) * '' Sugar 'n' Spice'' (Capitol, 1962) * ''

Blues Cross Country ''Blues Cross Country'' is a 1962 studio album by Peggy Lee, principally arranged by Quincy Jones, with some arrangements by Benny Carter. The album can be described as a concept album, consisting of a musical journey across the United States t ...

'' (Capitol, 1962) * ''The Fabulous Peggy Lee'' (Decca, 1963) * ''

Mink Jazz ''Mink Jazz'' is a 1963 studio album by Peggy Lee, arranged by Benny Carter and Max Bennett. Track listing # " It's a Big Wide Wonderful World" (John Rox) – 1:37 # " Whisper Not" (Leonard Feather, Benny Golson) – 2:17 # "My Silent Lo ...

'' (Capitol, 1963) * ''The Fabulous Miss Lee'' (World Record Club, 1963) * '' I'm a Woman'' (Capitol, 1963) * ''Lover'' (Decca, 1963) * '' In the Name of Love'' (Capitol, 1964) * '' In Love Again!'' (Capitol, 1964) * '' Then Was Then – Now Is Now!'' (Capitol, 1965) * '' Pass Me By'' (Capitol, 1965) * ''Happy Holiday'' (Capitol, 1965) * '' Guitars a là Lee'' (Capitol, 1966) * '' Big $pender'' (Capitol, 1966) * ''So Blue'' (Vocalion, 1966) * '' Extra Special!'' (Capitol, 1967) * '' Somethin' Groovy!'' (Capitol, 1967) * '' 2 Shows Nightly'' (Capitol, 1968) * ''

'' (Capitol, 1969) * '' A Natural Woman'' (Capitol, 1969) * '' Bridge Over Troubled Water'' (Capitol, 1970) * ''

Make It With You "Make It with You" is a song written by David Gates and originally recorded by American pop- rock group Bread, of which Gates was a member. Gates and drummer Mike Botts are the only members of the group to appear on the recording which was a No ...

'' (Capitol, 1970) * ''Crazy in the Heart'' (Vocalion, 1970) * ''

Where Did They Go "Where Did They Go" is a song written by Gloria Sklerov and Harry Lloyd. It was first recorded by American singer Peggy Lee, and later covered by the British singer Sandie Shaw, and the group, Blue Mink (two members of which together produced t ...

'' (Capitol, 1971) * ''

Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota ''Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota'' is a 1972 album by Peggy Lee. It was her final album for Capitol Records, her label since 1957 and, prior to that, from 1944 to 1952. Peggy Lee's stage name does not appear on the cover of ...

'' (Capitol, 1972) * ''Peggy Lee'' (Everest Archive, 1974) * '' Let's Love'' (Atlantic, 1974) * ''

Mirrors A mirror or looking glass is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the direction of the ima ...

'' (A&M, 1975) * '' Peggy'' (Polydor, 1977) * '' Live in London'' (Polydor, 1977) * ''Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp: All the Songs from the Film'' (Disneyland, 1979) * '' Close Enough for Love'' (DRG, 1979) * ''You Can Depend On Me: 14 Previously Unreleased Songs'' (Glendale, 1981) * ''The Music Makers Program 116 for Broadcast Week of 4/19/82'' (Music Makers, 1982) * ''Easy Listening'' with Woody Herman, Dave Barbour (Artistic Art, 1984) * ''The Uncollected Peggy Lee'' (Hindsight, 1985) * ''If I Could Be with You'' (Sounds Rare 1986) * '' Miss Peggy Lee Sings the Blues'' (Musicmasters, 1988) * '' The Peggy Lee Songbook: There'll Be Another Spring'' (Musical Heritage Society, 1990) * ''Peggy Lee with the Dave Barbour Band'' (Laserlight, 1991) * '' Love Held Lightly: Rare Songs by Harold Arlen'' (Angel, 1993) * '' Moments Like This'' (Chesky, 1993)

Songwriting

Lee wrote or co-wrote over 270 songs. In addition to her own material to sing, she was hired to score and compose songs for movies. For the Disney movie ''

'', she co-composed all of the original songs with Burke, and supplied the singing and speaking voices of four characters. Over the years, her songwriting collaborators included David Barbour,

Laurindo Almeida Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Gra ...

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ...

Sonny Burke Joseph Francis "Sonny" Burke (March 22, 1914 – May 31, 1980) was an American musical arranger, composer, Big Band leader and producer. In 1937, he graduated from Duke University, where he had formed and led the jazz big band known as the Duke ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

Francis Lai Francis Albert Lai (; 26 April 19327 November 2018) was a French composer, noted for his film scores. He won the 1970 Oscar for Best Music, Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for the film ''Love Story''. The so ...

Jack Marshall Sir John Ross Marshall New Zealand Army Orders 1952/405 (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years ...

Johnny Mandel John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925June 29, 2020) was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. The musicians he worked with include Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Benn ...

Willard Robison Willard Robison (September 18, 1894 – June 24, 1968) was an American vocalist, pianist, and composer of popular songs, born in Shelbina, Missouri. His songs reflect a rural, melancholy theme steeped in Americana and their warm style has ...

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...

, and

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to ...

. Her first published song was in 1941, "Little Fool". "What More Can a Woman Do?" was recorded by

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

with

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

and

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

. "

Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me) "Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)" is a popular song that was written by Peggy Lee and Dave Barbour and published in 1947. Peggy Lee recorded the song on November 25, 1947, with Dave Barbour's orchestra as backing. Released by Capitol Records (cata ...

" was number one on the Billboard singles chart for nine weeks in 1948, from the week of March 13 to May 8. Lee was a mainstay of Capitol Records when rock and roll came onto the American music scene. She was among the first of the "old guard" to recognize this new genre, as seen by her recording music from

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

, and other up-and-coming songwriters. From 1957 until her final disc for the company in 1972, she produced a steady stream of two or three albums per year that usually included standards (often arranged quite differently from the original), her own compositions, and material from young artists. Many of her compositions have become standards, performed by singers such as

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

Janelle Monae Janelle may refer to: * Janelle (given names) * Janelle (surnames) * 20673 Janelle, asteroid Fictional characters: * Janelle, a.k.a. Janae Timmins * Janelle Duco, in episode " From a Whisper to a Scream" of television series ''Grey's Anatomy'' S ...

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (russian: Регинa Ильинична Спектор, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian–born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in ...

and others.

Chart hits

Singles

Albums

Bibliography

* Friedwald, Will. Liner notes for ''The Best of Peggy Lee: The Capitol Years''. * Gavin, James. ''Is That All There Is? – The Strange Life of Peggy Lee''. Atria Books, 2014. * Lee, Peggy. ''Miss Peggy Lee: An Autobiography''. Donald I. Fine, 1989. * Oney, Dr. Tish Oney, ''Peggy Lee: A Century of Song''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2020. * Richmond, Peter, ''Fever: The Life and Music of Miss Peggy Lee''. Henry Holt and Company, 2006. * Strom, Robert. ''Miss Peggy Lee: A Career Chronicle''. McFarland Publishing, 2005.

References

External links

*
Peggy Lee Discography
* *
Review of a Peggy Lee biography
by

Mark Steyn Mark Steyn (; born December 8, 1959) is a Canadian author and a radio and television presenter. He has written several books, including ''The New York Times'' bestsellers '' America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It'', ''After America: G ...

Peggy Lee Interview
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