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."
On the Sunny Side of the Street
Peggy Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I had nothing but shadows
Then one morning you passed
And I brightened at last
Now I greet the day and complete the day
With the sun in my heart
All my worry blew away
When you taught me how to say
Grab your coat and get your hat
Leave your worry on the doorstep
Just direct your feet
To the sunny side of the street
Can't you hear a pitter-pat?
And that happy tune is your step
Life can be so sweet
On the sunny side of the street
I used to walk in the shade
With those blues on parade
But I'm not afraid
This Rover crossed over
If I never have a cent
I'd be rich as Rockefeller
Gold dust at my feet
On the sunny side of the street
Grab your street
The lyrics of Peggy Lee's "On the Sunny Side of the Street" tells a story of a person who had been walking alone and lost, with nothing but shadows to keep them company. But their life is transformed when they meet someone who brings light into their life. The morning they meet this person, they brighten up and feel complete, as they now have the sun in their heart. They no longer worry about life's troubles, as they have been taught how to say "grab your coat and get your hat, leave your worry on the doorstep, just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street." The lyrics highlight that life can be sweet and joyful, as long as one chooses to focus on the positive and let go of their worries.
The lyrics are a metaphor for life and how our experiences shape us. We all face tough times and hardships, but it's important to have someone who can bring joy into our lives and help us see the sunny side of it. The emphasis on positivity and joy is emphasized through the use of pitter-pat rhythms and a happy tune, which encourages the listener to be optimistic and hopeful.
Line by Line Meaning
Walked with no one and talked with no one
I was lonely and didn't have anyone to talk to or walk with.
And I had nothing but shadows
My life was empty and I felt lost.
Then one morning you passed
But then you came into my life.
And I brightened at last
You made me happy and lifted my spirit.
Now I greet the day and complete the day
I start and end my day with joy and enthusiasm.
With the sun in my heart
My heart is filled with happiness.
All my worry blew away
My worries disappeared.
When you taught me how to say
When you taught me to focus on the positive.
Grab your coat and get your hat
Get ready to go outside.
Leave your worry on the doorstep
Don't bring your worries with you.
Just direct your feet
Head in the right direction.
To the sunny side of the street
Towards a more positive outlook.
Can't you hear a pitter-pat?
Listen to your heart skip with joy.
And that happy tune is your step
Your mood is uplifted and reflected in your step.
Life can be so sweet
Life can be wonderful and full of joy.
On the sunny side of the street
Looking at the bright side of life.
I used to walk in the shade
I used to be unhappy and dwell in negativity.
With those blues on parade
With a constant stream of problems and sadness.
But I'm not afraid
But I'm now courageous and optimistic.
This Rover crossed over
I've left the negative mindset behind.
If I never have a cent
Even if I'm broke and penniless.
I'd be rich as Rockefeller
I'd still feel wealthy and happy.
Gold dust at my feet
Life would be full of opportunities and happiness.
On the sunny side of the street
Living a positive and joyful life.
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mitina4608
Grab your coat get your hat
披上大衣 戴上帽子
Leave your worries on the doorstep
把煩憂 留在門口
Just direct your feet
就朝那去吧
To the sunny side of the street
往街上的向陽面去吧
Don’t you hear the pitter-pat
沒聽見嗎？那清脆的聲響
And that happy tune is your step
吟唱著快樂曲調的 是你的腳步
Life can be so sweet
生命 將會如此甜美
On the sunny side of the street
在街上的向陽面
I used to walk in the shade
我曾走在陰暗處
with those blues on parade
與憂鬱、悲傷 同行
But I'm not afraid
但我不害怕
This rover crossed over
這個漂泊的人 已經過了街
If I never had a cent
而即使我一文不名
I'd be rich as Rockefeller
我仍將富有的 有如洛克斐勒
Gold dust at my feet
金沙 就在腳邊
On the sunny side of the street
在那灑著陽光的 街上的向陽面
@DirkDillingerBlues
Recorded in 1941, a time when children on the streets only needed a stick and a rock to be entertained while parents huddled around the radio in the parlour to be entertained by the amplitude modulation of great songs like this ...
@davidbrown8763
What a great Lady.
To distract them from one of the two most horrific wars in history, they certainly needed messages like the uplifting message in this song.
@yogibexargaming4600
to be precise it was recorded on Christmas Eve a few weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Wild that such a happy song was recorded during a tragic time for the nation.
@korntidapongkaew7572
I am born in 1985 but my life was attracted and fascinated in that era with those song.
@jetpilot3714
Yep, same here
@KimberleyB
My husband and I used this song as the recessional at our wedding almost 27 years ago. Our wedding had some fun, eclectic music. Funny story, one we have on video and I should post. The wedding party filed out as the intro played, then -- right as the pastor put his foot out to step down onto the first step off the platform -- Peggy Lee began singing, "Grab your coat get your hat, leave your worries on the doorstep...." The pastor paused just a moment, grinned, shrugged, and started down the steps. You can hear the guests laughing on the video. We hadn't planned that timing at all, but it was perfect. Great memories. 🥰
@honestdave4362
Dorothy Fields was a fabulous lyricist: simple, easy lyrics that don't overwhelm the music, and yet very picturesque at the same time.
@ronaldciccone260
Peggy And Benny, Incredible, Great Jazz.
@ronaldciccone260
My Mother Said To Me In The Forties Guys Would Keep Popping Nickles In Jute Box To Hear Peggy Sing And Her Beauty.
@brendonbearss4381
I listen to this while im doing my homework so that i dont get mad