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."
Something
Peggy Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Attracts me like no other lover
Something in the way he woos me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe and how
Somewhere in her smile he knowsThat I don't need no other lover
Something in her style that shows me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe and how
You're asking me will my love grow
I don't know, I don't know
You stick around now it may show
I don't know, I don't know
Something in the way he knows
And all I have to do is think of her
Something in the things he shows me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe and how
The lyrics to Peggy Lee's "Something" evoke the feeling of being completely mesmerized by someone. The singer expresses that there is something unique and special about the way this person moves and woos that draws her in like no other lover she's had before. The fact that she doesn't want to leave this person, even though she knows she probably should, shows just how much she's fallen for them.
The second verse expands on this idea, with the singer acknowledging that this person knows her so well that they don't need any other lovers in their lives. There's something about this person's style and smile that just captivates her completely. Once again, the singer expresses how she doesn't want to leave this person because she believes in their love.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of this song is the uncertainty that's woven throughout the lyrics. The line "You're asking me will my love grow / I don't know, I don't know" suggests that the singer isn't sure what the future holds for their relationship. This uncertainty is echoed in the ending lines of the final verse, where the singer acknowledges that there's something about this person that just makes her think of them all the time, but she's still not entirely sure if their love will grow.
Line by Line Meaning
Something in the way he moves
There's an indescribable quality to the way he carries himself that draws me towards him and sets him apart from other potential love interests.
Attracts me like no other lover
There's an inexplicable attraction that I have towards him that surpasses any other romantic connections I've had before.
Something in the way he woos me
There's a unique charm to the way he pursues me that resonates with me and makes me feel desired in a way that no one else could.
I don't want to leave her now
Despite any doubts or concerns I may have, I feel a deep connection to him that makes me unwilling to walk away from our relationship at this moment.
You know I believe and how
I'm completely convinced of the depth and authenticity of my feelings for him, and I'm not afraid to show it.
Somewhere in her smile he knows
He can read into the subtle nuances of my expressions and demeanor, and he understands me on a level that no one else ever could.
That I don't need no other lover
There's no one else out there that I could ever see myself loving or connecting with in the same way that I do with him.
Something in her style that shows me
The way she presents herself and carries herself speaks volumes about who she is as a person, and it endears me to her even more.
You're asking me will my love grow
You're inquiring about the sustainability and longevity of the connection that we have, and whether or not it has the potential to blossom into something more profound and meaningful.
I don't know, I don't know
I'm not entirely sure what the future holds for us in terms of our relationship and where it may lead us over time.
You stick around now it may show
If we remain committed to each other and continue to nurture our connection, then perhaps we will discover that our love has the capacity to grow and deepen over time.
Something in the way he knows
There's a perceptiveness and an intuition that he possesses that allows him to understand me on a level that no one else ever has or ever will.
And all I have to do is think of her
Simply recalling memories of her or picturing her in my mind is enough to fill me with a sense of warmth and joy that is unmatched by anything else in my life.
Something in the things he shows me
There's an openness and vulnerability to him that allows him to share aspects of himself with me that he may not feel comfortable revealing to anyone else.
I don't want to leave her now
Even though there may be challenges or obstacles in our relationship, I feel a deep sense of commitment towards her that makes me want to stick it out and work through any issues together.
You know I believe and how
My belief in the strength and authenticity of our love is unwavering, and I'm confident in the fact that we can weather any storm that comes our way.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: George Harrison
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@garethmiller2024
Definitely one of the best versions of this song . Peggy was awesome !
@bluecrownblue
I saw her at the Hollywood Bowl in the late 90s and she was still killing it.
@chrisn7259
A lot of pop stars were doing Beatles covers then, this is one of the tastiest.
@canalcksofficial1745
this is one of the most covers Beatles songs, made by the other artists after yesterday's paul song
@alfching2499
@@canalcksofficial1745 Yeh,Yeh,Yeh.
@MatthewKellerCA
Exquisite. Lee's phrasing and peak vocal performance invest this Beatles' classic with new meaning. What she could do with the slight lift of an eyebrow! All the performances from this episode, especially "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," are magnificent. Hope to see them here soon!
@marisalarosa4325
M mdoun lup
@chrispnw2547
In the 70s there was an understanding/respect of performing songs written by the greats of the time. Elvis's interpretation of other's song was next level to the point where the song (Just Can't Help Believing) became 'his song'. Peggy had the same gift and this quality is surely missed.
@xavierminchello8431
HER SIDE EYE WAS SULTRY!
@Dezotuf
Almost ANY song by this fabulous singer is done so that it is uniquely hers. I love her sexy voice and style. She's so calm and still, but close your eyes and she just knocks it out of the park. My favorite is "Is That All There Is". However, anything by Ms Lee is so moving. I'm at the age now where so many greats of that Golden Age are gone and I hope when my time comes, we will all spiritually reconnect over that Bridge !!! Thanks for posting !!!