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."
Wrong
Peggy Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I may be wrong but I think you're swell
I like your style say, I think it's marvelous
I'm always wrong so how can I tell
Deuces to me are all aces
Life is to me just a bore
Faces are all open spaces
You came along say I think you're wonderful
I think you're grand but I may be wrong
I may be wrong but I think you're wonderful
I may be wrong but I think you're swell
I like your style say, I really think it's marvelous
I'm always wrong so how can I tell
Deuces to me are all aces
Life is to me just a bore
Faces are all open spaces
You might be John Barrymore
You came along say I think you're wonderful
I think you're grand but I may be wrong
You said that Edison would never make that light
You laughed at Mr. Franklin with his key and kite
The point of the song is I'm always wrong
But with you baby I'm oh so right.
The song "Wrong" by Peggy Lee starts by admitting her own fallibility - "I may be wrong but I think you're wonderful". However, this statement is immediately followed by another, with the repeat of 'I may be wrong' demonstrating a playful repetition. Peggy expresses her admiration for the person she's addressing by saying that she thinks they're swell, and that she likes their style, which is nothing short of marvelous. Peggy goes on to say that she is often wrong, so she really can't tell. She then continues the theme of being wrong all the time, stating that for her, deuces are all aces and life is boring. Peggy imagines people as open spaces with faces and wonders if her subject is somebody famous like John Barrymore. Peggy concludes by repeating her opening statement and adding that with him, even though she is typically wrong, she feels that she's absolutely right.
The song seems like a light-hearted flirtation with a suitor or a lover, with Peggy Lee complimenting him but also admitting that she's not exactly sure why she likes him or what she sees in him. There's a humorous touch to the repeated phrase 'I may be wrong' that suggests Peggy doesn't take herself too seriously, but she still manages to convey that she thinks very highly of the person she's singing to. The lines where she mentions John Barrymore and Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin seem like they're meant to be taken lightly as well, as if Peggy is saying that she might be mistaken about her own opinions, but she still thinks she knows better than some of the great minds of history.
Line by Line Meaning
I may be wrong but I think you're wonderful
Despite my track record of being wrong, I believe that you are truly wonderful.
I may be wrong but I think you're swell
Although I have been known to be mistaken in the past, I find you to be delightful.
I like your style say, I think it's marvelous
Your personal demeanor and presentation are truly admirable and wonderful to me.
I'm always wrong so how can I tell
Given my tendency toward incorrectness, I am unsure of how accurate my perceptions are.
Deuces to me are all aces
I frequently misunderstand card games and their ranking systems.
Life is to me just a bore
I find existence to be tedious and mundane.
Faces are all open spaces
When it comes to facial expressions and emotions, I am often lost and uncertain in interpretation.
You might be John Barrymore
You have a certain likeness to the famous actor John Barrymore.
You came along say I think you're wonderful
Since meeting you, I believe that you are an amazing person.
I think you're grand but I may be wrong
I have a high opinion of you, but given my history of inaccuracy, I may not be completely accurate.
You said that Edison would never make that light
You expressed doubt in Edison's ability to create a lightbulb.
You laughed at Mr. Franklin with his key and kite
You found humor in Franklin's experiment with lightning and a kite.
The point of the song is I'm always wrong
The song highlights my infallibility in making accurate assessments and judgments.
But with you baby I'm oh so right.
Despite my usual shortcomings, I feel confident that my feelings toward you are true and accurate.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RUSKIN HARRY, HENRY SULLIVAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sonia Sutcliffe
That is so beautiful! How young she was. Perfection!
moon beam
I read that Peggy said in interviews that she was truly in love with Dave Barbour even after they were no longer married. He was the love of her life!
mundo apocalíptico
She is so natural in her acting that you do not realize she is singing.
Jim Starks, Jr.
There's Only One Ms. Peggy Lee. Her stlye is unique. Great Presence.
Howard Finnegan
I guess Im asking the wrong place but does anybody know a method to log back into an Instagram account..?
I was stupid lost my login password. I love any tricks you can give me.
Axl Fabian
@Howard Finnegan Instablaster ;)
Howard Finnegan
@Axl Fabian I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site thru google and Im in the hacking process now.
Takes quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
Howard Finnegan
@Axl Fabian It worked and I finally got access to my account again. Im so happy:D
Thanks so much you saved my ass :D
Axl Fabian
@Howard Finnegan you are welcome :D
Louise Liu
So sweet, the two of them! Thanks for uploading