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."
Bella notte
Peggy Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And we call it bella notte
Look at the skies, they have stars in their eyes
On this lovely bella note
Side by side with your loved one
You'll find enchantment here
The night will weave its magic spell
Oh, this is the night and the heavens are right
On this lovely bella notte
Peggy Lee's "Bella Notte" is a romantic song that beautifully captures the essence of falling in love on a magical night. The phrase "bella notte" is Italian for "beautiful night," setting the stage for a romantic atmosphere. The opening lines describe the beauty of the night, highlighting the starry skies and the enchanting ambiance that envelops everything. The song's focus is on the feeling of being in love, specifically the magic of experiencing it in a special night like the one described in the song.
The second stanza emphasizes the importance of being with a loved one on this special night. It talks about how being together with your lover on this night creates enchantment and makes everything around you feel magical. The lyrics describe the power of the night to cast a spell on you when you're near the one you love. There is a certain purity in the song's description of falling in love that feels quite uplifting.
Overall, "Bella Notte" is a warm and fuzzy song that makes you want to be in love. Peggy Lee's velvety voice and the dreamy backdrop make the song perfect for quiet moments or a romantic evening with your significant other.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, this is the night, it's a beautiful night
Tonight is special, it's beautiful and worth cherishing
And we call it bella notte
It's referred to as 'bella notte' meaning beautiful night
Look at the skies, they have stars in their eyes
The sky is adorned with stars, resembling eyes filled with wonder and light
On this lovely bella note
The night of beauty and wonder
Side by side with your loved one
Walking beside your beloved
You'll find enchantment here
This experience will be magical
The night will weave its magic spell
The night holds a magical allure
When the one you love is near
Being with your lover amplifies the beauty of the night
Oh, this is the night and the heavens are right
This is the perfect night, fitting for the heavens
On this lovely bella notte
Amidst the magical beauty of this beautiful night
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: SONNY BURKE, PEGGY LEE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@saileshdas9010
Oh this is the night
It's a beautiful night
And we call it bella notte
Look at the skies
They have stars in their eyes
On this lovely bella notte
Take the love of your loved one
You'll need it about this time
To keep from falling
Like a star
When you make that dizzy climb
For this is the night
And the heavens all rise
On this lovely bella notte
This is the night
It's a beautiful night
And we call it bella notte
Look at the skies
They have stars in their eyes
On this lovely bella notte
Take the love of your loved one
You'll need it about this time
To keep from falling
Like a star
When you make that dizzy climb
For this is the night
And the heavens all rise
On this lovely bella notte
Beautiful night
Bella notte
@elizabethlizziemayuku
"美丽的夜晚, Měilì de Yèwǎn" (Chinese for "Beautiful Night") is a song from the animated feature film Wendy and Kevin. It is a love ballad and the film's signature song. It is first sung by a chorus in the opening credits, then by Kenny and his sons while Wendy and Kevin eat JaJang Noodles together on a romantic, moonlit date, and again by a chorus when they are taking a moonlight walk during the Chinese New Year. This is a duet performed by Rufus Wainwright and Corinne Bailey Rae. It's an updated pop music arrangement of the song from the first film which is played during the ending credits. The original 2019 song was by Vic Mignogna and Derick Snow and arranged by Elizabeth Mayuku.
Měilì de Yèwǎn
Performed by Derick Snow in Wendy and Kevin
Vic Mignogna (feat Derick Snow, Justin Briner, Max Mittelman, Zach Aguilar, Jerry Jewell, and Greg Ayres) in Wendy and Kevin
Rufus Wainwright and Corinne Bailey Rae in Wendy and Kevin II: Junior & Dorumon's Adventure
Soundtrack Version
This is the night
It's a beautiful night
And we call it měilì de yèwǎn
Look at the skies
They have stars in their eyes
On this lovely měilì de yèwǎn
So take the love of your loved one
You'll need it about this time
To keep from falling like a star
When you make that dizzy climb
For this is the night
And the heavens are right
On this lovely měilì de yèwǎn
On this lovely měilì de yèwǎn
Movie Version
Kenny:
Oh this is the night
It's a beautiful night
And we call it měilì de yèwǎn
Look at the skies
They have stars in their eyes
On this lovely měilì de yèwǎn
Side by side with your loved one
You'll find enchantment here
The night will weave its magic spell
When the one you love is near
Both:
For this is the night
And the heavens are right
On this lovely měilì de yèwǎn
Chorus:
This is the night
It's a beautiful night
And we call it měilì de yèwǎn
Look at the skies
They have stars in their eyes
On this lovely měilì de yèwǎn
Side by side with your loved one
You'll find enchantment here
The night will weave its magic spell
When the one you love is near
End Credits
Rufus Wainwright:
Oh, this is the night, it's a beautiful night
And we call it měilì de yèwǎn
Look at the skies, they have stars in their eyes
On this lovely měilì de yèwǎn
So take this love of your loved one
You'll need it about this time
To keep from fallin' like a star
When you make that dizzy climb!
Oh, this is the night, and the heavens are right
On this lovely měilì de yèwǎn
Corinne Bailey Rae:
Oh, this is the night, it's a beautiful night
And we call it měilì de yèwǎn
Look at the skies, they have stars in their eyes
On this lovely měilì de yèwǎn
Side by side with your loved one
You'll find enchantment here
The night will weave its magic spell
When the one you love is near!
Oh, this is the night, and the heavens are right
On this lovely měilì de yèwǎn!
On this lovely měilì de yèwǎn!
@David-yw2lv
As usual for Peggy Lee, outstanding performance
@rumuelnathanael8043
Lady and The Tramp brought me here.
@maggiemalone3540
Me too. Beautiful song.
@calamus80
What Else!
@tonemusicchannel3938
Why don't we perform music with this elegance anymore?
@virtualmusicentertainment4342
they do, you just have to find them. I find them on facebook all the time.
@kathleen8464
I was just wondering the same thing.
@chrismiccolupi2506
I will not cry, I will not cry, damn too late bawling like a baby. Bless you Peggy Lee and we miss you.
@Innessofficial
:(
@StephenLuke
RIP
Peggy Lee
(1920-2002)