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."
Don't Blame Me
Peggy Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've hung around you just like a fool
Falling head and heels in love like a kid out of school.
My poor heart is in an awful state now
But it's too late now to call a halt
So if I become a nuisance it's all your fault!
Don't blame me for falling in love with you
I'm under your spell but how can I help it!
Don't' blame me!
Can't you see when you do the things you do!
If I can't conceal the thrill that I'm feeling,
Don't blame; me.
Ican't help it if that doggoned moon above
Makes me need someone like you to love!
Blame your kiss as sweet as a kiss can be
And blame all your charms that melt in my arms
But don't blame me.
I like every single thing about you
Without a doubt you are like a dream
In my mind I find a picture of us as a team
Ever since the hour of our meeting
I've been repeating a silly phrase
Hoping that you'll understand me one of these days.
Don't blame me for falling in love with you
I'm under your spell but how can I help it!
Don't' blame me!
Can't you see when you do the things you do!
If I can't conceal the thrill that I'm feeling,
Don't blame; me.
Ican't help it if that doggoned moon above
Makes me need someone like you to love!
Blame your kiss as sweet as a kiss can be
And blame all your charms that melt in my arms
But don't blame me.
"Don't Blame Me" by Peggy Lee is a classic love song about a woman who is in love with someone she finds irresistible, but knows that her feelings may not be reciprocated. The song begins by describing how the singer is in love with someone she fell for at first sight, and is now struggling with her emotions. She acknowledges that she is a fool for being so head-over-heels in love with someone, but also knows that she cannot help her feelings. She sings about her heart being in an awful state because of this love, but knows that it is too late to call a halt to it.
The chorus then comes in, where the singer pleads with the person she loves, telling them not to blame her for falling in love with them. She tries to explain that she is under their spell and cannot help it, and that their actions towards her only fuel her love for them. She talks about how the moon above has made her feel the need for someone like the person she is singing to. She then goes on to blame the person’s sweet kiss and charming ways for making her fall so madly in love with them, instead of blaming herself.
The lyrics of "Don't Blame Me" are a testament to the power of love and the way it can take hold of someone, making them act in a manner that may seem foolish to others. Peggy Lee's touching delivery adds to the emotional impact of the lyrics, making it a song that resonates with many people.
Line by Line Meaning
Ever since the lucky night I found you
From the moment we met, I knew my heart belonged to you
I've hung around you just like a fool
I've been hopelessly dedicated to you
Falling head and heels in love like a kid out of school
I've been swept off my feet and feel like a teenager again
My poor heart is in an awful state now
My heart is completely consumed by my love for you
But it's too late now to call a halt
I'm already in too deep to turn back now
So if I become a nuisance it's all your fault!
If I become a bother, it's because you've enchanted me!
Don't blame me for falling in love with you
It's not my fault that I've fallen deeply in love with you
I'm under your spell but how can I help it!
I'm under your enchanting spell and can't resist
Don't' blame me!
Please don't hold my love against me
Can't you see when you do the things you do!
Your every move is captivating and has me wrapped around your finger
If I can't conceal the thrill that I'm feeling,
I can't hide my excitement and feelings for you
I can't help it if that doggoned moon above
Even the moon above seems to be conspiring to bring us together
Makes me need someone like you to love!
I'm completely captivated and need you as my beloved
Blame your kiss as sweet as a kiss can be
Your sweet and tender kiss is to blame for my overwhelming love
And blame all your charms that melt in my arms
Your irresistible charms and warmth in my embrace are also to blame
But don't blame me.
Please don't hold me responsible for falling deeply in love with you
Lyrics © DistroKid, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DOROTHY FIELDS, JIMMY MC HUGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dorcas Wood
I love this so much. Thank you!
makimaki papura
Peggy Lee is one of my few favorite artists.
wilmar alberto velasquez herrera
Nice :D
Radio Bla Bla Leiden
Warm song
Dr Joey
Lester Young on tenor?
Anthony Barnett
No, Herbie Heymer