[Dixielandjazz] Peggy Lee young and old

[Don Ingle]

I have two LP's that I have been thinking of burning off to CD's. Blues
Cross Country, a great collection of placv name blues. Her version of
Mercer's Salt Lake City Blues in particular a gem.
Then there is Beauty and the Beat with George Shearing -- both at their best
and perfectly paired.
In my high school days in the dark ages of the 40's, we all knew and sang
along with Why Don'tcha Do  Right and Get Me Some Money, Too! Didn't hurt to
have the Goodman band backing her, either.
As a composer herself, she was more than competent. Her "I can sing a
rainbow" in Pete Kelly's
Blues a lovely lyric in itself.
She was one of the few who made the big bad Eisner of Disney eat crow. She
sued -- and won -- big bucks for their unlicensed use of her copyrighted
music that they were not going to pay for since it had been used in an
earlier Disney flick. But she wwas smart enough to have reserved all rights
beyond the original license for use, and not a "work for hire" sale. Disney
not only had to pay but in 7 figures -- that's  a million bucks, baby.
The Swede was definitely no dumb blond!!
Yes, her final days, following several debilitating illnesses, were sad to
see. But even at her worst she was better than most of today's crop of
singers in search of  the melody.
Don Ingle
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Charles Suhor" <csuhor at zebra.net>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 2004 5:31 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Peggy Lee young and old


> 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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