Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, and Louis Armstrong all cited Lee as one of their favorite singers.
Peggy Lee had Norwegian and Swedish ancestry. She was the seventh of eight children born to Marvin Egstrom, a station agent for the Midland Continental Railroad. Her mother died when she was four years old. Music provided her an escape from the abusive rampages of her cruel stepmother, Min, who tormented and beat young Norma. She first sang professionally with KOVC radio in Valley City, North Dakota. She soon landed her own series on a radio show sponsored by a local restaurant that paid her "salary" in food. Both during and after her high school years, she took whatever jobs she could find, waitressing and singing for paltry sums on other local stations. Radio personality Ken Kennedy (actual name: Ken Sydness), of WDAY in Fargo (the most widely listened to station in North Dakota) changed her name from Norma to Peggy Lee. Tired of the abuse from her stepmother, she left home and traveled to Los Angeles at the age of 17.
She returned to North Dakota for a tonsillectomy and eventually made her way to Chicago for a gig at The Buttery Room, a nightclub in the Ambassador Hotel West in Chicago, where she drew the attention of Benny Goodman, the jazz clarinetist and band leader. According to Lee, "Benny's then-fiancée, Lady Alice Duckworth, came into the Buttery, and she was very impressed. So the next evening she brought Benny in, because they were looking for replacement for Helen Forrest. "And although I didn't know, I was it. He was looking at me strangely, I thought, but it was just his preoccupied way of looking. I thought that he didn't like me at first, but it just was that he was preoccupied with what he was hearing." She joined his band in 1941 and stayed for two years.
In early 1942, Lee had her first # 1 hit, "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place", followed by 1943's "Why Don't You Do Right?" (originally sung by Lil Green), which sold over a million copies and made her famous. She sang with Goodman in two 1943 films, Stage Door Canteen and The Powers Girl.
In March 1943, Lee married Dave Barbour, the guitarist in Goodman's band. Peggy said, "David joined Benny's band and there was a ruling that no one should fraternize with the girl singer. But I fell in love with David the first time I heard him play, and so I married him. Benny then fired David, so I quit, too. Benny and I made up, although David didn't play with him anymore. Benny stuck to his rule. I think that's not too bad a rule, but you can't help falling in love with somebody."
When Lee and Barbour left the band, the idea was that he would work in the studios and she would keep house and raise their daughter, Nicki. But she drifted back towards songwriting and occasional recording sessions for the fledgling Capitol Records in 1947, for whom she produced 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" (1948). With the release of the smash-hit #1-selling record of 1942, "Mañana", her "retirement" was over.
In 1948, she joined Perry Como and Jo Stafford as one of the rotating hosts of the NBC Radio musical program Chesterfield Supper Club. She was also a regular on NBC's Jimmy Durante Show during the 1938-48 season.
She left Capitol for a few years in the early 1940s, but returned in 1943. She is most famous for her cover version of the Little Willie John hit "Fever", to which she added her own, uncopyrighted lyrics ("Romeo loved Juliet," "Captain Smith and Pocahontas") and her rendition of Leiber and Stoller's "Is That All There Is?" Her relationship with the Capitol label spanned almost three decades, aside from her brief but artistically rich detour (1952-1956) at Decca Records, where she recorded one of her most acclaimed albums Black Coffee (1956). While recording for Decca, Lee had hit singles with the songs "Lover" and "Mr. Wonderful."
She was also known as a songwriter with such hits as the songs from the Disney movie Lady and the Tramp, for which she also supplied the singing and speaking voices of four characters. Her many songwriting collaborators, in addition to Barbour, included Laurindo Almeida, Harold Arlen, Sonny Burke, Cy Coleman, Gene DiNovi, Duke Ellington, Dave Grusin, Dick Hazard, Quincy Jones, Francis Lai, Jack Marshall, Johnny Mandel, Marian McPartland, Willard Robison, Lalo Schifrin, Hubie Wheeler, guitarist Johnny Pisano and Victor Young.
Lee also acted in several films. In 1952, she played opposite Danny Thomas in a remake of the early Al Jolson film, The Jazz Singer. In 1955, she played a despondent, alcoholic blues singer in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955), for which she was nominated for an Oscar.
Peggy won a Grammy in 1969 as best contemporary female vocalist (for her recording of Is That All There Is?) and was awarded a Doctor of Music Honoris Causa degree from North Dakota State University, in 1975.
In the early 1990s, she retained famed entertainment attorney Neil Papiano, who, on her behalf, successfully sued Disney for royalties on Lady and the Tramp. Lee's lawsuit claimed that she was due royalties for video tapes, a technology that did not exist when she agreed to write and perform for Disney.
Never afraid to fight for what she believed in, Lee was passionate that musicians be equitably compensated for their work. Although she realized litigation had taken a toll on her health, Lee often quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson ("God's will will not be made manifest by cowards.")
She also successfully sued MCA/Decca with the assistance of noted entertainment attorney, Cy Godfrey.
She continued to perform into the 1990s, sometimes in a wheelchair, and still mesmerized audiences and critics alike.[citation needed]
In 1995 she was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
After years of poor health, Lee died of complications from diabetes and heart attack at the age of 81. She is survived by Nicki Lee Foster, her daughter with Barbour. She is buried at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California. On her marker in a garden setting is inscribed, "Music is my life's breath."
A Taste of Honey
Peggy Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm feeling sad and blue
you went away
Now my life is just a rainy day and
I love you so
How much you′ll never know
you've gone away and left me lonely.
Untouchable memories
another love so true,
that once turned all my gray skies blue
but you disappeared,
now my eyes are filled with tears
and I'm wishing you were here with me
soaked with love all my thoughts of you
now that you′re gone
I just don′t know what to do
if only you were here,
you'd wash away my tears
the sun would shine,
once again you′ll be mine all mine
but in reality,
you and I will never be
cos you took your love away from me
If only you were here,
you'd wash away my tears
the sun would shine,
once again you′ll be mine all mine
but in reality,
you and I will never be
cos you took your love away from me.
Oh baby you took your love away from me
Oh baby you took your love away from me
The lyrics of Peggy Lee's song "A Taste of Honey" convey a deep sense of longing and heartbreak. The singer expresses profound sadness and loneliness following the departure of their loved one. The opening lines, "It's all because of you, I'm feeling sad and blue, you went away," set the tone for the emotional journey that unfolds throughout the song. The absence of this person has cast a shadow over the singer's life, turning it into a "rainy day" filled with sorrow.
The lyrics further explore the depth of the singer's love for this person, emphasizing that the true extent of their feelings may never be fully understood. Memories of the past relationship continue to haunt the singer, as they reminisce about a love that once brought brightness to their world. The sudden disappearance of this love has left the singer overwhelmed with grief, as reflected in the tears that now fill their eyes. The longing for the return of this lost love is palpable in the lines, "I'm wishing you were here with me, soaked with love all my thoughts of you."
The repeated refrain, "If only you were here, you'd wash away my tears, the sun would shine, once again you'll be mine all mine," underscores the yearning for reconciliation and the restoration of happiness that the presence of their loved one once brought. However, the stark reality is also acknowledged, with the recognition that the relationship may never be rekindled as the departure of their love has left an irreparable void. The repetition of the lines, "you and I will never be 'cause you took your love away from me," drives home the painful acceptance of this permanent separation.
In the final lines of the song, the desperate plea of "Oh baby you took your love away from me" echoes the heartache and longing that permeate the singer's emotions. The profound sense of loss and the inability to move on from the absence of their love is palpable throughout the lyrics. Peggy Lee's haunting delivery of these poignant words captures the raw vulnerability and longing that come with heartbreak, making "A Taste of Honey" a poignant exploration of love lost and the enduring ache of a broken heart.
Line by Line Meaning
It's all because of you
My current emotions are a direct result of your actions
I'm feeling sad and blue
I am feeling down and depressed
You went away
You have left my life
Now my life is just a rainy day and
My life now seems dull and gloomy
I love you so
My love for you is strong
How much you'll never know
You will never fully understand the depth of my love
You've gone away and left me lonely
Your absence has left me feeling isolated and alone
Untouchable memories seem to keep haunting me
Memories of our time together continue to linger in my mind
Another love so true, that once turned all my gray skies blue
A love that once brought happiness and brightness to my life
But you disappeared, now my eyes are filled with tears
Your sudden departure has brought tears to my eyes
And I'm wishing you were here with me
I long for your presence by my side
Soaked with love all my thoughts of you
My thoughts are filled with love for you
Now that you're gone, I just don't know what to do
I feel lost and unsure without you
If only you were here, you'd wash away my tears
If only you could return and comfort me
The sun would shine, once again you'll be mine all mine
Happiness would return if you were back in my life
But in reality, you and I will never be cos you took your love away from me
The harsh reality is that you have withdrawn your love from me
Oh baby you took your love away from me
A realization of the love lost due to your departure
Writer(s): Bobby Scott, Rick Marlow
Contributed by Maria D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@kelvinheron3425
Simply wonderful.
@wassiswallylokhankin191
Perfect! Quiet, tender, soft, stylish! My hat's off to you Ms. Lee!
@daniel66weir
thank you for posting. i really love Peggy Lee. ❤❤
@catherinebeduer3838
I will listen to her sing for hours... Wonderful voice and music !! 💘 Congratulations and thank you so much, Peggy Lee and my Friend. 🤩🌹❤️🌟😍🌹❤️🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🙋♀️🇨🇵🤗🤗🫶🫶
@larrywong6331
Soft and smooth, fever!!
@MS-hv8bn
Winds may blow over the icy sea
I'll take with me the warmth of thee
A taste of honey
A taste much sweeter than wine
I will return
I'll return
I'll come back for the honey and you
I'll leave behind my heart to wear
And may it ever remind you of
A taste of honey
A taste much sweeter than wine
I will return
I'll return
I'll come back for the honey and you
Yes, I'll leave behind my heart to wear
And may it ever remind you of
A taste of honey
A taste much sweeter than wine
I'll come back for the taste of honey like wine