BIRTHDAY WISHES to PEGGY LEE!
Born Norma Dolores Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota. Sultry song
stylist Peggy Lee was the product of a troubled, abusive childhood and
used singing as her escape. She found work on a radio station as a
teenager in Fargo and soon changed her name to Peggy Lee. An early
move to Hollywood at age 17 proved disappointing, she returned north to her
radio job within a short time. A Chicago nightclub appearance led to
her replacing vocalist Helen Forrest with the Benny Goodman Orchestra in
1941, where she soon earned star status for songs like "Blues in the
Night", "The Way You Look Tonight", and, her signature song, "Why Don't
You Do Right?" She struck out on her own two years later and earned
more hit records with "It's a Good Day" and "Manana", which she wrote.
An elegant, intimate performer with minimalist style, her recording
and supper club fame eventually led to movie offers, notably opposite
Danny Thomas in a remake of The Jazz
Singer (1952). Her peak, came with her vibrant, Oscar-nominated
performance as a singer who battles the bottle in Pete Kelly's Blues
(1955). She also provided singing and speaking voices along with lyrics
for Disney's Lady and the Tramp (1955) that year.
Music was
her first love and she continued on the road, crossing over occasionally
from the easy jazz to pop with such monster hits as "Fever" in
1958 and the Grammy-winning "Is That All There Is?" in 1969. In 1983,
she went to Broadway in an autobiographical production called "Peg". It
was one of the few projects in her life that was not a success.
Her
later years were dogged by ill health and lawsuits, winning $2.3 million
in 1991 against Disney to recoup royalties from videocassette sales of
"Lady and the Tramp" and, a week before her death, earned a
preliminary approval of $4.75 million in a class lawsuit -she was the
lead plaintiff of a group of Decca recording artists- for royalties
against Universal Music Group. Semi-confined to a wheelchair since the
80s due to circulation problems and accidental falls, she valiantly
continued performing until suffering a stroke in 1998. She died of a
heart attack three years later. "Miss Peggy Lee", as she was always
introduced, was a class act all the way and, in talent, is often deemed a
smooth, self-contained combination of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie
Holiday.
BIRTHDAY WISHES to PEGGY LEE!
Born Norma Dolores Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota. Sultry song stylist Peggy Lee was the product of a troubled, abusive childhood and used singing as her escape. She found work on a radio station as a teenager in Fargo and soon changed her name to Peggy Lee. An early move to Hollywood at age 17 proved disappointing, she returned north to her radio job within a short time. A Chicago nightclub appearance led to her replacing vocalist Helen Forrest with the Benny Goodman Orchestra in 1941, where she soon earned star status for songs like "Blues in the Night", "The Way You Look Tonight", and, her signature song, "Why Don't You Do Right?" She struck out on her own two years later and earned more hit records with "It's a Good Day" and "Manana", which she wrote.
An elegant, intimate performer with minimalist style, her recording and supper club fame eventually led to movie offers, notably opposite Danny Thomas in a remake of The Jazz Singer (1952). Her peak, came with her vibrant, Oscar-nominated performance as a singer who battles the bottle in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955). She also provided singing and speaking voices along with lyrics for Disney's Lady and the Tramp (1955) that year.
Born Norma Dolores Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota. Sultry song stylist Peggy Lee was the product of a troubled, abusive childhood and used singing as her escape. She found work on a radio station as a teenager in Fargo and soon changed her name to Peggy Lee. An early move to Hollywood at age 17 proved disappointing, she returned north to her radio job within a short time. A Chicago nightclub appearance led to her replacing vocalist Helen Forrest with the Benny Goodman Orchestra in 1941, where she soon earned star status for songs like "Blues in the Night", "The Way You Look Tonight", and, her signature song, "Why Don't You Do Right?" She struck out on her own two years later and earned more hit records with "It's a Good Day" and "Manana", which she wrote.
An elegant, intimate performer with minimalist style, her recording and supper club fame eventually led to movie offers, notably opposite Danny Thomas in a remake of The Jazz Singer (1952). Her peak, came with her vibrant, Oscar-nominated performance as a singer who battles the bottle in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955). She also provided singing and speaking voices along with lyrics for Disney's Lady and the Tramp (1955) that year.
Music was
her first love and she continued on the road, crossing over occasionally
from the easy jazz to pop with such monster hits as "Fever" in
1958 and the Grammy-winning "Is That All There Is?" in 1969. In 1983,
she went to Broadway in an autobiographical production called "Peg". It
was one of the few projects in her life that was not a success.
Her
later years were dogged by ill health and lawsuits, winning $2.3 million
in 1991 against Disney to recoup royalties from videocassette sales of
"Lady and the Tramp" and, a week before her death, earned a
preliminary approval of $4.75 million in a class lawsuit -she was the
lead plaintiff of a group of Decca recording artists- for royalties
against Universal Music Group. Semi-confined to a wheelchair since the
80s due to circulation problems and accidental falls, she valiantly
continued performing until suffering a stroke in 1998. She died of a
heart attack three years later. "Miss Peggy Lee", as she was always
introduced, was a class act all the way and, in talent, is often deemed a
smooth, self-contained combination of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie
Holiday.
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