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."
That's All
Peggy Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the promise to be near each time you call
And the only heart I own for you and you alone
That's all, that's all
I can only give you country walks in springtime
And a hand to hold when leaves begin to fall
And a love whose burning light
That's all, that's all
There are those, I am sure, who have told you
They would give you the world for a toy
All I have are these arms to enfold you
And the love time can never destroy
If you're wondering what I'm asking in return, dear
You'll be glad to know that my demands are small
Say it's me that you adore, for now and evermore
That's all, that's all
The lyrics to Peggy Lee's song "That's All" speak of the singer's humble love and her limitations in what she can offer to her beloved. The opening verse states that she can only provide a love that will last forever and the promise to be there each time her beloved calls. She goes on to say that the only heart she owns is dedicated solely to him. The second verse speaks to the simple pleasures that she can provide, such as country walks in springtime and a hand to hold during the fall. She promises a love that will last through the winter nights.
The bridge addresses the possibility that others may have promised the world to her beloved, but she humbly offers only her own arms to hold him and a love that time cannot destroy. The final verse asks for very little in return, only that her beloved loves her now and forevermore. The overall message of the song is that love does not require grand gestures or material possessions, but can instead be found in the small moments and humble offerings of the heart.
Line by Line Meaning
I can only give you love that lasts forever
I promise to love you eternally and without reservation.
And the promise to be near each time you call
You can always count on me to support you in good times and bad.
And the only heart I own for you and you alone
My love and devotion belong solely to you.
That's all, that's all
Despite my limited means, my love is true and unwavering.
I can only give you country walks in springtime
We may not have a luxurious life, but we can enjoy the simple pleasures of nature together.
And a hand to hold when leaves begin to fall
I vow to comfort you during the inevitable hardships of life.
And a love whose burning light
Will warm the winter night
My love for you is a light that will guide us through even the darkest and coldest of times.
There are those, I am sure, who have told you
They would give you the world for a toy
Others may make grandiose promises, but I offer you something far more valuable - my unwavering love.
All I have are these arms to enfold you
My most precious offering is the physical comfort and protection of my embrace.
And the love time can never destroy
Our love will stand the test of time and grow even stronger with each passing year.
If you're wondering what I'm asking in return, dear
I only ask for your reciprocated love and affection.
You'll be glad to know that my demands are small
I do not seek material wealth or superficial things; all I require is your genuine love.
Say it's me that you adore, for now and evermore
All I desire is your unwavering love and devotion, now and for all eternity.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BOB HAYMES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
NoireFox
On a lonely night like tonight, this song brings tears to my eyes. Such a lovely voice.
Boris Greff
Such a tender, creamy, sift voice. What a wonderful orchestra. What a gift, so touching.
Ecgwald
"I have read that the orchestra, on this album, was conducted by Francis Albert Sinatra."
From arrangements by the great Nelson Riddle who was no doubt there to oversee.
Joe Hallen
MAGNIFICENT RENDITION I LOVE MISS PEGGY LEE REST IN PEACE DEAR ONE
C. Middleton
Dick Haymes, brother of composer Bob Haymes had a hit w/ this song, probably one of the finest versions recorded.
Joe Hallen
DO I LOVE THIS SO MUCH TO THE MOON & BACK FOR EVER AND EVER. REST IN PEACE MISS PEGGY LEE REST IN PEACE DEAR ONE FOR I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU FOREVER AND EVERMORE
Mary Hawkins
Reminds me of the songs my Mom liked.
Chase Jackson
can respect this interpretation n have heard mny others.....the only version that had ever moved me was done by edie adams on the lucy desi CH....
Chris Binion
0:53-0:57... I always thought that music was part of the score in "Monkey Shines".
Major Tom
correct. That was the first time I heard it, but it is now one of my faves.