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."
The Lady Is A Tramp
Peggy Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And never wished for Turkey
As I hitched and hiked and grifted too
From Maine to Albuquerque
Alas, I missed the 'Beaux Arts Ball'
And what is twice as sad
I was never at a party where
But social circles spin too fast for me
My hobohemia is the place to be
I get too hungry, for dinner at eight
I like the theater, but never come late
I never bother, with people I hate
That's why the lady is a tramp
I don't like crap games, with barons and earls
Won't go to Harlem, in ermine and pearls
Won't dish the dirt, with the rest of the girls
That's why the lady is a tramp
I like the free, fresh wind in her hair
Life without care, I'm broke, it's okay
Hate California, it's cold and it's damp
That's why the lady is a tramp
I go to Coney, the beach is divine
I go to ballgames, the bleachers are fine
I follow Winchell, and read every line
That's why the lady is a tramp
I like a prizefight, that isn't a fake
I love the rowing, on Central Park lake
I go to Opera and stay wide awake
That's why the lady is a tramp
I like the green grass under my shoes
What can I lose, I'm flat, that's that
I'm alone when I lower my lamp
That's why the lady is a tramp
In Peggy Lee's song The Lady Is A Tramp, the singer proudly declares her independence and non-conformity to mainstream society's expectations. She reflects on her experiences of traveling across the country and living a simpler, more carefree life as a homeless poet (her "hobohemia"). She scoffs at the idea of being impressed by luxury and high society, preferring the simple pleasures of the beach, ballgames, and following the gossip columns. Her disdain for pretentiousness and materialism is evident in her declaration that she never wished for "Turkey" despite dining on "Mulligan Stew," and by her rejection of the elitist social circles that move too fast for her. Ultimately, she is content with her life and is unapologetic about her choices, even if others view her as a tramp.
Line by Line Meaning
I've wined and dined on Mulligan Stew
I have experienced and enjoyed life's simpler pleasures
And never wished for Turkey
I don't desire the overly lavish things in life
As I hitched and hiked and grifted too
I've traveled and lived a non-traditional lifestyle
From Maine to Albuquerque
I've been everywhere and seen a lot
Alas, I missed the 'Beaux Arts Ball'
I regret not attending certain high-class events
And what is twice as sad
It's even worse that I wasn't there to celebrate Noel Coward
I was never at a party where
I haven't been to many fancy parties
They honored Noel Coward
And I especially haven't celebrated famous playwrights
But social circles spin too fast for me
I can't keep up with the fast pace of high society
My hobohemia is the place to be
I prefer the more laid-back lifestyle of a vagabond
I get too hungry, for dinner at eight
I don't conform to the traditional mealtime etiquette
I like the theater, but never come late
I enjoy the arts, but I won't be delayed by anyone else
I never bother, with people I hate
I have no interest in spending time with those I dislike
That's why the lady is a tramp
These are the reasons why I'm unconventional
I don't like crap games, with barons and earls
I don't enjoy gambling with wealthy people
Won't go to Harlem, in ermine and pearls
I don't feel comfortable dressing up too extravagantly in certain places
Won't dish the dirt, with the rest of the girls
I don't gossip or engage in petty conversations
That's why the lady is a tramp
These are the reasons why I'm unconventional
I like the free, fresh wind in her hair
I prefer a natural and unpretentious look and feel
Life without care, I'm broke, it's okay
I'm fine without expensive or high-maintenance things
Hate California, it's cold and it's damp
I don't like the gloomy weather in California
I go to Coney, the beach is divine
I enjoy the simple pleasures of going to the beach
I go to ballgames, the bleachers are fine
I like attending sports events and being a part of the crowd
I follow Winchell, and read every line
I stay informed about current events and popular culture
That's why the lady is a tramp
These are the reasons why I'm unconventional
I like a prizefight, that isn't a fake
I appreciate honest and fair competition
I love the rowing, on Central Park lake
I enjoy outdoor activities in natural settings
I go to Opera and stay wide awake
I can appreciate high culture and stay alert during performances
That's why the lady is a tramp
These are the reasons why I'm unconventional
I like the green grass under my shoes
I enjoy being close to nature
What can I lose, I'm flat, that's that
I don't have much money or status, and I'm okay with that
I'm alone when I lower my lamp
I'm content with spending time by myself
That's why the lady is a tramp
These are the reasons why I'm unconventional
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
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?