Peggy Lee - Fever

Get the latest Flash player

John1948Ten
March 21, 2009

PLEASE NOTE: I divided my uploads between multiple channels, Bookmark this link in your browser for instant access to an index with links to all of John1948's oldies classics. LINK: http://www...

PLEASE NOTE: I divided my uploads between multiple channels, Bookmark this link in your browser for instant access to an index with links to all of John1948's oldies classics.
LINK: http://www.geocities.com/john1948ten/... -

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, from her breakthrough on the Benny Goodman hit "Why Don't You Do Right" to her many solo successes, singles including "Mañana," "Lover" and "Fever" that showed her bewitching vocal power, a balance between sultry swing and impeccable musicianship.

Born Norma Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota, she suffered the death of her mother at the age of four and endured a difficult stepmother after her father remarried. Given her sense of swing by listening to Count Basie on the radio, she taught herself to sing and made her radio debut at the age of 14. She made the jump to Fargo (where she was christened Peggy Lee), then to Minneapolis and St. Louis to sing with a regional band. Lee twice journeyed to Hollywood to make her fortune, but returned unsuccessful from both trips.

She finally got her big break in 1941, when a vocal group she worked with began appearing at a club in Chicago. While there, she was heard by Benny Goodman, whose regular vocalist Helen Forrest was about to leave his band. Lee recorded with Goodman just a few days later, debuting with the popular "Elmer's Tune" despite a good deal of nerves. That same year, several songs became commercial successes including "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)" and "Winter Weather." 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.

After just over a year of domestic life, Peggy Lee returned to music, first as part of an all-star jazz album. Then, 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," "Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)" -- the most popular song of 1948 -- and "I Don't Know Enough About You." Many of her singles were done in conjunction with Barbour, her frequent writing and recording partner.

After moving to Decca in 1952, Peggy Lee scored with the single "Lover" and an LP, Songs From Pete Kelly's Blues recorded with Ella Fitzgerald (both singers also made appearances in the film). She spent only five years at Decca however, 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. Lee also used many different settings, like an orchestra conducted by none other than Frank Sinatra for 1957's The Man I Love, the George Shearing Quintet for 1959's live appearance Beauty and the Beat, Quincey Jones as arranger and conductor for 1961's If You Go, and arrangements by Benny Carter on 1963's Mink Jazz. Barbour's problems with alcoholism ended their marriage, though they remained good friends until his death in 1965.

Peggy Lee was an early advocate of rock and made a quick transition into rock-oriented material. Given her depth and open mind for great songs no matter the source, it wasn't much of a surprise that she sounded quite comfortable covering the more song-oriented end of late-'60s rock, including great choices by Jimmy Webb, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Burt Bacharach, Randy Newman, Goffin & King and John Sebastian. She nearly brushed the Top Ten in 1969 with Leiber & Stoller's "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, however. Lee 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. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

Some info I received from another member: the "fever" was written by Little Willie John, a black r & b artist who died at a young age in prison. Peggy Lee/Her Record Label added a few lyrics and she released with great success.

Category: Education

Tags:

jazz pop

More From: John1948Ten

Play All Stop Autoplaying | Play Next

QuickList(0)

Clear | Save

220 ratings

97,231 views

Favorite

Playlists

Flag

Want to add to Favorites? Sign In or Sign Up now!

Want to add to Playlists? Sign In or Sign Up now!

Want to flag a video? Sign In or Sign Up now!

Statistics & Data

Video Responses (0)

This video has no Responses. Be the first to Post a Video Response.

Text Comments (56) Options

TSaxman74 (1 day ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

Good work, as usual, John.

Comment(s) marked as spam Show

SanAntonioCrooner (4 days ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

This is sensational! Sexy and SENSATIONAL!

yaniska100 (1 week ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

The reason the sound quality changes throughout the track, Is because the sound engineer who (dubbed this video)... Simply mixed the same song' mixed with two different versions!
And when that happens' the Lip-Sync gets slightly delayed as this video has!

She says... The Audio Fim & sound Engineer!
x

yaniska100 (1 week ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

This song is amazing!

Does anybody know if it was written by Peggy Lee herself.?

braindamagedbunny (1 week ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

This song was originally sung by Little Willie. William John. He died in prison when he was 30 yrs old. I don't have enough characters (how many letters I can type before I am cut off) to tell the whole story. Look him up. Yea he was beat to death.

GordonSpot920 (1 week ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

Fever should never have been attempted by any female singer after Peggy knocked it over the moon!

dOpeeStarO1 (2 weeks ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

great thanks for putting these up

John1948Ten (2 weeks ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

Don't forget Doris Day.

pharmasteve (2 weeks ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

I'm not really familiar with Doris Day's music and films; but every time I think of her, I dont know why, but a 'tom-boy' image springs to mind. Maybe I'm wrong...

But thanks for sharing this video... very nice indeed.

Showing 10 of 56 comments

Show More Comments

View All 56 comments

Would you like to comment?

Join YouTube for a free account, or sign in if you are already a member.

YouTube	Programs	Help	Policy	Discover
Contact Us	Advertising	Get Help	Privacy Policy	YouTube on Your Phone
YouTube Store	Developers	YouTube Handbook	Terms of Service	YouTube on Your Site
Press Room	Partnerships	Community Help Forums	Copyright Notices	YouTube on Your TV
Business Blog	Content Management	Safety Center	Community Guidelines	YouTube RSS Feeds
YouTube Blog		Creator's Corner		TestTube

Add YouTube to your Google homepage

Current Location: Spain Show locations

Peggy Lee - Fever

More From: John1948Ten

QuickList(0)

Related Videos

Statistics & Data

Video Responses (0)

Text Comments (56) Options

Would you like to comment?