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."
I Don't Know Enough About You
Peggy Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I don't know enough about you
Just when I think you're mine
You try a different line
And baby, what can I do?
I read the latest news
No buttons on my shoes
You get me in a spin
Oh, what a stew I'm in
'Cause I don't know enough about you
Jack of all trades master of none
And isn't it a shame
I'm so sure that you'd be good for me
If you'd only play my game
You know I went to school
And I'm nobody's fool
That is to say until I met you
I know a little bit about a lot of things
But I don't know enough about you
Jack of all trades master of none
And isn't it a shame
I'm so sure that you'd be good for me
If you'd only play my game
You know I went to school
And I'm nobody's fool
That is to say until I met you
I know a little bit about a lot of things
But I don't know enough about you
I know a little bit about biology
And a little more about psychology
I'm a little gem in geology
But I don't know enough about you
I guess I'd better get out the encyclopedia
And fresh up on from "shmer" to "shmoo" mmm
'Cause I don't know enough about you
In Peggy Lee's hit song “I Don't Know Enough About You,” the singer expresses her frustration over not being able to fully understand the person she is romantically interested in. Despite her knowledge in various subjects such as news and sciences, there is still a lot to learn about her lover that leaves her feeling confused and uncertain about his intentions. The lyrics reveal the uncertainty and instability of a new relationship, as the singer is trying to navigate the waters of not fully knowing someone despite her intelligence and experience. The line “Jack of all trades, master of none” suggests the emptiness and vulnerability of the singer's position, despite her vast knowledge and expertise. Furthermore, the song signals the importance of emotional intelligence and the limits of knowledge in understanding people, their past, and their motivations.
Line by Line Meaning
I know a little bit about a lot of things
I have knowledge about a variety of things
But I don't know enough about you
However, I lack knowledge about you
Just when I think you're mine
There are moments when I feel we belong together
You try a different line
But you say or do something that confuses me
And baby what can I do?
I am unsure how to react or respond to your actions
I read the latest news
I keep myself updated with the current events
No buttons on my shoes
I am not materialistic
But baby I'm confused about you
Yet, I remain uncertain about you
You get me in a spin
You make me feel dizzy or uncertain
Oh what a stew I'm in
I am in a difficult situation
'Cause I don't know enough about you
Because my lack of knowledge about you is causing confusion
Jack of all trades master of none
I have a basic understanding of many things without being exceptional in any
And isn't it a shame
It is unfortunate
I'm so sure that you'd be good for me
I strongly believe that you would be good for me
If you'd only play my game
If you would only act the way I want you to
You know I went to school
I have received formal education
And I'm nobody's fool
I am not easily deceived
That is to say until I met you!
Until I met you and became confused
I know a little bit about biology
I have some knowledge about biology
And a little more about psychology
I have more knowledge about psychology than biology
I'm a little gem in geology
I have a considerable amount of knowledge in geology
But I don't know enough about you
However, I still lack knowledge about you
I guess I'd better get out the encyclopedia
I should consult reference materials
And fresh up on from "shmer" to "shmoo" mmmm
I need to acquire knowledge about a wide range of subjects
'Cause I don't know enough about you
To address my confusion, I need to know more about you
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: David M. Barbour, Peggy Lee
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@timallen7090
This song was written by Peggy Lee (lyrics) and Dave Barbour (music), shown here on guitar. From Wikipedia: "David Michael Barbour was an American jazz guitarist. He was married to singer Peggy Lee and was her co-writer, accompanist, and bandleader."
@popspops819
my all-time favourite chanteuse, been listening to this song since 1956
@mandy2533
No buttons on her shoes! What a modern woman!
@jencpiche
Who is that wonderful guitarist??? This is my favorite version of her singing this ever!
@unclebobunclebob
Dave Barbour, she thought he was wonderful too...and married him.
@Troy_nov1965
He first husband Dave Barbour
@chuckolson5093
That's Dave Barbour, Peggy's first husband
@arvh1952
her husband David Barbour
@fluffshepnetwork7067
Yeah, Dave Barbour was very good. He wasn't an all-world talent like Charlie Christan or Wes Montgomery, but he was certainly solid.
@ruthgoldbergives6945
Thanks Peggy, the perfect reminder. A wake up call! Just in time.