From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sun May 26, 2002  2:16 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Peggy Lee
 
PEGGY LEE

Born Norma Deloris Egstrom, 26 May 1920, Jamestown, North Dakota
Died 21 February 2002, Bel Air, California

Singer / actress / songwriter.
Peggy Lee's alluring tone, distinctive delivery, breadth of material, and
ability to write many of her own songs made her one of the most captivating
artists of the vocal era.
Her break came in 1941, when she was heard by Benny Goodman, whose
regular vocalist Helen Forrest was about to leave his band. In 1943, "Why
Don't You Do Right" became her first major hit but she left the Goodman
band (and the music industry altogether) later that year after marrying
Goodman's guitarist, Dave Barbour, who would also become her songwriting
partner. After just over a year of domestic life, Peggy Lee returned to music.
In late 1945, Capitol signed her to a solo contract and she hit the charts
with her first shot, "Waitin' for the Train to Come In." Lee continued to score
during the late '40s, with over two dozen chart entries before the end of the
decade, including "It's a Good Day," "Golden Earrings" and "Maņana (Is
Soon Enough for Me)", the most popular song of 1948. She spent five years
at Decca (1952-1957), before moving back to Capitol. There, she distinguished
herself through recording a wide variety of material, including songs - and
occasionally, entire LPs - influenced by the blues, Latin and cabaret as well
as pop. Her ultra-cool version of Little Willie John's "Fever" (1958) was her
last
major hit (# 8) until 1969, when she went to # 11 with the Leiber/Stoller penned
"Is That All There Is?". She continued recording contemporary material until
1972's "Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota" brought her
back to her roots. It was her last LP for Capitol. She recorded single LPs for
Atlantic, A&M, Polydor UK and DRG before effectively retiring at the beginning
of the 1980s. She returned in 1988 with two LPs for Music Masters that revisited

her earlier successes. Her last album, Moments Like This, was recorded in 1992
for Chesky. Her voice was effectively silenced after a 1998 stroke, and she died
of a heart attack at her Bel Air home in early 2002.

Obituary: http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,3604,637504,00.html
Website: http://www.peggylee.com/home.html
CD recommendation : The Best Of The Capitol Years.
Her autobiography, "Miss Peggy Lee", originally published by Fine (NYC) in
1989, was reissued by Bloomsbury in London this year, with a new introduction.