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."
Music Music Music
Peggy Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the nickelodeon
All I want is lovin' you
And music! music! music!
I'd do anything for you
Anything you'd want me to
All I want is kissin' youAnd music! music! music!
Closer, my dear, come closer
The nicest part of any melody
Is when you're dancing close to me
So, put another nickel in
In the nickelodeon
All I want is lovin' you
And music! music! music!
Put another nickel in
In the nickelodeon
All I want is lovin' you
And music! music! music!
I'd do anything for you
Anything you'd want me to
All I want is kissin' you
And music! music! music!
Closer, my dear, come closer
The nicest part of any melody
Is when you're dancing close to me
So, put another nickel in
All I want is lovin' you
And music! music! music!
"C'mon, everybody! Put some nickels in! And keep that old
nickelodeon playing!"
Dum-dee-dum dee-dah-dee-dum
Dum-dee-dum dee-dah-dee-dum
Dum-dee-dum dee-dah-dee-dum
And music! music! music!
Dum-dee-dum dee-dah-dee-dum
Dum-dee-dum dee-dah-dee-dum
Dum-dee-dum dee-dah-dee-dum
And music! music! music!
The lyrics of Peggy Lee's song "Music! Music! Music!" capture a longing for love and the joy that music brings. The mention of "putting another nickel in the nickelodeon" harks back to a time when people would pay to listen to music on old-fashioned nickelodeon machines. This nostalgic imagery sets the scene for a simple yet profound declaration of the singer's desire for love and music.
The repeated refrain of "All I want is lovin' you and music! Music! Music!" underscores the importance of these two elements in the singer's life. Love and music are presented as intertwined, essential sources of happiness and fulfillment. The singer expresses a willingness to do anything for their loved one, emphasizing the depth of their devotion and the power of music to enhance their connection.
The lyrics also paint a picture of intimacy and shared moments through the invitation to come closer and the reference to dancing together. The idea that the nicest part of any melody is when you are close to someone highlights the emotional resonance of music and how it can deepen relationships. The song creates a sense of warmth and togetherness, emphasizing the joy of being in love and sharing music with a partner.
The upbeat and catchy nature of the song is further enhanced by the playful refrain and the call for everyone to join in by putting nickels in the nickelodeon. The upbeat tempo and the lively rhythm of the song reflect the exuberance and excitement of being in love and enjoying music together. The playful "Dum-dee-dum dee-dah-dee-dum" serves as a joyful celebration of love, music, and the simple pleasures of life. Overall, "Music! Music! Music!" is a timeless ode to the enduring power of love and music to bring happiness and connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Put another nickel in
Contribute more effort and energy to keep the entertainment going
In the nickelodeon
In the old-fashioned music-playing machine
All I want is lovin' you
My main desire is to express my affection towards you
And music! music! music!
And continuously enjoy the sound of music together
I'd do anything for you
I'm willing to go to great lengths for you
Anything you'd want me to
I am open to fulfilling all your wishes
All I want is kissin' you
My ultimate wish is to be close to you physically
Closer, my dear, come closer
Come nearer to me, my beloved
The nicest part of any melody
The most enjoyable section of any tune
Is when you're dancing close to me
Is when we share an intimate moment dancing together
C'mon, everybody! Put some nickels in! And keep that old nickelodeon playing!
Encouraging everyone to keep the music playing by contributing more nickels
Dum-dee-dum dee-dah-dee-dum
Repeating a simple, catchy musical phrase
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bernie Baum, Stephan Weiss
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Anonymous
on Why Don't You Do Right (Get Me Some Money Too)
Why Don't You Do Right - Casey Abrams - Lyrics
You had plenty money 1922
You let other women make a fool of you
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too?
You're sitting there wondering what it's all about
You ain't got no money, they will throw you out
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too?
Musical Interlude
You had plenty money 1922
You let other women make a fool of you
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too?
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?