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."
You Let My Love Get Cold
Peggy Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So sorry, baby
One million years too late
How long did you think I'd wait?
Sorry, baby
You let me love get cold
At last, all my blues are gone
Sorry, baby
You let my love get cold
Now that I am free
You come knockin′ at my door
Baby, can't you see
That you just don't move me no more?
You left me in the dark
With ice all around my heart
Sorry, baby
You let my love get cold
Now that I am free
You come knockin′, knockin′ at my door
Hey, baby, can't you see
That you just don′t move me no more?
You left me in the dark
With ice all around my heart
I'm sorry, baby
You let my love get cold
In "You Let My Love Get Cold," Peggy Lee conveys a powerful emotion of betrayal and emotional resilience after a tumultuous relationship. The repetition of "I’m sorry, baby" establishes a tone that seems to oscillate between apology and resignation, suggesting a complex emotional landscape where the singer acknowledges past warmth but also signifies a painful loss. The phrase "One million years too late" is poignant—it underscores a sense of urgency that was never reciprocated. The singer reflects on the need for reciprocity in love, implying that the former lover's neglect left her languishing in solitude while she waited for a love that never materialized. This rhetorical question, "How long did you think I’d wait?" illustrates her frustration with the prolonged emotional suffering she endured due to her partner's inattention.
The singer's tone shifts as she reveals her healing journey. The line "I suffered all alone / At last, all my blues are gone" signifies a significant transformation. It reveals a sense of empowerment as the singer moves on from the shadows of her past. The phrase "sorry, baby" recurs as a reminder of the love that has since been extinguished, underscoring the disconnect that exists between the memory of her feelings and the current existence devoid of those emotions. The acknowledgment that "You let my love get cold" conveys a profound sense of loss and abandonment but also marks a point of closure, allowing the singer to reclaim her narrative from that of a passive victim in love to an active agent who has decided to heal.
The verse "Now that I am free / You come knockin' at my door" acts as a stark realization of the ex-lover's newfound interest at a time when the singer has already moved on. This juxtaposition highlights the irony that often accompanies relationships; the person who once took the love for granted now seeks reconciliation only after the singer has liberated herself from the relationship's confines. The rhetorical question "Baby, can't you see / That you just don't move me no more?" serves as both an invitation for understanding and a definitive statement of emotional indifference. The bitterness and resolve within these lyrics assert her newfound strength, emphasizing that the absence of the original passion leaves nothing but a cold and distant memory.
Ultimately, the recurring theme of being "left in the dark / With ice all around my heart" serves to symbolize the emotional chilling effect of neglect. It encapsulates the profound impact that leaving one's love unreciprocated can have, equating the heart's coldness with the absence of warmth from true affection. This imagery reinforces the prevailing emotional conflict—a heart once warmed by love now encased in ice, emphasizing the singer’s journey from longing to liberation. By the end, the repetition of “I’m sorry, baby” suggests that while there may be lingering feelings of sorrow for what was lost, the singer has decisively moved on, reclaiming her heart from a past that no longer holds sway over her present. Through these lyrics, Peggy Lee crafts a narrative of empowerment, resilience, and the capacity to heal from love that has gone cold.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm sorry, baby
I feel regret towards you, expressing an apology for the situation between us.
So sorry, baby
Emphasizing my deep regret over what has transpired in our relationship.
One million years too late
Your realization of my value comes after an unbearable amount of time has passed.
How long did you think I'd wait?
Questioning your perception of my patience; I can no longer stay in limbo.
Sorry, baby
I reiterate my sorrow for what occurred between us, somehow feeling the weight of our past.
You let my love get cold
You allowed my feelings for you to fade and diminish by not reciprocating or caring.
I suffered all alone
Endured the pain and loneliness by myself, feeling neglected and abandoned.
At last, all my blues are gone
Finally, I have overcome my sadness and heartache, finding a sense of relief.
Sorry, baby
Once again, I express my regrets, reinforcing the depth of my feelings over our lost connection.
You let my love get cold
Affirming once more that it was your actions that caused my feelings to diminish.
Now that I am free
Having liberated myself from the grip of our past relationship, I feel unshackled.
You come knockin' at my door
You attempt to reenter my life, seeking my attention and affection once again.
Baby, can't you see
I'm imploring you to recognize the change in my feelings and the futility of your attempts.
That you just don't move me no more?
You no longer evoke strong emotions within me as I have moved on from what we had.
You left me in the dark
You abandoned me emotionally, leaving me in a state of confusion and hurt.
With ice all around my heart
Describing the coldness I felt due to your rejection and indifference towards my love.
Sorry, baby
Yet again, I convey my sorrow regarding how things have unfolded between us.
You let my love get cold
Restating that your lack of care and attention caused my affections to wither away.
Now that I am free
Affirming my liberation from our past relationship and the emotional burdens it carried.
You come knockin', knockin' at my door
You are trying to reconnect with me, trying to reopen communication previously severed.
Hey, baby, can't you see
I’m asking you to realize the changes in my heart and how I feel about you now.
That you just don't move me no more?
Expressing that, despite your efforts, my feelings have changed and you can no longer sway me.
You left me in the dark
Acknowledging again the emotional isolation you inflicted on me when you withdrew.
With ice all around my heart
Describing the resulting emotional coldness left by your lack of warmth and affection.
I'm sorry, baby
Reiterating my sorrow for what has come between us, a sentiment that resonates throughout.
You let my love get cold
Concluding with the painful reality that your indifference led to the demise of my love for you.
Writer(s): Jessie Mae Robinson
Contributed by Hudson I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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?