It never fails…
Countless times I have played the “Blindfold Test” for friends by putting on a song by Peggy Lee in her early years, and invariably the listener will guess something like, “Definitely black, probably Billie Holiday”. They’re always stunned when they see the picture of Peggy Lee on the album cover.
For some reason, Miss Lee is missed when discussions come around on the greatest jazz vocalists. Like Lady Day, she didn’t have a wide range, but she packed an emotional wallop in every syllable, and the dash of sadness and fragility from her inner turmoils is always felt. With Holiday, there was self destructive desolation; with Holiday, you can hear the battle between joyful efforts and percolating passions.
What we’ve got here are a couple of ways to re-evaluate Miss Lee.
The first one is a two disc collection of radio broadcasts from her Rexall Drug and Oldsmobile radio broadcasts in 1951-52. Directed by Ross Case, the bands range from swinging jazz to lush orchestrations. The clever part of this collation is that the songs are divided (and guested) by various composers, thus you get Johnny Mercer introducing Lee and joining in with her on “Ac-Cent-Tchu-At The Positive” and a fun medley of “Jeepers Creepers” through “Blues In The Night”. Matt Dennis sits in on “We Belong Together/Angel Eyes/Let’s Get Away From It All” and Hoagy Carmichael is laconic with Lee on a medley including “Georgia On My Mind” and “Two Sleepy People”. Lee herself is tenacious on “My Funny Falentine” and bouncy on “The Lady Is A Tramp” showing a twinkle in her eye on “It’s A Good Day” and frivolous on ‘Manana”. No matter the mood, supporting team, lyrics or tempo, Lee masters them and is convincing on every color of the rainbow.
Fast forward to the TV era, and Miss Lee is featured in a couple of specials and some richly kitschy TV commercials. She sings as convincingly when pitching Halo Shampoo, Oldsmobiles and Rheingold Beer as when belting out a swinging tune like “Alright, OK You Win” or hitting the blues with pianist Lou Levey. She’s a gas on “Hey Big Spender” and does a nifty duet with Toots Thielman on ‘ Makin’ Whoopee”.
Speaking of duets, get a load of her and Johnny Cash reciting poetry and segueing into “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”, or calling home Bill Bailey with Edie Gorme’ and slinking with Petula Clarke on “She’s A Woman”. Of course, you get some hits, such as a couple reads of “Fever” and a vaudevillian “Is That All There Is” along with tributes by Michael Feinstein and a pre-Sir Paul McCartney. You can’t help but appreciate how she makes every song, every note and every mood feel like she means it, and she probably did.