Ballads, Balladeers, Balladists, and Balladry: Is That All There Is? I Don't Think So.

I've become a great fan of Peggy Lee. She is one of those artists I never listened to or paid much attention to growing up. Like many of the artists I have discovered her prime time could be said to have occurred before my time. As a boy and even later I remember seeing her occasionally on television programs. For some reason I can only remember her singing Send In The Clowns, a song that has never been one of my favorites, no matter who performs it. It is interesting to note that I have not been able to find a recording of this song by Peggy Lee, although I am sure I saw her perform it on television.

But with my new found love of the B4 music I started searching out and listening to Peggy Lee's catalog of music. I'm sure many of you have come across a favorite song by an artist. A song that just clicks and makes you appreciate that artist's talents. With me it was Peggy Lee's version of Georgia.

Though this song is definitely pegged to Ray Charles and not Peggy Lee, her straight forward clear rendition of this song won me over. Of course the song tied most closely to Peggy Lee is Fever, which for some reason, again has never been one of my favorite songs.

I am always a bit crestfallen when a radio station plays Peggy Lee's Fever for the umpteenth time, knowing at the same time what a wide range of beautiful Peggy Lee numbers are available.

Peggy Lee was born Norma Deloris Egstrom May 26, 1920 in Jamestown, North Dakota and died in Los Angeles, California January 21, 2002 from heart failure further aggravated by prior strokes. Her biography states that she had a difficult childhood after her mother died at an early age. She worked with a group in Chicago until she was picked up by Benny Goodman in 1941 and became his band's principal singer. She was so successful that she left Benny Goodman's band in 1942 and went solo. She co-wrote several songs with her husband Dave Barbour. In fact Peggy Lee was a talented songwriter and wrote or co-wrote over 200 songs and performed over 600 songs.

She also had a small movie career appearing in the 1952 movie "The Jazz Singer" and the 1955 movie "Pete Kelly's Blues" for which she received an Academy Award nomination. She wrote several of the songs for and also did voice over in the Walt Disney 1955 animated feature "The Lady And The Tramp." In 1987, having only been paid $3500 dollars for her work in this movie, she successfully sued Disney after they released it for sale to the public. Her later acting roles were confined to television appearances

Peggy Lee had a distinctive sultry, one might say in some cases, quiet voice that brought a unique flavor to everything she performed. It is stated that she practiced this quality when she performed in the nightclub scene. She couldn't belt out songs to overcome a nightclub's loud background noise so she restrained her voice which actually drew the audience in and riveted them to her performance. She was a very meticulous performer who worked at staging sets, lighting, makeup, costumes and even personal movements and gestures..

This only scratches the surface of Peggy Lee's long and illustrious career. She was a one-of-a-kind talent and has left us a wonderful legacy in her many recordings.

He's A Tramp