[Dixielandjazz] Peggy Lee young and old

[Charles Suhor]

Steve & others--

If young folks saw her on TV or live in her last performance days, they saw
the ghost of Peggy Lee. She had lost her stamina, and what was once cool
and subtle in her became comatose. She wore sepulchral, flowing white
dresses and she practically murmured her songs. When she sang the
once-brilliant "Fever," she sounded feverish, in the extreme.

For great classic Peggy, the double CD on Decca MCA label (MCD2-11122),
titled "Black Coffee and Other Delights" is wonderful. It has some other
tracks from the original Black Coffee LP including the stunning "My Heart
Belongs to Daddy,""Easy Living" & "When the World Was Young." Plus her
equisitie versions of "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads," "You Go to My Head,"
and some great bounce and up-tempo stuff. The few bad tunes are tweaked by
her humor.

And in her prime and well into her mature years-- que babe!! Her singing
would have been sexy and insinuating if she had looked like a wart-hog, but
one wonders if she would have had a chance to show it.

Charlie Suhor


STEVE WROTE:

I'm with you. Not only a great singer, but a great lady to work with
according to our guitarist and others who toured with her for a while about
35 years ago. He waxes eloquently about how well she treated her musicians
and how hip she was. Kind of like Ella and Billie were, with the musicians
who backed them.

She took some heat late in career (mostly from young folks seeing her for the
first time) for her overstated little girl type of dress and heavy make-up but
that was her trademark. As you say she had a great sound, wonderful phrasing and
some beautiful deadpan humor like in "Is That All There Is?" She was always a
class act and still is underrated.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


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