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."
Baubles Bangles and Beads
Peggy Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Peggy Lee
Baubles, bangles,
Hear how they jing, jing-a-ling-a,
Baubles, bangles,
Bright, shiny beads.
Sparkles, spangles,
Wearing baubles, bangles and beads.
I'll glitter and gleam so,
Make somebody dream so,
That someday he may buy me,
A ring, ring-aling-a,
I've heard that's where it leads,
Wearing baubles and bangles and beads.
The song "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" is a classic tune made famous by Peggy Lee in the 1950s. The lyrics describe the allure and beauty of decorative jewelry pieces such as baubles, bangles, and beads. The opening lines, "Baubles, bangles, hear how they jing, jing-a-ling-a," immediately transport the listener to a world of sparkling and twinkling jewelry. The repetition of "sing-a-ling-a" creates a musical quality to the song, mimicking the sound of jewelry's movement and the way they catch the light. The chorus expresses the singer's joy in wearing these beautiful trinkets, indicating that they bring happiness and make her feel glamorous.
The lyrics also imply a certain longing for the luxurious lifestyle associated with flashy jewelry. The line "Make somebody dream so, That someday he may buy me, A ring, ring-aling-a," suggests a desire for a wealthy suitor who will shower her with lavish gifts. Despite this, the song ultimately celebrates the joy found in beautiful and decorative objects, even if they are not ultimately purchased by a rich lover.
Line by Line Meaning
Baubles, bangles,
Decorative trinkets and bracelets,
Hear how they jing, jing-a-ling-a,
Listen to the delightful sound they make when they move and touch.
Baubles, bangles,
Charming symbols of wealth and luxury.
Bright, shiny beads.
Beautiful pearls, precious gems and stones, that catch the eye and mesmerize the beholder.
Sparkles, spangles,
Glimmering sequins and gems and shiny metals used in jewelry.
My heart will sing, sing-a-ling-a,
These beautiful pieces fill my heart with joy and pleasure.
Wearing baubles, bangles and beads.
Adorning oneself with beautiful jewels and trinkets boosts confidence and self-esteem.
I'll glitter and gleam so,
The striking jewelry makes me shimmer and shine,
Make somebody dream so,
Makes the person observing me dream and aspire for those bejeweled fantasies as well.
That someday he may buy me,
The glittering adornments have the power to attract the attention of potential suitors.
A ring, ring-aling-a,
A beautiful diamond ring that symbolizes love and commitment.
I've heard that's where it leads,
The ultimate prize of this exquisite beauty would be to get a beautiful engagement ring and enter into holy matrimony.
Wearing baubles and bangles and beads.
Adorning oneself with this beautiful piece reminds us of our femininity and brings out our most beautiful self.
Contributed by Bailey Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Rey Leno
I remember hearing her pretty singing 1953-54 while living as a kid in San Francisco! She was a contemporary of my dad, 1920-2002. I recently discovered her song “Why Don’t You Do Right?” with Benny Goodman.
Al Cataldo
The Best !!!