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."
Spinning Wheel
Peggy Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Spinning Wheel got to go 'round
Talkin' 'bout your troubles
It's a cryin' sin
Ride a painted pony
Let the Spinning Wheel spin
You got no money, you got no home
Spinning Wheel all alone
You never learn
Ride a painted pony
Let the Spinning Wheel turn
Did you find your directing sign
On the straight and narrow highway
Would you mind a reflecting sign?
Just let it shine within your mind
And show you the colors that are real
Someone is waiting just for you
Spinning Wheel spinning true
Drop all you troubles by the river side
The song Spinning Wheel by Peggy Lee is a poignant reflection on the cyclical nature of life, with its ups and downs, and the need to keep moving forward despite the challenges we face. The song opens with the line "What goes up must come down, spinning wheel got to go 'round," which sets the tone for this message. Indeed, the Spinning Wheel is a metaphor for life's twists and turns and the need to persevere.
The song goes on to encourage listeners to let go of their troubles and worries and embrace life's journey. "Talkin' 'bout your troubles, it's a cryin' sin," sings Lee. "Ride a painted pony, let the spinning wheel spin." The lyrics also touch upon the issue of homelessness and financial hardship, as Lee sings, "You got no money, you got no home, spinning wheel all alone." Despite these challenges, Lee encourages listeners to stay the course and keep their spirits up.
The final verse of the song is perhaps the most thought-provoking, with a call to reflect on one's place in the world and the colors that make life worth living. "Did you find your directing sign on the straight and narrow highway? Would you mind a reflecting sign? Just let it shine within your mind and show you the colors that are real," sings Lee. She ends the song on a hopeful note, suggesting that someone special is waiting for the listener, and encouraging them to "drop all your troubles by the river side" and keep moving forward.
Line by Line Meaning
What goes up must come down
Every good thing will eventually come to an end and there will be a downfall.
Spinning Wheel got to go 'round
The cycle of life will continue and one must keep moving forward.
Talkin' 'bout your troubles
Sharing your problems can be a relief and help ease the burden.
It's a cryin' sin
It can be emotionally painful to go through difficult times.
Ride a painted pony
Find joy in life and enjoy the ride.
Let the Spinning Wheel spin
Accept the twists and turns of life and don't try to control everything.
You got no money, you got no home
Financial and personal insecurity can add to the struggle of everyday life.
Spinning Wheel all alone
Feeling isolated and alone in one's struggles is a tough experience.
Talkin' 'bout your troubles and you
It's important to address your own problems rather than only focusing on others'.
You never learn
Sometimes it can be difficult to learn from past mistakes and experiences.
Did you find your directing sign
Have you found your purpose and direction in life?
On the straight and narrow highway
Are you staying true to your values and beliefs in life?
Would you mind a reflecting sign?
Would you be willing to receive guidance and advice along the way?
Just let it shine within your mind
Allow yourself to be open to new ideas and perspectives.
And show you the colors that are real
Reveal the true beauty and authenticity of life.
Someone is waiting just for you
There are people who care for you and are there to support you.
Spinning Wheel spinning true
Life will continue to move forward, whether we are ready or not.
Drop all your troubles by the riverside
Take some time to relax and find peace, and let go of your worries.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: David Clayton-Thomas
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?