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."
What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry
Peggy Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm sorry sweetheart and yet
Though you shouldn't be lenient with me
I hope you'll forgive and forget
What can I say, dear, after I say I'm sorry?
What can I do to prove it to you, I'm sorry?
I didn't mean to ever be mean to you
I was all wrong but right or wrong I don't blame you
Why should I take somebody like you and shame you
I know that I made you cry, and I'm so sorry dear
So what can I say, dear, after I say I'm sorry?
You made me glad, I made you sad
I made you lonesome and blue
And who ever knew
Who'd ever think that I would be crying to you
What can I say, dear, after I say I'm sorry?
What can I do to prove it to you, I'm sorry?
I didn't mean to ever be mean to you
If I didn't care I wouldn't feel like I do
I was all wrong but right or wrong I don't blame you
Why should I take somebody like you and shame you
I know that I made you cry, and I'm so sorry dear
So what can I say, dear, after I say I'm sorry?
In the song What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry by Peggy Lee, the singer expresses regret and apologizes to her lover for causing them pain. She acknowledges the hurt she has caused and asks for forgiveness, hoping that the mistake will not permanently damage their relationship. She acknowledges that she was "all wrong" and that it was never her intention to be hurtful.
The lyrics display a sense of vulnerability and introspection as the singer reflects on her actions and their consequence. This can be seen in lines such as "If I didn't care, I wouldn't feel like I do." She recognizes the value of her partner and their relationship, recognizing the harm that her actions have caused. The plea for forgiveness is heartfelt and sincere, indicating a desire for reconciliation and to make things right.
Overall, the song conveys a sense of regret, but also a belief that it is possible to move past mistakes and work towards healing. It recognizes the emotions and experiences of both parties involved and acknowledges the importance of communication and understanding in a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't know why, I made you cry
I am truly sorry that I hurt you, but I cannot understand what caused me to behave that way.
I'm sorry sweetheart and yet
While I express my apology, I understand that saying sorry is just one small part of making things right.
Though you shouldn't be lenient with me
I know that I do not deserve your forgiveness easily and you have every right to be upset with me.
I hope you'll forgive and forget
With all my heart, I want you to find it in you to pardon me and put this incident behind us.
What can I say, dear, after I say I'm sorry?
I am not sure what I can do or say to show you how much remorse I feel for hurting you.
What can I do to prove it to you, I'm sorry?
Please tell me what I can do to make it up to you and demonstrate my regret for my actions.
I didn't mean to ever be mean to you
I never intended to inflict pain on you, but in the moment, I failed to act with compassion.
If I didn't care I wouldn't feel like I do
My deep sorrow and distress proves that I care for you deeply, and I am devastated that I caused you harm.
I was all wrong but right or wrong I don't blame you
My behavior was completely unacceptable and misguided, but I recognize that you were not at fault here.
Why should I take somebody like you and shame you
It was insensitive and unkind of me to act in a way that made you feel humiliated or disgraced.
I know that I made you cry, and I'm so sorry dear
I understand that my actions caused you an immense amount of pain, and I am deeply apologetic for it.
You made me glad, I made you sad
I regret that my behavior turned a moment of happiness into one of sorrow and disappointment.
I made you lonesome and blue
I see now that my mistake contributed to making you feel lonely, and I am sorry for it.
And who ever knew
It is striking to think that the tables have turned and now I am looking to you for comfort and a way to make amends.
Who'd ever think that I would be crying to you
I am humbled by the fact that you are the one person who can make me feel better about causing pain, and I am grateful to have you in my life.
Lyrics © DONALDSON PUBLISHING CO, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Walter Donaldson, Abe Lyman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Corrie121
What can I say, apart from saying this is wonderful ! Thank you for sharing this gem.
Anonymous
Peggy just swung! Also had great musicians.