by James Gavin
Miss Peggy Lee (Capitol anthology 1944–1972)
The Lost ’40s & ’50s Capitol Masters (1944–1952)
Rendezvous with Peggy Lee (Capitol singles, 1945–1947)
The Complete Peggy Lee & June Christy Capitol Transcription Sessions (1945–1949, Mosaic Records)
Peggy Lee Collectors Series (Capitol singles, 1945–1950)
Rare Gems and Hidden Treasures (Capitol singles and previously unissued tracks, 1946–1962)
Classics & Collectibles (Decca tracks, 1952–1956)
The Best of Peggy Lee (Decca tracks, 1952–1956)
All Aglow Again (Capitol singles, 1952–1959)
Peggy Lee Sings for You (World radio transcriptions, mid-1950s)
JAMES GAVIN is the author of Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker; Intimate Nights: The Golden Age of New York Cabaret; and Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Time Out New York, among other publications. He lives in New York City. Learn more at www.jamesgavin.com or @JamesGavinBooks.
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
SimonandSchuster.com
authors.simonandschuster.com/James-Gavin
Facebook.com/AtriaBooks
@AtriaBooks
ALSO BY JAMES GAVIN
Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne
Intimate Nights: The Golden Age of New York Cabaret
Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker
We hope you enjoyed reading this Atria Books eBook.
* * *
Join our mailing list and get updates on new releases, deals, bonus content and other great books from Atria Books and Simon & Schuster.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com
Notes
All information contained in this book has been drawn from interviews with the individuals, books, and articles referenced below, as well as the sources thanked in my acknowledgments.
INTRODUCTION
“If they’re waiting”: Howard Kissel, “A ‘Fever’-Pitch Comeback,” New York Daily News, July 31, 1992.
“an intergalactic”: Rex Reed, New York Observer, Mar. 18, 2002.
“warm and sexy”: Gerald Nachman, “Coping with the Over-the-Hill Gang,” San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 4, 1992.
“strange”: Rex Reed, New York Observer, Mar. 18, 2002.
“there was no”: Mike Melvoin to JG, Dec. 14, 2010.
“an aura”: k.d. lang to JG, Feb. 22, 1999.
“When I get”: Ray Rogers, “The Goddess of Pop,” Interview, Sept. 1997.
“I knew I could”: Dusty Full Circle: The Life and Music of Dusty Springfield, BBC, 1998.
“Are you sure”: Phoebe Jacobs to JG, Feb. 11, 1999.
“Peggy had”: Grady Tate to JG, Feb. 13, 1999.
“In singing”: Rebecca Freligh, “Peggy Lee Still Rates ‘Miss Standing Ovation,’ ” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Feb. 14, 1993.
“Barbra and Judy”: Jim Bailey to JG, Aug. 19, 2011.
“She came up”: Artis Conitz Tranmer to JG, Jan. 8, 2012.
“Whatever you”: Xeroxed page from PL papers, date unknown.
“I can’t take”: Nicki Lee Foster to JG, Jan. 30, 1999.
“The greatest”: Louis Armstrong to PL, signed photo, family collection.
“I didn’t want”: Nicki Lee Foster to JG, Jan. 30, 1999.
“I don’t remember . . . for that?”: PL to JG, Jan. 13, 1998.
“Peggy operates”: Robert W. Richards to JG, Feb. 15, 1999.
“Peggy was”: Phoebe Jacobs to JG, Feb. 11, 1999.
“like a jazzy”: Mark Murphy to JG, Mar. 7, 1999.
CHAPTER ONE
“North Dakota was”: John Hallowell, “Peggy Lee Is Very Different from You and Me,” Los Angeles Times, Apr. 12, 1970.
“The Dakota”: Frank Sonnek to JG, Feb. 21, 2012.
“a weird little”: Larry Kart, “Like a Lily in the Mud,” Chicago Tribune, Feb. 13, 1983.
“I had some very”: Scarth Flett, “Meeting People: What Man Would Stand for His Wife Writing Songs in the Middle of the Night?,” Sunday Express (London), Nov. 25, 1973.
“I used to daydream”: “Like a Lily in the Mud.”
“I knew where”: Hal Boyle, “Menial Tasks Aided Career of Peggy Lee,” Washington Post, Apr. 17, 1953.
“You will never”: Artis Conitz Tranmer to JG, Nov. 12, 2011.
“There is a cruelty”: Rhiannon, “Last Train Home / Love of the Land,” from CD Almost Home, 1991.
“was like strong”: Lois Phillips Hudson, Reapers of the Dust: A Prairie Chronicle, St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, p. 64.
“The work had”: Russell Duncan, I Remember, Fargo, ND: self-published, 1978, p. 21.
“So did most”: Glen Egstrom to JG, June 6, 2011.
“In that culture”: Frank Sonnek to JG, Feb. 21, 2012.
“What else”: Artis Conitz Tranmer to JG, Jan. 8, 2012.
“He was a sweet”: Ibid.
“puny”: Mary Young to JG, Nov. 3, 2010.
“You’d park”: Ibid.
“the Nuthouse”: Glen Egstrom to JG, June 6, 2011.
“almost impossible . . . malnutrition”: “How Well Are We Treating the Mentally Ill in North Dakota?” Bismarck North Star Dakotan, Jan. 1915.
“We were satisfied”: Connie Emerson to JG, May 31, 2011.
“so we’d be”: Sidney Fields, “It’s No Longer Cold Outside,” New York Daily Mirror, July 25, 1949.
“Following her return”: “Ill Many Months; Burial at Volga,” Jamestown Daily Alert, Aug. 7, 1924.
“There they were”: PL, notes to William Luce for musical Peg, 1982.
“Can I see . . . my Mama?”: PL, Miss Peggy Lee, p. 28.
“I thought”: Phyllis Battelle, “Peggy Lee and ESP,” Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Oct. 20, 1976.
“I was so puzzled . . . ended”: Glenn Plaskin, “Lee’s Triumph of Spirit,” New York Daily News, Aug. 17, 1992.
“I always thought”: Phyllis Battelle, “Peggy Lee and ESP.”
“grieved terribly”: Lynn Ringuette to JG, June 29, 2011.
“really tore”: Glen Egstrom to JG, June 6, 2011.
“Bulging thyroid eyes”: PL, notes to William Luce for musical Peg, 1982.
“warm and loving”: Janice Wiese Duffy to JG, Nov. 2, 2011.
“because of all”: PL, notes to William Luce for musical Peg, 1982.
“I never saw”: Artis Conitz Tranmer to JG, Nov. 12, 2011.
“absolutely took care”: Janice Wiese Duffy to JG, Nov. 2, 2011.
“It was just”: Jeanette Loy to JG, June 27, 2011.
“There was really”: Lee Ringuette to JG, June 28, 2011.
“Norma had quite”: Artis Conitz Tranmer to JG, Nov. 12, 2011.
“Where were”: Miss Peggy Lee, p. 34.
“I said, just kidding”: Dona Harsh Hutchinson to JG, Feb. 9, 2011.
“Peggy nearly”: Betty Jungheim to JG, Feb. 9, 2011.
“If the water . . . bleeding”: Miss Peggy Lee, p. 52.
“Peggy went on”: Betty Jungheim to JG, Feb. 9, 2011.
“But Peggy”: Dona Harsh Hutchinson to JG, Feb. 9, 2011.
“Min never . . . Invisible”: Artis Conitz Tranmer to JG, Jan. 8, 2012.
“I think that one”: Paul Pines to JG, Jan. 5, 2012.
“There are two”: Robert Strom to JG, Jan. 8, 2012.
“He was a dear”: Ibid.
“He had light-brown hair”: Whitney Balliett, “Still There,” New Yorker, Aug. 5, 1985.
“I could get”: PL, notes to William Luce for musical Peg, 1982.
“Mama’s gone”: Ibid.
“There were only”: Recorded interview, PL to Ken Bloom and Bill Rudman, June 1993.
“the sad whistle”: “A Candid Talk with Peggy Lee,” New York Post, Feb. 3, 1942.
“When she wanted”: Steve Blum t
o JG, Sept. 6, 2011.
“You could see”: “Portrait of a Lady, Part One,” Gene Lees Jazzletter, 1996.
“Hank Schmidt”: PL, notes to William Luce for musical Peg, 1982.
“I envied her”: Pearl Hickey Anderson to JG, May 23, 2012.
“just a new”: Mattie Foy Brandt to JG, May 23, 2012.
“When you’re already”: Katherine Stevenson to JG, Nov. 1, 2010.
“be as sweet”: Artis Conitz Tranmer to JG, Nov. 12, 2011.
“delicious lunches”: Edgeley (ND) Mail, June 29, 1933.
“Min was strict”: Artis Conitz Tranmer to JG, Nov. 17, 2011.
“I think she was”: William Luce to JG, Aug. 17, 2012.
“She knew”: Artis Conitz Tranmer to JG, Nov. 12, 2011.
“She and Clair”: Pearl Hickey Anderson to JG, May 23, 2012.
“She was gonna”: Mattie Foy Brandt to JG, May 23, 2012.
“Her many friends”: “Nortonville R.R. Station Burned,” Edgeley (ND) Mail, Jan. 9, 1930.
“He could tap-dance”: Artis Conitz Tranmer to JG, Nov. 12, 2011.
“That’s a funny song”: PL, notes to William Luce for musical Peg, 1982.
“I used to”: The Studs Terkel Program, WFMT-FM, Chicago, 1988.
“made her walk”: This Is Your Life, Mar. 11, 1973.
“She didn’t sing”: Artis Conitz Tranmer to JG, Nov. 12, 2011.
“She used to”: Pearl Hickey Anderson to JG, May 23, 2012.
“This man came”: Shaun Considine, “Miss Peggy Lee: ‘. . . quite simply the finest singer in the history of popular music,’ ” After Dark, June 1974.
“They yell at me”: Lois Shirley, “Empty Hearted,” Photoplay, Oct. 1929.
“there wasn’t a shy”: Artis Conitz Tranmer to JG, Nov. 12, 2011.
“She was a big”: Russell Krueger to JG, Nov. 25, 2011.
“I remember standing”: Larry L. King, “Rappin’ with Peggy Lee,” Copolitan, Sept. 1971.
“Mrs. M. O. Egstrom”: Edgeley (ND) Mail, Oct. 13, 1932.
“I’m quite sure”: Miss Peggy Lee, p. 43.
“Each day”: Ibid., p. 44.
“You may well”: Ibid., pp. 52–53.
“Clair never”: Lee Ringuette to JG, June 28, 2011.
“I often thought”: Paul Horner to JG, Apr. 28, 2013.
CHAPTER TWO
“just plain”: Edith Lockett to JG, June 27, 2011.
“Daddy took”: Miss Peggy Lee, p. 53.
“She wasn’t”: Connie Emerson to JG, May 31, 2011.
“there was something”: Ginny Lulay to JG, Nov. 2, 2010.
“Oh, I can’t sing”: Edith Lockett to JG, June 27, 2011.
“back on the job”: Wimbledon News, Sept. 20, 1934.
“sang two numbers”: Ibid.
“She could write”: Edith Lockett to JG, June 27, 2011.
“say bad words”: Ella M. Fetcher notebook, 1923–1976.
“I know that”: Wimbledon News, Dec. 19, 1935.
“Radio made me”: Gerald Nachman, Raised on Radio, New York: Pantheon, 1998, p. 6.
“more than a form”: H. Howard Taubman, New York Times Book Review, June 18, 1939.
“We kept”: Count Basie with Arthur Murray, Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie, New York: Random House, 1985.
“nothin’ but”: Nathan W. Pearson, Jr.: Goin’ to Kansas City, Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1994, p. 138.
“hot as hell”: Ibid.
“When I’m asked”: Bing Crosby with Pete Martin, Call Me Lucky: Bing Crosby’s Own Story, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1953.
“I literally”: PL, notes to William Luce for musical Peg, 1982.
“She just went”: Artis Conitz Tranmer to JG, Nov. 12, 2011.
“lie on the floor”: Lilian Wehler to JG, May 23, 2012.
“someday the torch”: PL, “The Change of Subjects,” Wimbledon High School Ice Breaker, Mar. 12, 1936.
“mystery comedy . . . girl servant”: “One Act Play Contest,” Wimbledon News, Nov. 28, 1935.
“musical contest”: Pearl Hickey Anderson to JG, May 23, 2012.
“our comical”: “Junior Class Play Thurs.,” Wimbledon News, Dec. 5, 1935.
“was the only”: Kirtley Baskette, “Peggy Lee: She Can’t Stop Giving,” Redbook, Apr. 1955.
“She got up”: Jeanette Loy to JG, June 27, 2011.
“Mammy Jinnie”: Program, Eighth Annual Kiwanis Barnes County One-Act Play Contest, Valley City, ND, Nov. 1936.
“I remember”: Larry L. King, “Rappin’ with Peggy Lee,” Cosmopolitan, Sept. 1971.
“Miss Egstrom sang”: Wimbledon News, Dec. 3, 1936.
“The truck drivers”: Jeanette Loy to JG, June 27, 2011.
“All us kids”: Ginny Lulay to JG, Nov. 2, 2010.
“we thought”: Edith Lockett to JG, June 27, 2011.
“Some of the girls”: “Cupid Said Busy,” Valley City Times-Record, Feb. 27, 1942.
“To Doc”: Alfred G. Aronowitz, “Miss Peggy Lee,” New York Post, Mar. 20, 1972.
“dark and handsome”: Miss Peggy Lee, p. 60.
“I was so busy”: Alfred G. Aronowitz, “Miss Peggy Lee.”
“little blues singer”: Miss Peggy Lee, p. 61.
“I had to scrub”: Ginny Lulay to JG, Nov. 2, 2010.
“extremely determined . . . sing a song”: Connie Emerson to JG, May 31, 2011.
“it wouldn’t”: Recorded interview, PL to Ken Bloom and Bill Rudman, June 1993.
“Success Awaits . . . labor’s gate!”: “Class Poem,” Wimbledon News, May 27, 1937.
“The Sunshine Girl”: PL to Skitch Henderson, “The Music Makers” radio interview, 1982.
“excess poundage”: Letter, PL to Red Homuth, July 20, 1937.
“I guess . . . you did”: Letter, PL to Red Homuth, Mar. 14, 1994.
“beehive”: WDAY station brochure, c. 1934.
“Bill literally”: George Christy, “Peggy Lee: Still at Fever’s Pitch,” Interview, Oct. 1984.
“But I told”: This Is Your Life, Mar. 11, 1973.
“It had . . . Peggy Lee”: “Peggy Lee: Still at Fever’s Pitch,” George Christy, Interview, Oct. 1984.
“Guess she hasn’t”: WDAY folio, 1937.
“In the bakery”: PL to Ken Bloom and Bill Rudman, recorded interview, June 1993.
“I think basically”: Good Morning America, Jan. 27, 1988.
“almost like”: Recorded interview, UK, source unknown, c. 1982.
“I liked . . . natural”: Recorded interview, PL to Ken Bloom and Bill Rudman, June 1993.
“This must be”: Connie Emerson to JG, May 31, 2011.
“practically”: Sidney Fields, “It’s No Longer Cold Outside,” New York Daily Mirror, July 25, 1949.
“I may go”: John Hallowell, “Peggy Lee Is Very Different from You and Me,” Los Angeles Times, Apr. 12, 1970.
“I think”: PL, notes to William Luce for musical Peg, 1982.
“Three for”: Phoebe Jacobs to JG, Feb. 11, 1999.
“the softest”: Shaun Considine, “Miss Peggy Lee: ‘. . . quite simply the finest singer in the history of popular music,’ ” After Dark, June 1974.
“poor old soul”: Miss Peggy Lee, p. 75.
“He let”: Shaun Considine, “Miss Peggy Lee.”
“spent her last”: This Is Your Life, transcript of unedited show, Mar. 11, 1973.
“Barclay, whose height”: PL, notes to William Luce for musical Peg, 1982.
“corn-fed”: Kirtley Baskette, “Peggy Lee: She Can’t Stop Giving,” Redbook, Apr. 1955.
“Larry said”: This Is Your Life, transcript of unedited show.
“the smell of the gardenias”: Miss Peggy Lee, p. 77.
“Sunburnt”: “ ‘Sophie Tucker,’ ” Chicago Defender, Mar. 16, 1940.
“midget entertainer”: Read Kendall, “Around and About in Hollywood,” Los Angeles Times, Oct. 24, 1938.
“head-balancing act”: “The Jade, D
ragon Room, Hollywood,” Billboard, May 2, 1942.
“sang just”: Lucia Perrigo, “Mañana Comes True for Peggy Lee,” Massillon (OH) Evening Independent, Aug. 30, 1948.
“thought it was”: Miss Peggy Lee, p. 78.
“Both girls”: “The Jade, Hollywood,” Billboard, June 4, 1938.
“Why don’t”: PL, notes to William Luce for musical Peg, 1982.
“I didn’t want”: Jack Smith, “Peggy Lee Tells How She Reached Heights,” Jack Smith, Los Angeles Times.
“We’d all grown”: This Is Your Life, transcript of unedited show.
“We sat”: Artis Conitz Tranmer to JG, Jan. 8, 2012.
“a small town”: Miss Peggy Lee, p. 83.
“I nearly died”: PL, notes to William Luce for musical Peg, 1982.
“I watched”: Miss Peggy Lee, p. 84.
“cancer of the blood”: “Young Daughter of M. O. Claimed by Death,” Stutsman County Record, Nov. 24, 1938.
“Us girls . . . added”: Mary Young to JG, May 23, 2012.
“She always”: Peggy Clark Schwartz to JG, Oct. 9, 2010.
“sang very . . . little-girl talk”: Ann Clark to JG, Oct. 11, 2010.
“We thought”: Peggy Clark Schwartz to JG, Oct. 9, 2010.
“popular, pretty”: Newspaper ad, 1939; source unknown.
“A Revelation”: Fargo Forum, Feb. 5, 1940.
“Sometimes”: Letter, PL to friend Helen, Sept. 25, 1939.
“My mother”: Lee Ringuette to JG, June 28, 2011.
“who was really”: Miss Peggy Lee, p. 85.
“We would sit”: Paula Ringuette to JG, Aug. 28, 2012.
CHAPTER THREE
“Minneapolis’s”: Don Lang, “Sev Olsen into Army Soon; Chirp to Lead,” Down Beat, May 15, 1942.
“first big romance”: PL, notes to William Luce for musical Peg, 1982.
“I just couldn’t”: Miss Peggy Lee, p. 87.
“It was a”: Jeanne Arland Peterson to JG, Nov. 25, 2011.
“The gal trills”: Variety, Jan. 1, 1941.
“amateurishness”: “Water Follies,” Variety, Dec. 4, 1940.
“badly infected throat”: Adelaide Kerr, “New York Night Club Favorites Reached Top After Many Hurdles,” Niagara Falls Gazette, Nov. 15, 1941.
