The Peggy Lee Bio-Discography And Videography:
The Capitol Years, Part 5
by Iván Santiago Mercado

For commentary about the development of Peggy Lee's career in the early 1960s, see note at the bottom of this page. A tabulation of this page's 131 masters and takes can be found in that final note as well. Also included in the bottom note: the results of various Best Female Singer polls that ran in 1960, 1961, and 1962. As for details pertaining to Lee's Grammy nominations, see relevant sessions, beginning with her "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'" date (July 26, 1960) and ending with a Basin Street East session that is dated March 1, 1961.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Emmanuel "Manny" Klein (om), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Billy May (con), Billy May and his Orchestra (acc), Al Hendrickson (g), Max K. Bennett, Meyer Rubin (b), Lou Levy (p), Stella Castellucci (hrp), Stan Levey (d), Arnold Belnick, David Frisina, James Getzoff, Ben Gill, Anatol Kaminsky, Murray Kellner, Dan Lube, Nathan Ross, Marshall Sosson, Joe Stepansky, Gerald Vinci, William Weiss (vn), Alvin Dinkin, Cecil Figelski, Virginia Majewski, Paul Robyn (vl), Charles Gates, Ralph "Ray" Kramer, George Neikrug, Eleanor Slatkin (vc), Peggy Lee (v)

The Pretty Eyes Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: February 15, 18 and 19, 1960.


Personnel

1. Billy May
During the first half of 1960, Peggy Lee entrusted the arranging and conducting of her sessions to the man who she would later name her favorite arranger.

Their earliest work together dated back to the singer's first year as a Capitol artist (1944). At that time, May was playing trumpet in combos led by Lee's husband, Dave Barbour.

Billy May was particularly proud of the work that he did during the sessions for the ballad album Pretty Eyes. As for Lee's assessment, she loved May's conducting and arranging not only for Pretty Eyes but also for the batch of subsequent sessions that resulted in the album Christmas Carousel (February and June 1960). Most of all, Peggy Lee admired Billy May's versatility, amply evident in his arrangements for his 1960 sessions for her.

2. Alvin Dinkin versus Alvin Dinken
This musician's last name is given as Dinkin in some sources, Dinken in others. Herein I have chosen to enter his name as "Dinkin" because that's the spelling used in the more reliable sources.


Arrangements

1. Source
The Capitol LP Pretty Eyes credits all arrangements to Billy May. Ten of the album's twelve scores (including all four from this session) are also extant in Capitol's library, and May is the credited arranger for all of them.

2. "Remind Me"
Peggy Lee's sheet music library contains not only the May's arrangement of "Remind Me" but also a Benny Carter arrangement of the same song.

3. "Pretty Eyes"
In the case of "Pretty Eyes," Capitol's library of scores has a copy of Billy May's arrangement, but Lee's library does not. Instead, her library holds a Johnny Mandel arrangement, which was presumably written years after the one by May.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Billy May (con), Billy May and his Orchestra (acc), Al Hendrickson (g), Max K. Bennett, Meyer Rubin (b), Lou Levy (p), Stella Castellucci (hrp), Stan Levey (d), Arnold Belnick, David Frisina, James Getzoff, Ben Gill, Anatol Kaminsky, Murray Kellner, Erno Neufeld, Nathan Ross, Marshall Sosson, Joe Stepansky, Gerald Vinci, William Weiss (vn), Joseph Di Fiore, Alvin Dinkin, Virginia Majewski, Paul Robyn, Abraham Weiss (vl), Naoum Benditzky, Charles Gates, Kurt Reher, Eleanor Slatkin (vc), Peggy Lee (v)

The Pretty Eyes Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: February 15, 18 and 19, 1960.


Songwriters

1. "I'm Walking Through Heaven With You"
The number of songwriters that contributed to "I'm Walking Through Heaven With You" is in dispute. Pianist Joe Turner is the only one credited in the Capitol LP Pretty Eyes. Similarly, the Library of Congress gives credit to Turner for both words and music. I have trusted those two sources.

However, BMI credits the tune to Joe Turner and to Ruth "Rozz" Gordon. She is also listed at the Library of Congress, but not as a co-writer; Gordon is instead identified as one of the song's 'claimants.'

Meanwhile, numerous CDs credit not only Turner, but also Jimmy Lunceford, whose band first recorded the song in 1934 (and again in 1940 or 1941).


Arrangements

1. Source
The Capitol LP Pretty Eyes credits all arrangements to Billy May. Corroboration comes from Capitol's sheet music library, where ten of the album's twelve scores are also extant, with May indeed credited as arranger on all of them. (From this particular session, the library misses only the arrangement for "Because I Love Him So.")

2. "As You Desire Me"
Peggy Lee's sheet music library contains an arrangement of "As You Desire Me" that is not by Billy May, but by Bill Holman. I am assuming that the Holman arrangement was not the one used in this studio session. It might have been used for a 1966 televised performance, or else in concerts.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Billy May (con), Billy May and his Orchestra (acc), Arthur "Art" Fleming, Jules Jacob[s], Ronnie Lang, Theodore Nash aka Theodore Nash, Wilbur "Willie" Schwartz (sax), Bobby Gibbons (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Lou Levy (p), Stan Levey, Carlos Mejía (d), Peggy Lee (v)

The Pretty Eyes Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: February 15, 18 and 19, 1960.


Songs (Cross-references)

1. "Moments Like This"
For Peggy Lee's two other Capitol versions of "Moments Like This," see sessions dated February 5 and March 1, 1961. See also session dated September 8, 1992.


Arrangements

1. Source
The Capitol LP Pretty Eyes credits all arrangements to Billy May. Ten of the album's twelve scores are also extant in Capitol's library, and May is the credited arranger on all of them. (From this session, the library misses only the score for "You Fascinate Me So.")

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Jimmy Joyce (vdr), Harry Klee, Ronnie Lang, Wilbur "Willie" Schwartz (r), George Van Eps (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Lou Levy (p), Stella Castellucci (hrp), Stan Levey (d), Harry Bluestone, Harold Dicterow, Jacques Gasselin, Anatol Kaminsky, Murray Kellner, Marvin Limonick, Joseph Livoti, Nathan Ross, Felix Slatkin (vn), Alvin Dinkin, Virginia Majewski, Alex Niemann, Abraham Weiss (vl), Charles Gates, Edgar Lustgarten, David Pratt, Joseph Saxon (vc), Peggy Lee (v), Jimmy Joyce Childrens Choir (bkv)

The Christmas Carousel Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: June 15 and 19, 1960. Also singles session, dated October 10, 1959.


Arrangements And Arrangers

1. Christmas Carousel [LP]
2. Happy Holiday [LP]
3. Billy May, Part 1
In her autobiography, Peggy Lee writes that Billy May "did all the wonderful arrangements" for the albums Christmas Carousel and Happy Holiday. Lee's statement is accurate only as a generalization.

May indeed was the chief arranger for the main sessions of Christmas Carousel (held on June 15 and 19, 1960) but not for an earlier session (October 10, 1959) whose songs were incorporated to the album long after they had been originally released on a single.

As for Happy Holiday, three of its songs come from a July 9, 1965 session whose songs were arranged by Sid Feller. (The rest of Happy Holiday is a reissue of the earlier LP, Christmas Carousel, minus a few songs.)

4. Billy May, Part 2
5. Jimmy Joyce
Billy May is identified as the arranger of this session's five titles in various sources: the album Christmas Carousel, Lee's autobiography, and Jack Mirtle's The Music Of Billy May: A Discography.

Further corroboration comes from Capitol's sheet music library, in which eleven of the twelve arrangements are kept. May is credited in all of them. Missing from the Capitol library is the score for the album's titular song.

Copies of eleven of the twelve arrangements can also be found in Lee's own sheet music library, where the score for "The Christmas Song" is the one missing. Of the four masters from this session, the scores of "White Christmas" and "The Christmas Waltz" do have May's name but the arrangement of "Christmas Carousel" gives no author information. More problematically, the arrangement for "The Star Carol" is credited not to May but to Jimmy Joyce, the session's vocal director. In this discography, I have decided to jointly credit the "Star Carol" score to Joyce and May.


Masters, Alternate Takes And Issues

1. "Christmas Carousel"
The existence and availability of the above-listed alternate take of "Christmas Carousel" should be deemed possible, rather than definitive. The information that I have about the take and about its alleged release seems reliable but is still in need of corroboration. (The same tentativeness applies to a master from the next Christmas Carousel session.) Since I have not been able to track down the 8-track cartridge where the alternate can supposedly be found, I would appreciate any assistance on this matter.

2. "The Star Carol" [Masters #33978 And #33998]
According to the Capitol Label Discography, "The Star Carol" bears the number 33978 in at least one Capitol file. At some point, the number was changed to 39998, and it appears as such in most other Capitol files. This alteration was made in order to fix an inadvertent duplication: the same number had also been used for the first master from the next session (#9491, by Dwayne Hickman).

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Jimmy Joyce (vdr), Billy May (con), Billy May and his Orchestra (acc), Arthur "Art" Fleming, Jules Jacob[s], Harry Klee, Theodore Nash aka Theodore Nash, Wilbur "Willie" Schwartz (sax), James "Jim" Decker, Vincent DeRosa, Richard "Dick" Perissi (frh), Clarence Karella (tu), George Van Eps (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Lou Levy (p), Stella Castellucci (hrp), Stan Levey (d), Emil Richards, aka Emil Radocchia (per), Peggy Lee (v), Jimmy Joyce Childrens Choir (bkv)

The Christmas Carousel Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: June 15 and 19, 1960. Also singles session, dated October 10, 1959.


Masters, Alternate Takes And Issues

1. "Don't Forget To Feed The Reindeer" [Master #34026 Or Master #34027?]
According to Billy May discographer Jack Mirtle, the personnel files at the American Federation of Musicians identify the master that contains "Don't Forget To Feed The Reindeer" as #34026. In Capitol's session files, it is given as #34027, and master #34026 is skipped. A minor sequencing error -- either at Capitol or at AFM -- seems to be at play.

2. "Jingle Bells (I Like A Sleighride)"
The existence and availability of the above-listed alternate take of "Jingle Bells (I Like A Sleighride)" should be deemed possible, rather than definitive. The information that I have about the take and about its alleged release seems reliable but is still in need of corroboration. (The same tentativeness applies to a master from the previous Christmas Carousel session.) Since I have not been able to track down the 8-track cartridge where the alternate can supposedly be found, I would appreciate any assistance on this matter.


Songs And Songwriters

1. "Jingle Bells (I Like A Sleighride)"
Most issues, including Peggy Lee's own albums, list this master simply as "I Like A Sleighride." In truth, the actual performance consists of two lyrics: the traditional holiday song "Jingle Bells" combined with a few newly written lines, perhaps by Lee herself.

2. "Deck The Hall(s)"
This traditional number exists in more than one variant, each with a set of partially different choruses. The set sung by Lee is the one that mentions boughs of holly, a burning yule log and the mistletoe.

The title itself has two variants, one singular, the other plural. In the covers of the Capitol LPs Christmas Carousel and Happy Holiday, the title was printed in singular. However, in the vinyl of Christmas Carousel the plural was used -- not, however, in the vinyl of Happy Holiday. As for the CD version of Christmas Carousel, it lists the track as "Deck The Halls." Since the word that Peggy Lee clearly sings is halls, I have chosen to use the plural.


Arrangers

1. Billy May
2. Dave Cavanaugh
Capitol's sheet music library contains the arrangements for this session's "Jingle Bells (I Like A Sleigh Ride)," "Deck The Halls" and "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town." All three of them are credited to Billy May. As for this session's two other songs, their arrangements can be found instead in Peggy Lee's sheet music library, but neither one has an author credit. In secondary sources, including Jack Mirtle's The Music Of Billy May: A Discography, May is named as the arranger of all five titles.

3. "Jingle Bells (I Like A Sleighride)"
In the LP Christmas Carousel, the words "arr. & adapted by Billy May and Dave Cavanaugh" can be found under this song's title. Hence I have credited both men for the arrangement. The LP's credit is not reproduced in the CD version.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Joe Harnell (con), Other Individuals Unknown (unk), Peggy Lee (v)

The Olé Ala Lee! Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: July 16, 23, and 24, 1960.


Issues

1. Olé Ala Lee! [British LP]
2. "Together Wherever We Go"
The American edition of the album Olé Ala Lee! (Capitol 1475) contains twelve tracks. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the British edition (same catalogue number) may contain eleven tracks. The missing number would be "Together Wherever We Go," which in is the last track on side 1 of the American vinyl edition.

Since I do not own a copy of the British edition, I can neither confirm nor deny. It is worth noting, however, that "Together Wherever We Go" is identified as a bonus track in the EMI CD Latin Ala Lee! / Olé Ala Lee!, which was produced in England. The term "bonus track" implies that the number had not been released there before its issuing on this CD .

Nevertheless, I have received an interesting rebuttal from fellow Peggy Lee fan Yvan Tarbouriech, who owns a promotional copy of the British LP edition. Whereas he confirms that the track listing in the album's back cover does not list the title "Together Wherever We Go," Tarbouriech adds that the vinyl actually includes the track, despite the omission in the cover. Since his copy is a promotional one, I still need confirmation that the same oddity is true for the pressing actually sold in British stores.

If "Together Wherever We Go" was actually excluded from the commercially issued pressing (yet included, perhaps erroneously, in promotional copies), the presumable reason for its exclusion would have been contractual. Because the original Broadway show Gypsy had yet to premiere in England when Lee's LP was slated for release, perhaps EMI was not allowed to issue versions of any songs from that musical until later on.


Masters

1. "Come Dance With Me"
According to Michel Ruppli et al in the Capitol Label Discography, "Come Dance With Me" was first attempted on this date (the 16th) and then remade later, on the 23rd. Nevertheless, Peggy Lee's session file lists master #34209 only under this July 16 session, and includes no later remake.

Here is a reproduction of the data given by Ruppli et al:

July 16, 1960
34209 Come Dance With Me - unissued

July 23, 1960
34209 Come Dance With Me (remake) - Cap. T/ST 1475 [etc.]

As can be seen, the Ruppli data would seem to suggest that the song is preserved in both versions, with the same master number.

Since Peggy Lee's session file does not back up the suggestion that a remake happened, I have listed "Come Dance With Me" only once, under this session -- not under the 23rd. (This decision does not mean that I am dismissing the possibility that the remake took place. On the contrary, I am inclined to think that it did. But stronger confirmation is needed. I hope to be able to inspect the session's AFM report one day, since such an inspection would probably settle the matter. There is also need to listen to the Capitol master reels that contain takes of #34209, to determine if all takes are from the same date or from two different ones.)


Arrangements

1. Joe Harnell
Capitol's library of scores contains all the arrangements for the album Olé Ala Lee!. They are uniformly credited to Joe Harnell.


Personnel

This date's musicians are unknown, but presumed to be mostly the same ones who participated in a later Olé Ala Lee! session, dated July 23, 1960.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Emmanuel "Manny" Klein (om), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Joe Harnell (con), Justin Gordon, Jules Kinsler, Harry Klee, Wilbur "Willie" Schwartz (sax), Henry Miranda, Alfonso "Al" Rojo, James Salko (t), Tony Reyes (b), Eduardo "Eddie" Cano (p), Fred Aguirre, Eduardo Aparicio, Carlos Mejía, Ray Rivera (d), Peggy Lee (v)

The Olé Ala Lee! Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: July 16, 23, and 24, 1960.


Arrangers And Arrangements

1. Joe Harnell
2. Marty Paich
3. "I Can't Resist You"
The back cover of the Capitol album Olé Ala Lee! includes the collective credit "arranged & conducted by Joe Harnell." All 12 album arrangements are extant in Capitol's music sheet library, where they are uniformly credited to Harnell. However, an arrangement of "I Can't Resist You" kept in Lee's sheet music library is credited to Marty Paich.

Unfortunately, I have not inspected the Paich arrangement; hence I do not know whether it is the same one heard in this session. I suspect that it is the same. I can imagine any number of reasons why Capitol might have inaccurately credited Harnell with all of the scores -- for instance, Paich's ties to another record company, or the possibility that Harnell farmed out the arrangement, or a scribe's lax behavior in the handling of the label's paperwork.

Leaving my suspicions aside, the most logical assumptions would be that (a) Paich wrote his arrangement for Lee's concert performances, perhaps back during her Decca years, and (b) that Harnell's identification as the author of this session's arrangement is accurate.

Until the Paich score is inspected and compared with the performance on master #34245, I am following the most logical option.

(Lee recorded another version of "I Can't Resist You" in 1979. The arrangement for that version is credited to Dick Hazard.)


Personnel

1. Ray Rivera
This musician is chiefly known as a guitarist. However, the official documentation for this and in other Peggy Lee sessions lists him as a drum player.


Issues

1. Olé Ala Lee! [EPs]
Capitol released two EPs from the Olé Ala Lee! sessions. They were issued in both mono (Eap) and stereo (Sep).

For Lee's previous album sessions, Capitol had tended to produce a total of three EPs with three or four songs each, thereby covering the entire album's output. In this case, I know of no third EP. Had there been one, it would have included the four songs that were left out of the other two EPs: "You're So Right For Me," "Together Wherever We Go," "Just Squeeze Me," and "By Myself." It seems that buyers' interest in the EP market was dwindling. Most of Lee's subsequent albums sessions actually generated only one EP -- some none.

2. Olé Ala Lee! [45s?]
In contrast with just about every previous and subsequent Lee album on Capitol, there was no 45 release from the Olé Ala Lee! sessions. The seeming exceptions, including one shown in this session's list of issues, were not singles sold to the public in music stores but special 45s prepared by the AFRS strictly for radio airplay and special 45s that were sent out to clubs only, for play in their commercial jukeboxes.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Joe Harnell (con), Other Individuals Unknown (unk), Peggy Lee (v)

The Olé Ala Lee! Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: July 16, 23, and 24, 1960.


Personnel

This date's musicians are unknown, but presumed to be mostly the same ones who participated in an earlier Olé Ala Lee! session, dated July 23, 1960.


Arrangers And Arrangements

1. Joe Harnell
All arrangements for the album Olé Ala Lee! are extant in Capitol's music score library. They are uniformly credited to Joe Harnell.

2. "Olé"
Peggy Lee kept a copy of Harnell's "Olé" arrangement in her sheet music library.


Masters And Sources

This discography's June 24, 1960 date actually holds the contents of two Capitol file sessions which I have conflated into one. Below is the sessions data as it appears in the Capitol file. My reasons for the conflation are also given below.

First entry

Peggy Lee (vo) with Joe Harnell's Music.
LA, July 24, 1960
(Session #9564)
34253 Just Squeeze Me (But Don't Tease Me) - (see master 34296)
34254 Non Dimenticar - Cap. Eap 1 1475 [etc.]
34255 Olé - (see master 34297)
34256 By Myself
All titles issued on Cap. T/St 1475.

Second Entry

Peggy Lee (vo) with Joe Harnell's Music.
LA, 1960
Prob. remastered from session #9564
34296 Just Squeeze Me (But Don't Tease Me) - (see master 34253)
34297 Olé - (see master 34255)
All titles issued on Cap. T/St 1475.


I have decided to list the contents of the two entries together in one session because

a) arguably, Capitol's file does not fully treat the second entry as a separate session. No session number is given to the entry, and no full date is provided either. (It is worth noting, however, that the files do not have a session #9565. Maybe that number was intended for this entry, but it was inadvertently left unused.)

b) the file itself states that the second entry probably consists of remasters of the previous session, not new performances.

c) I am told that, in a different document (a Capitol inventory) only masters #34296 and #34297 are listed -- not masters #34253 nor #34255. This piece of information further strengthens the likelihood that the song titles common to the first and second entries refer to the same Lee performances.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Bill Holman (con), Bill Holman and His Orchestra (acc), Other Individuals Unknown (unk), Peggy Lee (v)

The Extra Special! Pick-up Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Released in 1967 and posing as an original album, the LP Extra Special! actually picked up songs that had been recorded earlier in the decade. From the year 1960, all of this session's masters were included, along with one master recorded on September 1, 1960. The album's other entries are from the years 1961 (May 19), 1962 (April 2), 1963 (May 29), 1965 (February 19), and 1966 (May 21 & September 13). Every year of the decade, up to the time of the album's release, was thus covered.

All the Extra Special! numbers had originally come out on singles, except for three that had never been issued before 1967: "The Shining Sea," "Oh! You Crazy Moon," and this session's "Call Me Darling, Call Me Sweetheart, Call Me Dear."


Songs And Cross-references (Film)

1. "I'm Gonna Go Fishin' "
2. Anatomy Of A Murder
The melody of "I'm Gonna Go Fishin' " is the "Main Title Music" of Otto Preminger's film Anatomy Of A Murder, which premiered on July 1, 1959. That courtroom thriller featured a full score by Duke Ellington. According to Peggy Lee in her autobiography, "[o]ne day Duke Ellington brought me the tape with the theme music from the movie Anatomy Of A Murder, and I was impressed. He just said, Here you are, your Highness - write this, and he left." Elsewhere, Lee has chucklingly remarked that Ellington vanished before she even uttered a word, leaving her standing there, all by herself.

"I'm Gonna Go Fishin' " is actually a vocalese number of sorts. Explains Klaus Stratemann, in his exhaustive text Duke Ellington: Day By Day And Film By Film: "Peggy Lee, vocalist and poetess, composed a set of lyrics to go with the main title of Anatomy Of A Murder. To be more precise, she took the obstinato saxophone figure with brass interjections that follows Quentin Jackson's opening 'Wah-Wah' trombone statements and used this as thematic material for a song that came to be titled I'm Gonna Go Fishin'. It was recorded by its lyricist, of course, but by several others as well."

The persona of Lee's lyric is a woman whose man has lied to (and possibly cheated on) her: "Woke up this morning', / Wanted to cry. / ... / He's a real good one / For having his cake, / ... / Sweet-talking liar / Spin me your yarn, / Tell me a story / Big as a barn. / Gonna stop list'nin', / I won't hear you out, / ... / Sweet-talking liar/ You're in for a fall, / You tell me a story, / You talk to the wall! / Gonna go my way / On down the highway / ..." The woman of this lyric also follows the common adage that 'there are plenty more fish in the sea,' as she proclaims that she's out to find herself a new, better man: "Yeah, I'm gonna go fishin' / That's what I'll do. / Think about nothing, / Not even you. / Catch a real big one / A big speckled trout / Snapping in the water / I'll pull him on out! / ... / Here in the water / Look at him shine, / There goes a big one, / That one is mine!" Simple yet sharp, this lyric can be said to be an update of old blues numbers with which it shares a "my-man-done-me-wrong" thematics.

The film itself inspired the lyrics' basic metaphor: fishing. Jimmy Stewart plays a small-town lawyer for whom fishing is a way to both relax and meditate on how to solve his cases. Throughout the movie, he is dealing with a rape-murder case that compels him to also do some detective work. The movie's fishing scenes inspired Peggy Lee to conceive of the lawyer-detective as a fisherman for whom the fish represented the elusive perp that he is trying to catch. It was such a parallel -- or, as she calls it, poetic symbol -- that guided Lee during the writing of her own set of words.

"I finished the lyric and gave it to Duke Ellington," she adds in her autobiography, "The Duke liked it all, and that was enough for me."

3. "I'm Gonna Go Fishin' " (And Anatomy Of A Murder) At The Grammys
On April 12, 1961, the third Grammy Awards ceremony was held. This time, two separate awards had been created for the category of Best Vocal Performance, Female. One honored albums, the other "single records or tracks. For the third consecutive year, both Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee received nominations -- in both categories. The other nominees in the singles category were Doris Day, Eileen Farrell and Brenda Lee. As had previously been the case, the winner was Fitzgerald, thanks to her endearing concert performance of "Mack The Knife."

During the previous ceremony (1959), the original Anatomy Of A Murder movie soundtrack had been the winner of three Grammys. In Duke Ellington: Day By Day And Film By Film, Klaus Stratesmann further points out that Gerry Mulligan's instrumental version of I'm Gonna Go Fishin' "gained the distinction of being nominated for a Grammy award [the next] year, in the category of Best Jazz Performance - Large Group (DB: 25.5.61)." Apparently left unmentioned in the Downbeat quote that is his source (and in Stratemann's otherwise comprehensive comments) is the aforementioned fact that Peggy Lee's vocal version was also Grammy-nominated on that same year.

Lee's name was connected to yet another nomination at the Grammy ceremony; see notes under session dated August 14, 1959.


Dating

1. "I'm Gonna Go Fishin' "
Oddly, discographies list Gerry Mulligan's version of "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'" as recorded on May 21, 1960, which is two months earlier than Lee's version. Perhaps Mulligan, like Lee, had received a music tape from Ellington. But why is his instrumental also titled "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'," if Lee had yet to record and publicize those lyrics? Since I do not have an answer to this question, I can only speculate. Perhaps the Mulligan instrumental was not originally titled "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'," but was so re-named when Peggy Lee's lyric became popular. Or it may be that the song title had been in circulation long before Lee recorded her own version; in fact, she is known to have written her vocal in 1959.


Issues

1. Capitol #4449 [45]
2. Capitol #4498 [45]
This session generated songs for two singles which were given somewhat similar numbers, 4449 and 4498. More curiously, and unlike previous Lee 45s, those two singles lack the prefix F. (It is absent from Capitol session sheets, and it is missing in the vinyl itself.) The songs on the flip side of each single were recorded on September 1, 1960.



Masters And Takes

1. "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'"
The Capitol Label Discography lists "I'm Gonna Go Fishin' " under two dates: July 26 and September 1, 1960. In both cases, the master is identified as #34271. Under September 1, "I'm Gonna Go Fishin' " is described as a remake and the following note has been supplied: "this title is listed in artist files, but issues are listed as using the July 26 version (see session #9570)."

On the other hand, Capitol's Peggy Lee session file lists "I'm Gonna Go Fishin' " only under July 26.

As elsewhere, I have given priority to the data in the session file, even though I am actually inclined to believe that the master was remade on September 1 -- just as the documentation consulted by Ruppli and company indicates. Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence to corroborate this bit of divergent data. Definitive confirmation (or denial) won't probably be forthcoming until AFM's session report is consulted.

Also of note is the fact that, whereas some Capitol documents identify the master take of "I'm Gonna Go Fishin' " as #23, others list it as #12. This discrepancy could well be an indication that there are two master takes of "I'm Gonna Go Fishin' " extant in Capitol's vaults, one from this date and the other from the September 1 session.

3. Master #34272
Notice that this session contains three songs whose master numbers are 34269, 34270, and 34271. According to the Capitol Label Discography, Capitol's session files do not have any information for master #34272. Ruppli et al presume that the master number was simply left unused. Perhaps so; maybe Lee and the musicians exhausted their pre-scheduled session time. ("I'm Gonna Go Fishin' " seems to have required a particularly high number of takes.) Another possibility is that Lee and company did use master #34572 for a performance that was ultimately scrapped.


Arrangements And Sources

1. Bill Holman
2. "I'm Gonna Go Fishin' "
The source for this session's arranging credits is the back cover of the LP Extra Special!. Bill Holman's authorship of the arrangement for "I'm Gonna Go Fishin' " is further confirmed by the existence of the score, credited to him, in Capitol sheet music library.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Other Individuals Unknown (unk), Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Nancy Wilson (v), The Chipmunks (bkv)

Song, Dating, And Issues

1. The "Toys For Tots" Campaign
Peggy Lee was one of various Capitol artists who recorded a promotional spot in support of the Marine Reserve charity campaign Toys for Tots, which distributes toys to children in need. Others were Nat King Cole, Vic Damone and Nancy Wilson.
Their respective "Toys For Tots" singles feature the exact same promotional spot on both sides of the 45. All "Toys for Tots" singles are likely to have been sent directly to Marine Corps facilities and to radio stations, and not sold in commercial stores.

Only single Kb 2830 is listed in Peggy Lee's Capitol session files. I believe it to be the original release. As for single Tb 2497-2498, it is believed to have been issued to radio stations at a yet-to-be-determined time, between 1964 and 1966. The release dates that I have entered for those two 45s are tentative, and may be altered if I succeed at retrieving more information about this material.

2. The Secret Track: A Three-Singers Edit Of "Toys For Tots"
The Capitol CD Christmas Cocktails (the first out of two in the "Ultra Lounge" series) contains three secret tracks. (That is to say, none of those three numbers appear in the CD's track listing.) The trio of surprise numbers is positioned at the very end of the disc, after track #18. One of them is "Jingle Bells," sung by Johnny Mercer, and another is a tongue-in-cheek version of "Violets For Your Furs," spoken by a 1950s act known as The Continental.

The remaining secret track is a special version of "Toys For Tots," sung by Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole, and Nancy Wilson, who are heard in that order. The track is actually a mix of those artists' separate versions of "Toys For Tots" and was presumably put together specifically for inclusion in the Christmas Cocktails CD. So clever is this mix that listeners might be left with the impression that all three singers gathered together for one single performance. But no such event happened: Cole recorded his "Toys For Tots" (master #17965) on November 22, 1957, and Wilson did hers (master #53805) on June 4, 1965.


Personnel

1. The Chipmunks
For her "Toys For Tots," Lee is accompanied by a group who talks in the manner of the cartoon rodents who, along with David Seville, sang novelty hits such as "The Chipmunk Song" and "The Witch Doctor" in 1958. Seville created those Chipmunks vocals by recording a trio of human voices at half-speed, and then playing them back at normal speed.

Since Lee's is the only voice credited in the official documentation that I have consulted, my identification of the group as The Chipmunks is tentative. But, with or without Seville's involvement, the vocal style is identical to the one heard in his Chipmunks recordings; the backing voices of Lee's track must have been created essentially through the same engineering methods.

A belated consultation (October 2009) of the Capitol Label Discography has now validated the claim that I made in the previous paragraph (written in the late 1990s): Ruppli's text lists The Chipmunks as the accompaniment for this session.


Songwriters

1. Sammy Fain and Paul Frances Webster
In the Peggy Lee issues that I have inspected, no songwriting credits are given for "Toys For Tots."

In Bear Family Records' Stardust: The Complete Recordings, 1955-1959, Nat King Cole's version of the same song is credited to Fain and Webster. Although no recordings are listed under it, ASCAP credits the pair as authors of one version of "Toys For Tots," too. Therefore, I believe that Lee's version of the same number can be confidently credited to Fain and Webster.


Masters And Sources

1. Master #34349 And Master #34350
Notice that, in this session, I have listed together two masters that are separately found in Capitol vaults: #34349 and #34350. Master #34350 is identified in Peggy Lee's Capitol session files as a 'voice track.' Master #34349 apparently contains the pre-recorded, instrumental component of the track.

2. "Toy For Tots" [sic]
Capitol's Peggy Lee session file lists the title of this master as "Toy For Tots." Evidently, the plural particle has been inadvertently skipped from the first word.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Ralph Carmichael (con), Ralph Carmichael and His Orchestra (acc), Other Individuals Unknown (unk), Peggy Lee (v)

Songs

1. The "Meals For Millions" Campaign
Peggy Lee wrote and recorded the song "Meals For Millions" in an effort to promote Meals for Millions, Inc., a non-profit organization for which she had become the chairman. This Los Angeles-based organization provided high-protein, multi-purpose food to hunger areas worldwide.

Although there are no 45 release of the song listed in Capitol's files, a 45 single was presumably pressed and distributed for promotional, non-commercial purposes. Hence the following remark, made by Gene Handsaker in his interview of Lee, for the Associated Press: "Peggy Lee spun her latest recording on her turntable. Out came the familiar rich, warm voice pleading not of love or joy in living, but – soybeans!"


Masters And Issues

1. "Leave It To Love": Master #34416 (September 1, 1960)
2. "Leave It To Love": Master #39916 (May 31, 1963)
Capitol's session files indicate that Peggy Lee recorded the song "Leave It To Love" twice, three years apart, and that the number 34416 was given to one master, 39916 to the other. The 1960 master is shown as the one included in Lee's 1965 album Then Was Then And Now Is Now!, the 1963 master is shown as unreleased.

Nevertheless, a search of Capitol's vaults and a perusal of official paperwork have retrieved no traces of a master #34416. The Capitol Label Discography by Ruppli et al backs up this state of affairs: the note "no information" is found next to that master number.

I believe that a numerical duplication was mistakenly made in the session file: number 3[99]16 was inadvertently re-entered as number 3[44]16. All issues were wrongly listed under that duplicate master number. In this discography, the duplicate has not been entered, and the album Then Was Then And Now Is Now! (along with its derivates) has been re-assigned to master #39916, recorded on May 31, 1963.

This subject matter remains open to further scrutiny, of course. Perhaps a master #34416 will be found one day in the future, even if at the present time it seems unlikely.

3. "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'", Master #34271 (July 26 / September 1, 1960)
Peggy Lee's session file lists "I'm Gonna Go Fishin' " under July 26, 1960 only, but the Capitol Label Discography lists also a remake recorded during this September 1, 1960 session. Original and remake show the same master number. Herein, I have listed master #34271 only in the July 26 session; for further details, see that session's masters notes.


Arrangements And Sources

1. "When He Makes Music"
2. "I Love Being Here With You"
The back cover of the LP Extra Special! is my source for this session's arranging credits to Ralph Carmichael ("When He Makes Music") and Bill Holman ("I Love Being Here With You").

February 5 - March 8, 1961

Peggy Lee's Basin St. East sessions took place in February and March 1961. The extant amount of data about them is actually substantial, yet confusing and, in some areas, inconclusive. Below is a date-by-date overview of the sessions and a discussion of the data's complexities.

Peggy Lee At The Basin Street East

The Basin Street East Club was Peggy Lee's New York venue of choice from March 1960 to February 1965. Twice a year from 1961 onwards, Lee would come back to The Big Apple for month-long engagements at a locale that has been described as "strictly a music room." (In November 1965, she went to the larger Copacabana club, where she kept performing for the next few years. The year before the move to the Copa, Lee had also spent a month at The Americana Hotel.)

Lee's initial engagement at Basin Street East (1960) had generated raves from both music critics and general audiences. The raves grew louder for her second engagement, which lasted from Thursday, January 12, 1961 to Wednesday, February 8, 1961. One individual who felt especially happy about the publicity that Lee was bringing to the club was Phoebe Jacobs, who at this time was in charge of Public Relations for Basin St. East, and who would become a life-long friend of Lee's. Jacobs called Capitol producer Dave Cavanaugh and told him that it would be a great idea to record Lee in concert at the club.

The Concert Tapings: February 5 and 8

Cavanaugh flew in from California at a rather late timing. The producer appears to have been present only for the last week of Lee's engagement.

If Capitol's session files are complete and accurate, Cavanaugh first taped Lee's show on Sunday, February 5. Unfortunately, the singer had just caught a cold; its effect on her voice can be clearly heard in the released numbers from that Sunday evening.

Cavanaugh might or might have not taped her next shows, held on Monday the 6th and Tuesday the 7th. If he did, those tapings must have been scrapped or otherwise are lost, because there's no evidence of their existence in the vaults. But perhaps Cavanaugh and Lee simply decided to just wait for Lee's cold to subside.

The producer definitely taped the artist's two shows on closing night (Wednesday the 8th). By that time, her cold had considerably diminished. [One of the two concerts is now available in a Collectors' Choice CD titled Peggy At Basin Street East. That disc should not be confused with Capitol's CD Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee. Whereas the Collectors' Choice disc contains a complete show, the Capitol item combines tracks recorded in the studio with live numbers from various concert nights.]

The Post-Engagement Taping, Featuring An Invited Audience: February 9

After closing night, an additional day of taping was scheduled on February 9. This was a special event with an invited audience that probably included fellow artists and celebrities. The exact motivation behind this post-engagement date is unknown. The most logical assumption would be that Cavanaugh and/or Lee wanted to have more recorded material from which to choose for the prospective album. They might have not been completely satisfied with the sound quality of what had been taped so far. This February 9 taping was treated as a hybrid of a concert and a recording session; Cavanaugh is known to have requested many stops and re-takes.

Tape Transfer And Tape Engineering Dates: February 15, 16, 20, and 21; March 2 and 8

Basin Street East tapes bearing the above-given dates are known to exist in Capitol's vaults. Most of them are copies of the originally recorded tapes. They fall into the following three categories: copies in which the three-track performances have been mixed, copies to which applause has been artificially added, and safety copies.

There are some important exceptions, however. Most notably, the tapes dated February 16 are not copies, but contain instead a full Basin Street East concert, exactly as it took place on February 8 (i.e., on closing night). February 16 is just the tape transfer date.

I have also been told of the existence of a tape called "Basin St. Applause Tracks," and labeled as a "remote." That tape is most likely to contain the applause that Cavanaugh added to the studio performances -- and maybe to some of the live performances as well. Notice the word "remote," which suggests that the applause might truly be from the Basin Street dates (i.e., Cavanaugh seems to have spliced genuine concert applause into the performances heard in the original Capitol album).

Remake Or "Overdub" Dates: February 28 and March 1

While mastering the original tapes, Cavanaugh seems to have faced some serious difficulties. Poor pickup from the original mikes probably ranked high among the sources of the difficulties. As explained by engineer Ron McMaster, who in 2002 mastered the complete February 8 live performance, "the microphones were badly placed, probably because it was impermissible for them to interfere with the show .... the microphone placement caused little of the audience to be picked up beyond the first row..." [n.b.: McMaster's quote comes from Cy Godfrey's producer's note in the 2002 Collectors' Choice CD.]

Those mastering difficulties were probably the main reason why Peggy Lee came back to the studio, presumably at Cavanaugh's request, to re-record about half of the original numbers. The exact dates on which she did so are not known with certainty: there is no mention of them in her Capitol session files.

I have been reliably told that Capitol holds in its vaults a few tapes which are labeled 'overdubs' and which carry the dates February 28 and March 1. It is my uncorroborated belief that the remakes are found in those tapes.

Notice, however, that the tapes in question bear the label 'overdubs' rather than 'remakes.' The two words are not synonymous. Generally, the process of overdubbing refers to the incorporation of a new vocal or instrument to a pre-recorded music track. On the other hand, a remake is usually an all-newly recorded (both music and vocal) version of a previously attempted number. Still, and for all I know, Capitol could have used the two words interchangeably, at least in the case of these tapes.

Until these February 28 and March 1 tapes are given a careful listening, I am tentatively treating the performances included in them not as overdubs but as remakes. For specifics such as the exact contents of each tape, see below, under sessions dated February 28 and March 1, 1961.


The Original Album As An Accurate Source Of Information

The Capitol album Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee was released on March 15, 1961.
In the liner notes for the LP, Basin Street East proprietor Ralph Watkins writes that, "[t]hanks to the fine engineers and to producer Dave Cavanaugh, who captured one of the most exciting performances we have ever heard, the thousands who thrilled to Miss Lee in person will treasure this album."

Although not necessarily through any fault of his own, Watkins' comment happens to be partially misleading. The album does not contain just "one exciting performance." Instead, it combines numbers taken from all of the above-mentioned live tapings, and also from studio ('overdub') dates. In what was a widespread practice across record labels operating at the time, Cavanaugh edited the album as if it contained one night's live performance. [Fortunately, and as already mentioned, one true and complete live performance from February 8 has been released, too: Peggy At Basin Street East, issued by Collectors' Choice in 2002.]

The 1995 CD As An Accurate Source Of Information

Capitol's 1995 CD Basin Street East Proudly Presents Peggy Lee states that its performances were all recorded either during "an after-hours show with an invited audience on February 9 or at a New York studio on March 8, 1961." That statement is partially in conflict with the dating found in Peggy Lee's Capitol session files, where many of the performances are dated February 5 and 8. For reasons detailed in the sessions below, Capitol's files strike me as the more reliable of the sources that deal with this particular matter.

As for the alleged March 8 studio session, I am not convinced that it is correctly dated. Notice that the release date that I have for the original LP is March 15, 1961: merely one week later. This seems too short a time span between recording and release. Granted that there could have been a postponement, unknown to me (i.e., the album's originally scheduled March 15 street date might have given in to some later date), I am still more inclined to believe that no studio session took place on the 8th. This is, however, a personal assessment for which I have no corroboration.

I do not know if the producers of the CD had any definite evidence of a March 8 studio session. I know that some of the Capitol tapes marked with that date, but I presumed those to be dubs or safety copies.

The 2002 CD As An Accurate Source Of Information

Similarly, Collectors' Choice 2002 CD Peggy At Basin Street East contains the statement that "[a]bout two songs on [the 1961 LP and 1995 CD] were recorded on the club on February 9 ... Peggy had a cold that evening, so Capitol producer Dave Cavanaugh decided to re-record most of the tracks in a New York studio on March 8, 1961." Made in passing, this allusion to "about two songs" further complicates matters, leaving me to wonder which songs those would be. In my estimation, and as discussed in the sessions immediately below, quite a few of the songs released in the originally Capitol LP stem from the live concerts that preceded the studio dates -- not just two or three.


Arrangements

Throughout these Basin Street East sessions, Peggy Lee's sheet music library is the source for the arranging credits that I have listed. All such credits should be considered tentative: a comparison of the written arrangements with the music audio has not yet been made.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Joe Harnell (con, p), Bob Donovan (r, f), Danny Stiles, Phil Sunkel, Willie Thomas (t), Ray De Sio, Mickey Gravine (tb), Dennis Budimir (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Abe Rosen (hrp), Stan Levey (d), Francisco "Chino" Pozo (bo, cng), Peggy Lee (v)

Dating

The legend "nightly except Sunday" appears in the few 1961 Basin Street East ads that I have seen. And yet this session's February 5, 1961 club date happened on a Sunday. If the ads' legend means that the club was invariably closed on Sundays in 1961, then either (a) Capitol's session files show a wrong date or (b) a special concert took place on that night, perhaps with a special audience.


Sources, Masters, And Issues (I)

Due to the complex nature of the Basin Street East sessions, I will be including raw data about them in this and in ensuing session notes. I have transcribed each session's raw data in the exact manner in which my primary sources show it -- aside from typographical details such as capitalization and the like.

1. Data Gleaned From Capitol Session File
Session #8253
NYC, February 5, 1961
master 23457 - Day In, Day Out
master 23458 - Moments Like This
master 23459 - Medley: One Kiss / My Romance / The Vagabond King Waltz
master 23590 - Fever
All titles issued on Cap. T/ST/SM 1520.

[Ivan's note: On the matter of whether master #23459 was or was not really issued on Cap. 1520, see below, under Sources, Masters, And Issues (II). See also session dated March 8, 1961.]

2. Sequencing; Master #23590
The reason for the high master number of "Fever" is not known to me. The most logical explanation would be that the number was assigned belatedly (i.e., days or weeks after the other performances from the Basin Street East sessions had been numbered). By such a belated time, numbers all the way up to 23589 would have already been allocated to other Capitol masters.

Late master assignation could also be an indication that "Fever" had not been originally considered for inclusion in the album.

In possibly related news, I have been informed that Capitol's inventory sheets do not show "Fever" as extant in the tapes that contain this session (#8253). That information notwithstanding, I am more inclined to believe that "Fever" is in one of the 8253 tapes, and that the author of the inventory sheets inadvertently omitted it.

3. Take Letters (As Opposed To Take Numbers)
For these Basin Street dates, I have taken the special step of assigning "fake" letters to masters which contain the same song title. For instance, I have given the letter "A" to this session's medley (master #23459). The letters "B," "C" and "D" will be found next to additional performances of the medley in subsequent sessions.

To reiterate: these "fake" letters are not part of the official documentation that I have consulted. I have added them only for indexing and identification purposes.


Sources, Masters, And Issues (II)
Contradictory Evidence. Capitol's Session Files Versus Capitol's LP/CD Issues. Live Masters Versus Studio Masters.

Below I will discuss my reasons for

(a) trusting Capitol's session files in their assertion that album #1520 contains this date's live performances of the songs "Day In, Day Out," "Moments Like This," and "Fever."

(b) disregarding the files' claim that this session's February 5 medley ("One Kiss/My Romance/The Vagabond King Waltz") is the same one found in the LP.

1. Live, Not Studio: Masters #23457, #23458, And #23590

In Capitol's Peggy Lee session files, the numbers "Day In, Day Out," "Moments Like This," and "Fever" are identified as live. After close listening of those three tracks, as they appear in the Capitol LP Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee, I find myself agreeing. The following details strike me as strongly indicative of a live setting:

a) Shortly after the start of "Day In, Day Out," Peggy Lee is heard laughing and interjecting the phrase "what is this!"

b) Amidst the applause that is heard between "Day In, Day Out" and "Moments Like This," Lee says, "Thank you and hello. So ... This sort of looks like ... it's kind of romantic anyway, isn't? Ha!"

c) There are various spoken lines throughout "Moments Like This." After she sings the lines "moments like this with the soft lights aglow make me long for your kiss," Lee playfully interjects the phrase "but you'd catch my cold," which generates audience laughter.

d) During "Fever," she gamely adds the line "forsooth, I doth burn" to the regular lyrics. A female audience member is also heard, guessing the title of the song, or requesting it. Moreover, Lee is heard coughing and talking before she starts this number.

Through those three masters, the singer indeed sounds a wee bit hoarse in spots, as if she had a cold.

An alternate possibility is that these three masters come not from this date but from the February 9 performance, which is known to have happened in front of an invited audience. Although this possibility is presented as fact in the notes of the 1995 CD Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee , I for one have found no evidence that can back up the CD's claim. Nor do I hear in these tracks any clues suggestive of an invited audience. (I would expect an invited audience to be more well behaved than the one heard in these numbers. I would also expect the singer to be more restrained, avoiding the interjection of commentary after she has started singing the lyrics.)

2. Studio, Not Live: Master #23459

The LP's version of the medley "One Kiss/My Romance/The Vagabond King Waltz" does not sound like a live performance at all. Her cold, so noticeable elsewhere, seems gone. The quality of Lee's voice is fresher, huskier and more minutely modulated than in the already discussed numbers.

I therefore believe that the medley heard in the LP is not this session's version, but a studio remake that was recorded on February 28, 1961.

Why, then, would the session files identify this date's medley as the one heard in the LP? Since I have no factual information and no definitive answer to this question, I can only speculate. I suspect that producer Cavanaugh and company simply neglected (or deemed unnecessary) to make the appropriate changes in Peggy Lee's session file. In other words, they would have originally assigned the number 23459 to this live medley from February 5, which they would have rejected later, possibly due to poor sound quality. After the rejection, they would have not bothered to cross out the number in the February 5 session file, nor would have they made note that a remake had been recorded.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Joe Harnell (con, p), Bob Donovan (r, f), Danny Stiles, Phil Sunkel, Willie Thomas (t), Ray De Sio, Mickey Gravine (tb), Dennis Budimir (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Abe Rosen (hrp), Stan Levey (d), Francisco "Chino" Pozo (bo, cng), Peggy Lee (v), Session Musicians (bkv)

Sources

Oddly, this concert is not listed in Capitol's session files, yet it was found in the company's vaults. My only source of information about it is the CD Peggy At Basin Street East: The Unreleased Closing Night - February 8, 1961, New York City (#294 2), in which the concert was issued. In a note that is part of the CD's booklet, co-producer Cy Godfrey explains that this concert survived in the form of mis-marked tapes, which "might have been destroyed were they not listed in Capitol's computers as backup or safety tapes made on February 16, 1961. It was not until they were examined and played that we realized that they were the long-lost closing night recordings made on February 8, 1961, and that February 16 was a tape transfer date."


Masters And Songs

1. Instrumentals
2. "Overture"
3. "Peggy Lee's Bow Music"
Among the 14 tracks that are part of Collectors' Choice CD #294 2, there are two instrumentals: an "Overture" with which Joe Harnell and the other musicians open the show (timing: 1:32) and a thematic track titled "Peggy Lee Bow Music" (timing: 1:24), obviously played while the singer is taking her bows.

4. Medleys
5. The Hits Medley
6. The Love Medley
This concert includes 4 medleys. Those are not medleys of the 'garden variety' type (i.e. not the kind of superficial medley which circumscribes itself to just two or three lines from each song). Lee sings a fair number of choruses from each song, and interprets each medley cohesively.

The only arguable exception is the fourth medley, which Peggy Lee jokingly calls "a fruit compote." Dedicated to her hits of yore, Lee sings one fast chorus or two from each of the chosen songs. She still brings a fresh twist to them. New arrangements are heard during "Mañana," "It's A Good Day" and, most notably, "Lover." There are partially different phrasing in some of the selections, too. This hits medley is the concert's encore.

The four medleys are:

a) One Kiss / My Romance / The Most Beautiful Man In The World (Timing: 4:15)
b) But Beautiful / The Second Time Around (Timing: 5:46)
c) Ray Charles Tribute, which begins with a sung intro. (I am tentatively crediting Lee as the songwriter of that brief bit of introductory, special material.) / Hallelujah, I Love Him So / I Got A Man / You Won't Let Me Go / Just For A Thrill / Yes, Indeed! (Timing: 14:30)
d) I Don't Know Enough About You / Mañana / Why Don't You Do Right? / Lover / It's A Good Day (Timing: 4:45)

Comments from a concertgoer present on a different night suggest that Lee sometimes treated the second medley as a three-song arc about love. Without pausing, she would sing back-to-back and complete versions of "But Beautiful," "I've Never Left You Arms," and "The Second Time Around." (In this session's concert, however, she chose to sing "I've Never Left You Arms" separately.)


Issues

1. "You Won't Let Me Go"
2. Peggy At Basin Street East [CD]
The track listing of Collectors' Choice CD #294 2 misses "You Won't Let Me Go," which is part of Lee's tribute medley to Ray Charles.

3. Peggy Lee's Goodbye To Her Basin Street East Audience
4. Basin Street East Proudly Presents Peggy Lee [CD]
Notice that Capitol licensed the entire contents of this session to Collectors' Choice, and that Capitol itself has not released any of it. The material that Capitol has issued on its LP and CD incarnations of Basin Street East Proudly Presents Peggy Lee comes instead from the other Basin Street East sessions listed in this page.

There is, however, one minor exception to the points made in the paragraph above: the instrumental "Peggy Lee's Bow Music" is part of both Capitol and Collectors' Choice releases. Incidentally, Lee is heard at the end of this instrumental, thanking and saying farewell to the audience. Capitol issues end with this farewell but the Collectors' Choice disc continues with one final track -- Lee's encore, aka the hits medley.


Miscellanea

1. Peggy Lee Plugs Frances Faye
2. "It's A Good Day"
While singing "It's A Good Day," Peggy Lee sneaks in the words "don't forget Frances Faye ....... tomorrow!" The winningly raucous performer was indeed scheduled to follow Lee at Basin Street East. (Lee obviously wanted the club to maintain the successful, over-capacity attendance that it had been enjoying during her engagement. And she was fond of Faye as well. I am not completely sure that the singer-pianist was able to start her engagement on the next day, however. There was one Basin Street East engagement that Faye had to postpone due to illness; it could have been this one.)

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Joe Harnell (con, p), Bob Donovan (r, f), Danny Stiles, Phil Sunkel, Willie Thomas (t), Ray De Sio, Mickey Gravine (tb), Dennis Budimir (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Abe Rosen (hrp), Stan Levey (d), Francisco "Chino" Pozo (bo, cng), Peggy Lee (v)

Songs And Songwriters

1. "I Got A Man"
Peggy Lee sings a gender-altered variation of the song "I Got A Woman," co-written and popularized by Ray Charles. Heard throughout this feminized version are quite a few modified lyrics, perhaps conceived by Lee herself.

2. Renald Richard
The song "I Got A (Wo)man" is credited only to Ray Charles in many issues, including the original Capitol LP Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee. Nonetheless, the song is actually a collaboration between Charles and trumpet player Renald Richard.


Sources, Dating And Masters (I)

1. Data Gleaned From Capitol's Session Files
Session #8254
NYC, February 8, 1961
master 23460 - But Beautiful
master 23461 - Them There Eyes
master 23462 - I Got A Man
master 23463 - Tribute To Ray Charles: a. Just For A Thrill
All titles issued on Cap. T/ST/SM 1520.

2. Dating, Part One
At the Basin Street East club, Peggy Lee would usually perform two shows nightly -- and up to three on weekend days. One of the full shows that Lee performed on February 8, 1961 has been released in its entirety, on a CD from the label Collectors' Choice. That CD does not state whether it contains the earlier or the later show. Luckily, this matter can be clarified thanks to an additional piece of information, gleaned from the tape that contains this session's performances. The tape bears the label "after hours," thereby indicating that it contains material from the later show.

3. Dating, Part Two
Paradoxically, there are two dates attached to this session's tape, which consists of two reels. Whereas the first reel is dated February 8, its second reel bears the date February 9. Since the tape contains an "after hours" show, I am wondering if the portion in the first reel took place before midnight, and the portion in the second reel after midnight.

Alternatively, the dual dating might be a simple case of human error. It's worth noting that any so-called after hours show would be more commonly expected to start past midnight. According to a newspaper reviewer, the concert that he attended earlier in February was scheduled for 1:00 a.m. -- and was still running at 2:00 a.m.

4. Session's number: #8254 Or #8255?
Some Capitol documents, including Peggy Lee's session file, identify this session as #8254, whereas others label it #8255. Once again, human error seems to be at play in this case. I suspect that the other February 8 session (see above), which is not numbered, was slated to be #8254, and that this session should thus be #8255.

5. Master #23461: Unlisted
On the label of most session tapes, there is usually a listing of the titles and the master numbers assigned to the performances found within. Nevertheless, I am told that this session's tape does not list "Them There Eyes" at all -- not the title, not the mater number. It is listed instead in a safety copy of the session tape, and also in Capitol's session file.

Since I have no direct access to Capitol's tapes, and since I do not know of anyone who has actually listened to the tape, I do not know if this is merely an inadvertent omission on the label or if "Them There Eyes" has actually been edited out of the tape. (During the mastering process, the producer and engineers could have removed this master to another tape.)


Sources, Dating And Masters (II)
Contradictory Evidence. Capitol's Session Files Versus Capitol's LP/CD Issues. Live Masters Versus Studio Masters.

1. Live, Not Studio: "Just For A Thrill"
As shown above (under Data Gleaned From Capitol's Session Files), Capitol's documentation states that this session's version of "Just for A Thrill" is the one that was issued in the album Basin Street East Proudly Presents Peggy Lee. I have no reason to doubt that statement. The album track definitely has the sound quality of a master that was originally recorded live.

2. Studio, Not Live: "But Beautiful" And "Them There Eyes"
Capitol's files also identify this session's versions of "But Beautiful" And "Them There Eyes" as the ones heard in the album Basin Street East Proudly Presents Peggy Lee. In these two instances, a discrepancy makes me think that the files are incorrect: unlike the session's versions (which were recorded at the Basin Street East club and are therefore live), the album versions sound like studio tracks.

(The ballad "But Beautiful" most definitely strikes me as a studio track. I'll grant that I feel less certain about "Them There Eyes," but its clear and polished sound quality have led me to deem it a studio recording, too.)

I have already speculated about the reasons why Capitol's Basin Street documentation might suffer from misrepresented data. Reiteration might help clarify, however, what could be a hard-to-grasp point. Producer Dave Cavanaugh must have rejected this session's live masters of "But Beautiful" and "Them There Eyes," and he must have asked Lee to remake them. I believe those remakes to be the ones included in the album Basin Street East Proudly Presents Peggy Lee. For reason unknown (perhaps carelessness), the remakes (recorded on February 28 and March 1, 1961) were not incorporated to Peggy Lee's session files; worse yet, this session's rejected versions were wrongly identified as the ones in the album.

3. Live, But From Another Session: Master #23462 ("I Got A Man")
I have also deviated from the session files in their assertion that the album's version of "I Got A Man" is the one which was recorded at this session. My choice is instead a performance identified in a safety copy as a remake. For more details, see notes under next session.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Joe Harnell (con, p), Bob Donovan (r, f), Danny Stiles, Phil Sunkel, Willie Thomas (t), Ray De Sio, Mickey Gravine (tb), Dennis Budimir (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Abe Rosen (hrp), Stan Levey (d), Francisco "Chino" Pozo (bo, cng), Peggy Lee (v)

Masters

1. Data Gleaned From Capitol's Session Files

Session #8255
NYC, February 9, 1961
master 23464 - Call Me Darling
master 23465 - I Love Being Here With You
master 23466 - Tribute to Ray Charles: b. Yes, Indeed!
All titles issued on Cap. T/ST/SM 1520.

Session #8256
NYC, February 9, 1961
master 23467 - Peggy Lee Bow Music
master 23468 - The Second Time Around
All titles issued on Cap. T/ST/SM 1520.

2. Data Gleaned From (The Labels Of) Capitol's Session Tapes

Session #8256, Reel 1
Call Me Darling
I Love Being Here With You
Tribute to Ray Charles: b. Yes, Indeed!

Session #8256, Reel 2
One Kiss
But Beautiful

Session #8256, Reel 3
Bows
The Second Time Around

The information in the session files and the information in the session tapes (point #2) is at odds on various important details.

First of all, the session files list not one but two February 9 sessions, each with its own number. On the other hand, handwritten in each of the session tapes is only one of those numbers (8256).

Second, the session file miss the entire contents of second reel .

3. Data Gleaned From A Safety Copy
4. The Case Of Master #23462 ("I Got A Man")

The second reel has been preserved in its original session tape and also in a safety copy. On the label of the safety copy, the following titles are listed:

Session #8256, Reel 2
I Got A Man (Remake)*
One Kiss
But Beautiful

Notice that "I Got A Man" is mysteriously listed only in this safety copy, not in the original session tape. Since I have no access to session tapes, I cannot assess whether this discrepancy is due to a simple omission on the part of the file's author or if "I Got A Man" is truly missing from the original tape.

Be it as it may, I am operating on the very personal assumption that this so-called remake of "I Got A Man" is the performance issued in the original LP. (As for the session files, a performance from the previous, February 8 supper show is identified instead as the one included in the album.) There are two reasons why I believe that the safety tape's version is the one issued. First, the word "remake" next to the song's title strikes me as a likely indication that producer Cavanaugh chose it for release over any previous version. Second, the safety tape shows a timing for this performance; this is one extra detail that is not found in the session tape that contains the previous (February 8) version. Inclusion of a timing thus strikes me as another indication that this performance was the one picked for release.


Contradictory Evidence. Capitol's Session Files Versus Capitol's LP/CD Issues. Live Masters Versus Studio Masters.

1. Not Studio, But Live (With An Invited Audience): Masters #23464, #23465, #23466, And #23462
According to Capitol's session files, this date's live versions of "I Love Being Here With You," "Yes, Indeed!," "Call Me Darling," and "I Got A Man" are the ones heard in the Capitol album Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee. I have no reason to doubt that such is the case.

For one, Lee's interaction with the audience in two of those four songs -- "I Love Being Here With You" and "Yes, Indeed!" -- sound genuinely live to me. (See also point #3 below.)

"Call Me Darling" and "I Got A Man" present a more complicated situation. In declaring them live instead of studio tracks, I'm departing from the viewpoint given by liner annotator James Gavin in the Capitol CD Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee: he refers to both tracks as studio takes. But no studio versions of "Call Me Darling" and "I Got A Man" are listed in Capitol's Basin Street East documentation. Moreover, the very poor sound quality of "Call Me Darling" makes me believe that we are listening to a live track. (And besides, the documentation lists no Basin Street East versions of "Call Me Darling" other than this one.)

2. Evidence Of An Invited Audience?
In my estimation, the following details point to the presence of an invited audience in some of the tracks:

a) A telling comment made by Peggy Lee before she sings her tribute to Ray Charles. Lee says that she'd like to sing part of a tribute. Such a qualifier would make the most sense if she were uttering it in front of her invited audience, who was not to enjoy her full tribute medley to Ray Charles. (The invited-audience concert was probably set up to feature only the songs that Cavanaugh wanted to re-do for inclusion in the prospective LP.)

b) In "I Love Being Here With You," Lee can't resist giggling after she sings the phrase Cary Grant's utter charm takes me away. I suspect that Grant was present for this taping, as part of the invited audience. (He was friends with Lee, and is known to have attended her concerts.)

3. Studio, Not Live: Masters #23459, #23460, #23461, And #23468
As heard in the Capitol album Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee, the medley "One Kiss/My Romance/The Vagabond King Waltz" and the ballads "But Beautiful" and "The Second Time Around" definitely sound like studio tracks to me. Therefore, I do not believe the session files' claim that the performances on the original Capitol LP come from this live date. (For my speculation as to why the files incorrectly indicate that the LP contains live versions of those songs, see pertinent notes under February 5, 1961 session.)


Songs

1. Tribute Medley To Ray Charles
2. "I Got A Man"
During regular concerts, Peggy Lee sang "I Got A Man" as part of a medley in tribute to Ray Charles. She does so, for instance, in the full concert from February 8 that was released on CD by Collectors' Choice. For this session she performed "I Got A Man" not as part of a medley, however, but a separate track. (See also parallel comment about "Them There Eyes," in notes under session dated February 28, 1961.)

2. Peggy Lee's Bow Music"
Since master #23467 is an instrumental in which Lee does not play, I have not entered it in this Peggy Lee sessionography. (It was played by the musicians while she was taking her bows.)


Issues

1. Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee [CD]
The track listing of this Capitol CD contains a minor mistake. Its last two tracks are listed in the following manner:

12. A Tribute To Ray Charles:
Just For A Thrill
Yes Indeed
13. Peggy Lee Bow Music

The mistake is that the total number of tracks should be 14, not 13. Music-playing systems track "Peggy Lee Bow Music" as #14, "Yes, Indeed!" -- Though part of the tribute to Ray Charles -- as #13.


Collectors' Corner

1. "Yes, Indeed! / Boston Beans" [45]
Capitol 45 F 4576 was issued with a picture sleeve. A smiling Peggy has her arms half raised. Her hands are under the collar of the white blouse that she is wearing.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Other Individuals Unknown (acc), Peggy Lee (v)

Songs

1. Tribute Medley To Billie Holiday
2. "Them There Eyes"
Through her February 1961 Basin Street East engagement, Peggy Lee sang two tribute medleys. One was dedicated to Ray Charles, the other to Billie Holiday. In all likelihood, Lee sang both medleys on most nights, but
alternated between them: one was done at the early show, the other at the late show. Taped by Capitol, the Ray Charles medley has been preserved, fortunately.

The Billie Holiday medley does not seem to have been taped, unfortunately. "God Bless The Child" and "Loverman" are among the numbers that Lee probably sang as part of this medley. "Them There Eyes" might have been its centerpiece.

At this studio session, Cavanaugh and Lee decided to reprise not the entire medley but its centerpiece. Lee sings the number in full. "Them There Eyes" was actually a song to which Lee returned often during her career, not only in concert but also on record (1946, 1947, 1952) and on TV (1962, 1983).

(See also parallel comment about the Ray Charles Medley and its "I Got A Man," in notes under session dated February 9, 1961.)

3. One Kiss Medley
4. "The Vagabond King Waltz"
5. "The Most Beautiful Man In The World"
Another medley that Peggy Lee did at the Basin Street East club consisted of the songs "One Kiss," "My Romance" and a varying third number. In the February 8 concert that was issued on CD by Collectors' Choice, the medley's third song is "The Most Beautiful Man In The World." In this studio session, it is instead "The Vagabond King Waltz."

In the interest of variety, Lee probably alternated between "The Most Beautiful Man In The World" and "The Vagabond King Waltz" during her live shows. (As already mentioned, she alternated between her Ray Charles and her Billie Holiday medleys, too. There are also two or three other titles, such as "It All Depends On You" and "Moments Like This," which she did not sing on every show during this run.)

6. Ballad Medley
7. "But Beautiful"
8. "The Second Time Around"
In the February 8 concert that was released by Collectors' Choice, Peggy Lee performs "But Beautiful" and "The Second Time Around" as one ballad medley. At these studio sessions, Lee and Cavanaugh chose to record the two numbers separately.


Arrangements

1. "Them There Eyes"
2. Mundell Lowe
3. Marty Paich
In addition to this session's score by Dick Hazard, Peggy Lee kept two other arrangements of "Them There Eyes" in her sheet music library, one by Mundell Lowe and the other by Marty Paich.


Sources, Dating, And Masters

1. Information Gleaned From Capitol's Session Files
This date, dedicated to remakes, is not listed in Peggy Lee's session files.

2. Information Gleaned From The Original Session Tape

February 28, 1961

Reel 1
Them There Eyes
One Kiss (Medley)
The Second Time Around [one take or more]

Reel 2
The Second Time Around [more takes]

3. CDs From Capitol And Affiliates As Sources Of Information
The booklets of various Peggy Lee CDs refer to a March 8, 1961 Basin Street East studio session. I do not believe that any such session really took place on that day. (The reasons for my belief are explained in my introductory Basin Street East notes, located right under session dated September 1, 1960.) The CDs that mention that March 8 date are Miss Peggy Lee (Capitol), Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee (Capitol), and Peggy At Basin Street East (Collectors' Choice).

4. Masters #23459, #23460, #23461, #23468 (and #23460)
In Capitol's Basin Street East session files, there are various masters which are listed as live but which I have confidently deemed -- after close listening -- studio tracks recorded at this session and the next one. The songs in question are "Them There Eyes," "One Kiss/My Romance/ The Vagabond King Waltz," "The Second Time Around," and "But Beautiful." For more details on this matter, see notes under sessions dated February 5 and 9, 1961.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Other Individuals Unknown (acc), Peggy Lee (v)

Songs And Cross-references

1. "Moments Like This"
Lane and Loesser's "Moments Like This" seems to have been a favorite Peggy Lee standard. She taped or recorded quite a few versions. There are three studio masters (February 19, 1960; March 1, 1961; September 8, 1992 ), one extant live performance (February 5, 1961) and one televised broadcast (May 25, 1966).

Of course, she probably sang this number often through her Basin Street East engagement, although not on every show. For the sake of variety, Lee probably skipped "Moments Like This" at times, substituting it with another ballad (possibly "It All Depends On You").

2. Studio Remakes
For general commentary about Lee's studio remakes of live Basin Street East material, see notes under the preceding session, dated February 28, 1961.


Issues

1. Capitol #4576 [45]
2. "Moments Like This"
3. "Boston Beans"
According to an oral report for which I have no official confirmation, this studio recording of "Moments Like This" was slated for release as a single. Ultimately, however, it was excluded from release not only on 45 but also on any other format. The producers of The Singles Collection made the smart decision of finally releasing it in that CD set, on the rationale that -- though previously unissued -- it had been originally intended for 45 issue, after all.

It occurs to me that "Moments Like This" might have been planned for inclusion in Capitol single #4576. That 45 does include one song from the Basin Street sessions ("Yes, Indeed!"). The flip side features "Boston Beans" (recorded on April 15,1961), which bears no relation to Basin Street East, however.

A Capitol ad for single #4576 suggests that the 45 was rush-released, and that the reason for the rush was the unexpected demand for "Boston Beans," particularly in the Massachusetts record market. If this information is true (rather than mere promotional overstatement), then perhaps Cavanaugh decided to bump "Moments Like This" out of the single in favor of the interest-arising "Boston Beans."

4. The Album Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee In The Music Charts And At The Grammys
This long play entered Billboard's Best-Selling Pop LPs chart on the week of September 11, 1961 and thereby became Peggy Lee's 8th album entry. It peaked at #77 and spent 22 weeks in this chart. (For her 9th album entry, see earlier session, dated March 28, 1959).

Held on May 29, 1962, the fourth Grammy awards ceremony downsized its awards for best female popular singer from two to one. The category was renamed Best Solo Vocal, Female. Also, this time all nominations were for albums, none for singles. Those differences aside, tidings in this category went almost as usual: Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee were nominated for the fourth straight year -- Fitzgerald for an album that the Academy listed as Mr. Paganini. (I presume that the album in question is the one officially titled Ella In Hollywood, whose most popular song was "Mr. Paganini.") On this occasion, the winner was not Fitzgerald but Judy Garland, for her concert piece Live At Carnegie Hall. The other two nominees were Billie Holiday and Lena Horne.


Masters

1. Information Gleaned From Capitol's Session Files. Dating.
This date, dedicated to remakes, is not listed in Peggy Lee's session files.

2. Information Gleaned From The Original Session Tape

March 1, 1961
But Beautiful [various takes]
Yes Indeed
But Beautiful [one more take]
Moments Like This

3. Multiple Takes
Point #2 above shows that multiple takes of "But Beautiful" are extant in this session's tape. The existence of multiple takes in the vaults actually applies to other Basin Street East sessions as well -- and to many of Lee's studio sessions. However, my sessionography of Capitol material is circumscribed to master takes and to alternate takes which have been released.

4. "Moments Like This"
Official data about this session is scarce. As already mentioned, all these studio remakes of Basin Street East material were left unlisted in the session files.

The remake of "Moments Like This" merits particular attention. Capitol has three Peggy Lee versions of the song in its vaults. One was recorded for -- and issued in -- her album Pretty Eyes. Another version was taped live on February 5, 1961 and issued in the album Basin Street East Presents Peggy Lee. The third Capitol version was issued for the first in the CD set The Singles Collection, where no recording information about it is provided. One of the producers of The Singles Collection kindly told me that only the year of recording could be found for the set's "Moments Like This": 1961 -- no month, no day given. By process of elimination, this session's version is the only one that qualifies. (It is the only 1961 studio version that is known to be extant).

5. "Yes, Indeed!"
6. Splicing
According to Capitol's session files, the performance of "Yes, Indeed!" heard in the Capitol album Basin Street East Proudly Presents Peggy Lee is a live take, taped on February 9, 1961. In the notes under that session, I quickly voiced my belief that such an identification is correct.

Nevertheless, I must now add that my belief in the live quality of this performance is rather shaky. Despite careful and consecutive listens to the "Yes Indeed!" track in the Basin Street East album, my opinion has kept on shifting. During the first choruses, my ears tell me that I am listening to a studio number, yet during the last choruses I end up convinced that the track is live ... Could this performance be a composite? Could it be that, thanks to the technique of splicing, the live version from February 9 was combined with this session's studio version? Since I have no official evidence that can back up such a possibility, for the time I am only sharing my thoughts herein; otherwise, I have entered the "Yes, Indeed!" data just as it appears in Capitol's documents.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Quincy Jones (con), Benny Carter, Buddy Collette (as), Bill Green, Bill Perkins (ts), Jack Nimitz (bar), Robert Fowler, Conrad Gozzo, Al Porcino, Jack Sheldon (t), Vernon "Vern" Friley, Lewis "Lew" McCreary, Frank Rosolino (tb), Bob Knight (bt), Dennis Budimir (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Frank Strazzeri (p), Stan Levey (d), Francisco "Chino" Pozo (cng, per), Peggy Lee (v)

The Blues Cross Country Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: April 14, 15, 17 and 19, 1961. May 19, 1961.


Personnel And Sources

My personnel data for the 1961 Blues Cross Country sessions relies on two sources: Capitol's Peggy Lee session files and the booklet of the album's CD issue (Capitol Jazz #724352008827). The data found in both sources is essentially the same, but there are a few divergences. The three most significant variants are:

a) the inclusion of trumpet players Frank Beach and Manny Klein in the Capitol session file. Neither one is listed anywhere in the CD's booklet.

b) the repetition, in the Capitol file, of the same exact personnel on all 4 sessions. The Capitol Jazz CD does not give the exact same personnel in every session. The file's collective personnel lacks some of the names given in the CD issue.

c) the pianist(s) involved. Capitol's file credits each Blues Cross Country session to "Lou Levy or Jimmy Rowles." The CD's booklet shows instead that Jimmy Rowles and Frank Strazzeri alternated sessions.

Points (b) and (c) make it evident that the session file is give general information, whereas the CD's booklet contains specifics. I have thus made the booklet my primary source for the Blues Cross Country dates. (I do not know the source of the personnel given in the Capitol Jazz CD. I am assuming it to be the session's report at AFM, which is considered the most reliable source for personnel.)


Arrangers And Arrangements

1. Quincy Jones
The Capitol album Blues Cross Country credits all its arrangements to the album's conductor, Quincy Jones. Collective credits such as this one often prove to be inaccurate generalizations. I have thus abstained from crediting Jones, except fro those cases in which Peggy Lee's sheet music library holds arrangements under his name.

2. Dick Hazard
3. "Kansas City"
There is one arrangement of "Kansas City" in Lee's library, and it is credited to Dick Hazard. Because I have not been able to inspect the arrangement or to verify that it is the same one used for the album's version, this credit should be deemed tentative.


Masters And Dating

1. "Goin' To Chicago Blues" [Master #35743]
In Capitol's session file, Lee's performance of "Goin' To Chicago Blues" appears under this session. In the discographical information provided by the Capitol Jazz CD Blues Cross Country, it is found under the next date. Meanwhile, the Capitol Label Discography by Ruppli et al lists the song title under both sessions; the April 15 entry labeled a remake.

It thus seems that Lee and company first attempted "Goin' To Chicago Blues" on April 14, then on the 15th. Since the Capitol documentation gives no indication that both days' performances are preserved, I have included this master only under the April 15 date.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Quincy Jones (con), Benny Carter, Bill Green (as), John "Plas" Johnson, Bill Perkins (ts), Jack Nimitz (bar), Robert Fowler, Conrad Gozzo, Al Porcino, Jack Sheldon (t), Vernon "Vern" Friley, Lewis "Lew" McCreary, Frank Rosolino (tb), George Roberts (bt), Dennis Budimir, Howard Roberts (g), Max K. Bennett (b), James "Jimmy" Rowles (p), Stan Levey (d), Francisco "Chino" Pozo (cng, per), Peggy Lee (v)

The Blues Cross Country Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: April 14, 15, 17 and 19, 1961. May 19, 1961.


Songs

1. "The Grain Belt Blues (Orange Blues)"
The Capitol Label Discography is the only source in which I have found the sub-title "Orange Blues" for this song.


Masters And Dating

1. "Goin' To Chicago Blues" [Master #35743]
The inclusion of master #35743 in this April 15, 1961 session is based on discographical information provided by the Capitol Jazz CD Blues Cross Country, and reiterated in the Capitol Label Discography. Peggy Lee's session file, on the other hand, dates the master one day earlier (April 14, 1961). As explained in the previous session, I have given more credence to the information provided by the CD.


Arrangements

Copies of this session's three scores exist in Peggy Lee's music sheet library. All three library arrangements are indeed credited to Quincy Jones.


Issues And Cross-references

1. Single #4576 [45]
2. "Boston Beans"
See commentary under session dated March 1, 1961.


Personnel And Cross-references

See note under session dated April 14, 1961.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Quincy Jones (con), Benny Carter, Bill Green (as), Buddy Collette, Justin Gordon (ts), Jack Nimitz (bar), Robert Fowler, Conrad Gozzo, Al Porcino, Jack Sheldon (t), Vernon "Vern" Friley, Lewis "Lew" McCreary, Frank Rosolino (tb), Bob Knight (bt), Dennis Budimir (g), Max K. Bennett (b), James "Jimmy" Rowles, Frank Strazzeri (p), Stan Levey (d), Francisco "Chino" Pozo (bo, cng, per), Peggy Lee (v)

The Blues Cross Country Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: April 14, 15, 17 and 19, 1961. May 19, 1961.


Arrangers And Arrangements

1. Benny Carter
2. Quincy Jones
The credit to Quincy Jones for two of this session's arrangements is based on the existence of copies of such arrangements, under his name, in Peggy Lee's music sheet library. The source for the Benny Carter credit is Ed Berger's discography of the musician.


Masters And Dating

1. "San Francisco Blues" [Master #35759]
In Capitol's Peggy Lee session files, master #35759 is exclusively listed under this session but in the Capitol Label Discography the same master appears under two sessions: April 17 and April 19, where it is labeled a remake. Presumably, the duplication in the Capitol Label Discography means that, on April 17, attempts at producing a "San Francisco Blues" master were deemed unsatisfactory.

Since there is no indication that this date's "San Francisco Blues" attempts were preserved, I have listed master #35759 under the April 19 session only.


Personnel (Cross-references)

See note under session dated April 14, 1961.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Quincy Jones (con), Benny Carter, Bill Green (as), Buddy Collette, Justin Gordon, Bill Perkins (ts), Jack Nimitz (bar), Walter "Pete" Candoli, Robert Fowler, Conrad Gozzo, Joe Graves, Al Porcino, Jack Sheldon, Ray Triscari (t), Vernon "Vern" Friley, Lewis "Lew" McCreary, Frank Rosolino, Tom Shepard (tb), Bob Knight (bt), Dennis Budimir (g), Max K. Bennett (b), James "Jimmy" Rowles, Frank Strazzeri (p), Chico Guerrero, Stan Levey (d), Francisco "Chino" Pozo (bo, cng, per), Peggy Lee (v)

The Blues Cross Country Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: April 14, 15, 17 and 19, 1961. May 19, 1961.


Arrangers And Arrangements

1. Quincy Jones
The credit to Quincy Jones for this session's arrangement of "St. Louis Blues" is based on the existence of a copy of such a score, under his name, in Peggy Lee's music sheet library. The library also has an arrangement of "The Train Blues," but it is uncredited.

2. Benny Carter
Credit to Benny Carter for the arrangement of "San Francisco Blues" is given in various sources, including Ed Berger's bio-discography of the musician.


Issues

1. Blues, USA [acetate]
An acetate of the album Blue Cross Country was once up for auction at ebay. According to the ebay seller, this acetate has a song order different from that of the commercial release, bears the title Blues, USA (not Blue Cross Country), and is dated 5-24-67.

Also, the track listing supplied by the seller shows "Blues Cross Country" as the title of one of the songs, rather than the album's title. But, since there is no mention of "The Grain Belt Blues" in the seller's track listing, I suspect that "The Grain Belt Blues" was wrongly listed as "Blues Cross Country."


Masters And Dating

1. "San Francisco Blues" [Master #35759]
The Capitol Label Discography lists this master under both this date and the previous one. For further details, consult notes under session dated April 17, 1961.


Cross-references (Personnel)

See note under session dated April 14, 1961.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Quincy Jones (con), Benny Carter, Bill Green (as), John "Plas" Johnson, Bill Perkins (ts), Jack Nimitz (bar), Walter "Pete" Candoli, Robert Fowler, Al Porcino, Ray Triscari (t), Hoyt Bohannon, Lewis "Lew" McCreary, Richard T. "Dick" Nash (tb), Bob Knight (bt), Dennis Budimir (g), Max K. Bennett (b), James "Jimmy" Rowles (p), Stan Levey (d), Peggy Lee (v)

The Blues Cross Country Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: April 14, 15, 17 and 19, 1961. May 19, 1961.


Arrangers And Arrangements

1. Quincy Jones
The credit to Quincy Jones for this session's arrangement is based on the existence of a copy under his name in Peggy Lee's music sheet library. Jones is also credited in the back cover of the LP Extra Special!


Cross-references (Personnel)

For general commentary about the personnel of Lee's April and May 1961 dates, see notes under session dated April 14, 1961.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Quincy Jones (con), Benny Carter, Bill Green (as), John "Plas" Johnson, Bill Perkins (ts), Jack Nimitz (bar), Walter "Pete" Candoli, Robert Fowler, Al Porcino, Ray Triscari (t), Hoyt Bohannon, Lewis "Lew" McCreary, Richard T. "Dick" Nash (tb), Bob Knight (bt), Dennis Budimir (g), Max K. Bennett (b), James "Jimmy" Rowles (p), Stan Levey (d), Peggy Lee (v)

The Blues Cross Country Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: April 14, 15, 17 and 19, 1961. May 19, 1961.


Arrangements

1. "Los Angeles Blues"
Peggy Lee's music sheet library contains an arrangement of "Los Angeles Blues." It is uncredited.


Cross-references (Personnel)

For general commentary about the personnel of Lee's April and May 1961 dates, see notes under session dated April 14, 1961.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Benny Carter (as), Dennis Budimir (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Unknown (str), Victor Feldman (p, cel), Shelly Manne (d), Peggy Lee (v)

The If You Go Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: June 22, 23, 24 and 27, 1961.


Personnel, Sources And Musical Instruments

1. My Choice For Primary Source
For the I You Go sessions, I have put greater trust in the details provided by the Cuscuna and Ruppli texts (Blue Note: A Discography and the Capitol Label Discography). Capitol's Peggy Lee file strikes me as less reliable in this case, both because it offers identical personnel in each session and because it does not identify some of the musicians. Furthermore, I believe that Cuscuna retrieved these sessions' details from the archives at the American Federation of Musicians, which is widely considered the most reliable source for the correct identification of session personnel.

2. Collective Personnel
Capitol's Peggy Lee's session files show the same personnel for all the If You Go album dates: Max Bennett, Dennis Budimir, Victor Feldman, Stan Levey, and Chino Pozo, plus unidentified musicians on flute(s), French horn(s), and strings.

3. Drums
4. Stan Levey
5. Shelly Manne
There are various disagreements between my main sources for the personnel of these album sessions. The most notable disagreement pertains to the drummer listed in each source: Stan Levey in Capitol's Peggy Lee session file, Shelly Manne in Michael Cuscuna and Michel Ruppli's Blue Note: A Discography.

6. Celeste
This instrument is plated only on "When I Was A Child."


Arrangers And Arrangements

1. Quincy Jones
Credit to Quincy Jones for this session's arrangements is based on the existence of copies under his name in Peggy Lee's music sheet library.


Masters

1. "When I Was A Child"
Capitol's inventory of masters identifies "When I Was A Child" (master #36071) as a remake. None of my other sources do.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Benny Carter (as), Dennis Budimir (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Unknown (str), Victor Feldman (p), Shelly Manne (d), Peggy Lee (v)

The If You Go Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: June 22, 23, 24 and 27, 1961.


Masters And Cross-references

1. "My Guitar"
For the version of "My Guitar" that was issued in the album Guitars Ala Lee, see session dated July 18, 1966. For yet a third version of "My Guitar," see session dated June 24, 1961.


Songs And Issues

1. "Deep Purple"
2. An Unreleased Album?
In his liner notes for the Peggy Lee album that is part of Time-Life's "Legendary Singers" series, Gene Lees writes that the session from which the song "Deep Purple" originated was made "for an album that was never completed." Since the session that contains "Deep Purple" is this one, and since its two other songs were issued in the LP If You Go, there seems to have been a misunderstanding on Lees' part, or on his sources.


Personnel And Cross-references

1. Divergent Sources
For details about discrepancies in the personnel listed by my various If You Go sources, see notes under previous session.

2. Benny Carter
Benny Carter participates in the first two masters from this date; there is no indication that he played in the session's hitherto unissued version of "My Guitar."


Arrangers And Arrangements

1. Quincy Jones
Credit to Quincy Jones for two of this session's arrangements is based on the existence of copies under his name in Peggy Lee's music sheet library.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Justin Gordon, Jules Kinsler, Theodore Nash aka Theodore Nash, Jules "Julie" Schwartz (f), Tommy Pederson aka Pullman Pederson, George Roberts, Frank Rosolino (tb), John Cave, James "Jim" Decker, Vincent DeRosa, Richard "Dick" Perissi (frh), Dennis Budimir (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Victor Feldman (p, vib), Shelly Manne (d), Peggy Lee (v)

The If You Go Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: June 22, 23, 24 and 27, 1961.


Personnel And Cross-references

1. Divergent Sources
On the matter of the full personnel who played during the If You Go sessions, my main sources show various disagreements. For details, see notes under the first of the sessions dated June 22, 1961.


Arrangers And Arrangements

1. Quincy Jones
Copies of this session's two arrangements exist in Peggy Lee's music sheet library. Both copies are credited to Quincy Jones.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Justin Gordon, Jules Kinsler, Theodore Nash aka Theodore Nash, Jules "Julie" Schwartz (f), Tommy Pederson aka Pullman Pederson, George Roberts, Frank Rosolino (tb), John Cave, James "Jim" Decker, Vincent DeRosa, Richard "Dick" Perissi (frh), Dennis Budimir (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Victor Feldman (p, vib), Shelly Manne (d), Peggy Lee (v)

The If You Go Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: June 22, 23, 24 and 27, 1961.


Masters And Alternate Takes

1. "Here's That Rainy Day"
Two takes of "Here's That Rainy Day" have been commercially issued. Differences between them might not be readily apparent, but careful, repeat listening will reveal different phrasing in some lines -- most notably in "where is that worn-out wish that I threw aside." Of the two, the master remains the superior version. My thanks to Steve Dodd for alerting me to the existence of the alternate.

2. "Farewell To Arms"
Two main takes of "Farewell To Arms" are extant in Capitol's vaults. Take #9 contains both the verse and the choruses. Take #14 contains the choruses only. The choruses heard in take #9 are actually very well sung, but Lee and producer Cavanaugh might have been unhappy with a couple of tiny details, such as her elongated sibilant in the word "so," towards the end of the number. (In take #14, there is no such elongation.)

So far released only in the CD Rare Gems And Hidden Treasures, the master of "Farewell To Arms" appears to be a composite of those two takes.


Personnel And Cross-references

1. Divergent Sources
On the matter of the full personnel who played during the If You Go sessions, my main sources show various disagreements. For details, see notes under the first of the sessions dated June 22, 1961.


Arrangers And Arrangements

1. Quincy Jones
Copies of three of this session's arrangements were kept by Peggy Lee in her music sheet library. Quincy Jones is credited in all three of them. The library also has an arrangement of "Farewell To Arms," but it bears no author credit.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Justin Gordon, Theodore Nash aka Theodore Nash (f), Benny Carter (as), Dennis Budimir, Al Hendrickson (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Victor Feldman (vib), Shelly Manne (d), Francisco "Chino" Pozo, Ray Rivera (cng), Mike Gutierrez, Melvin "Mel" Zelnick (per), Peggy Lee (v)

The If You Go Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: June 22, 23, 24 and 27, 1961.


Masters, Dating, Sources And Cross-references

1. "My Guitar" [Masters #36074 And #36086]
My sources are in disagreement about the number of masters of "My Guitar" that were recorded during the If You Go sessions. Capitol's session file lists only one, recorded on June 22 and numbered 36074. The Capitol Label Discography lists two, the one from June 22 and another labeled a remake, which is listed under June 24. Both dates' performances are identified as master #36074.

A third and more reliable source serves as a corrective to the claims made by the other two sources mentioned. An inventory of Capitol's masters confirms that the company's vault holds versions of "My Guitar" from both June 22 and 24 but deny that they have the same master number: the version from June 24 is numbered 36086, not 36074.

Incidentally, notice that Capitol owns yet another Peggy Lee master of "My Guitar," though it is not part of the If You Go sessions. Recorded on July 18, 1966, this third master was made for the album Guitars Ala Lee.

2. "I Get Along Without You Very Well" [Master #36084]
Once again, my sources are in disagreement about masters that were recorded during the If You Go sessions. Capitol's session file lists only one recording date for "I Get Along Without You Very Well" (June 27) but the Capitol Label Discography lists two, June 24 and June 27, 1961. The performance that resulted from the later date is identified as a remake.

Capitol's inventory of masters lists "I Get Along Without You Very Well" only under June 27, thereby corroborating the information given in the session file. But the inventory introduces a new discrepancy: the date that it gives to "I Get Along Without You Very Well" is neither June 24 nor June 27 but August 14, 1961. I am inclined to think that this third date is a typographical mistake made by the author of the inventory.

I have decided to list "I Get Along Without You Very Well" only under the June 27 session. Unless I find verification that a June 24 performance is also extant, I have no intention to ever enter master #36084 in the present session.

3. Numerical Sequence
For what is worth, notice that there is a break or a "reversal" in the numerical sequence of this and the next session's masters: from 36086, 36087 and 36096, the numbers go not up but down to 36083 and 36084. This relatively unusual numerical break, along with the comments that I just made about "My Guitar" and "I Get Along Without You Very Well," raises suspicions about the accuracy and completeness of the data available for these two sessions at issue. See also related comments under next session.


Personnel And Cross-references

1. Divergent Sources
On the matter of the full personnel who played during the If You Go sessions, my main sources show various disagreements. For details, see notes under the first of the sessions dated June 22, 1961.


Arrangements

1. Sources
Peggy Lee's sheet music library contains arrangements of "Say It Isn't So" and "Maybe It's Because (I Love You Too Much)" but neither one names an author.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Quincy Jones (con), Justin Gordon, Richard T. "Dick" Nash (f), Dennis Budimir, Al Hendrickson (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Victor Feldman (vib), Shelly Manne (d), Francisco "Chino" Pozo, Ray Rivera (bo, cng), Mike Gutierrez, Melvin "Mel" Zelnick (per), Peggy Lee (v)

The If You Go Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: June 22, 23, 24 and 27, 1961.


Masters, Dating And Cross-references

1. "I Get Along Without You Very Well" [Master #36084]
See comments about this master under previous session.

2. Breaks In The Numerical Sequence Of Masters And Sessions
Notice that the master numbers of this session and the preceding one break from the ascending numerical sequence. For additional comments on this matter, see notes under previous date.

The sessions' numerical sequence is broken, too. Whereas the previous If You Go sessions follow the usual ascending order (#10152, #10154, #10160, #10161), this session descends to #10157.

The correct explanation for those numerical breaks might simply be that producer Cavanaugh retrieved older master numbers (and an old session number) that had been left unused and were thus still available to him.

I am still left to ponder, however, if any of these If You Go sessions bear a wrong date, or if there is some other type of error in the extant data.


Arrangers And Arrangements

1. Quincy Jones
Copies of session's arrangements were kept by Peggy Lee in her music sheet library. Both copies credit Quincy Jones as their author.


Cross-references (Personnel)

1. Divergent Sources
On the matter of the full personnel who played during the If You Go sessions, my main sources show various disagreements. For details, see notes under the first of the sessions dated June 22, 1961.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Benny Carter (con), Justin Gordon (r), Conrad Gozzo, Al Porcino, Clarence "Shorty" Sherock, Ray Triscari (t), Milt Bernhart, George Roberts, Tom Shepard, Kenny Shroyer (tb), Al Hendrickson (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Lou Levy (p), Emil Richards, aka Emil Radocchia (vib, per), Mel Lewis (d), Francisco "Chino" Pozo (per), Peggy Lee (v)

The Sugar 'N' Spice Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: March 28 and 31, 1962. April 2 and 4, 1962.


Arrangers And Arrangements

1. Billy Byers
2. Benny Carter
The Capitol Jazz CD Sugar 'N' Spice collectively lists two men, Billy Byers and Benny Carter, as this session's arrangers. Corroboration that Benny Carter arranged "I Believe In You" comes from Ed Berger's Benny Carter: A Life In American Music, and also from the copy of his arrangement that Peggy Lee kept in her sheet music library.

As for Billy Byers, potential corroboration of his involvement also comes from an arrangement of "Ain't That Love," credited to him, in Lee's library. (I call it "potential corroboration" because I do not know if the library's arrangement truly is the same one used in the album Sugar 'N' Spice, although I presume it to be.)

3. Shorty Rogers
Lee's library has an arrangement of "See See Rider," too. It is credited to neither Byers nor Carter, nevertheless, but to Shorty Rogers.

I am tentatively assuming that the album's arrangement of "See See Rider" is the same one found in the singer's library, even though the CD Sugar 'N' Spice makes no mention of Shorty Rogers' involvement in this particular session. (The CD does credit Rogers, however, with arrangements for another of the album's sessions. See April 2, 1962.)

4. "Loads Of Love"
There is no arrangement of "Loads of Love" in Lee's library. If the CD's collective credits are to be applied to all songs, either Byers or Carter would need to be credited. Then again, "Loads Of Love" could very well be a head arrangement.


Masters And Dating

1. "I Believe In You" [Master #37395]
The Capitol Jazz Discography lists master #37395 under two 1962 sessions (March 28 and 30, 1962) and calls the version from the later session a remake. As in previous instances, I have abstained from entering the same master number twice. (I will alter this practice only if I ever find evidence that both the earlier performance and the remake are extant. So far, no such evidence has been forthcoming in any of these instances.)


Personnel

1. Source
My source for this session's personnel is the discographical data included in the Capitol Jazz CD Sugar 'n' Spice. I believe that the CD's data was transcribed from the session's report at AFM, and is thus highly reliable. As for Peggy Lee's session file, no personnel is listed under this date.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), John Kraus (eng), Benny Carter (con), Benny Carter and Orchestra (acc), Harry Klee (f, af), Jack Sheldon (t), Unknown (c), Herb Ellis, Al Hendrickson (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Lou Levy (p), Mel Lewis (d), Peggy Lee (v)

The Mink Jazz And I'm A Woman Album Sessions (Cross-references)

One song from this session was originally issued in the album Mink Jazz and another in the album I'm A Woman.

Mink Jazz Dates: March 29 and 30, 1962. February 2, 5, 6 and 7, 1963.
I'm A Woman Dates: November 14, 1962. January 2, 3, 4 and 5, 1963. March 29, 1962.


Personnel And Musical Instruments

1. Jack Sheldon
The Capitol Jazz CD Mink Jazz is the only source that lists trumpet player Jack Sheldon as part of this and the next session. (My other sources do not list him as part of this date, but they do list him in the three later Mink Jazz sessions, all from 1963.) There are various reasons why I have trusted the CD's claim that Sheldon is present. One of them is that I hear a muted yet prominent trumpet in both "Please Don't Rush Me" and "I'll Get By." See also next session's notes.

2. Chino Pozo
In the CD Mink Jazz, percussionist Chino Pozo is included as one of this session's players, but in Capitol's session file he is not listed among the participants.

I believe that the Capitol Jazz CD is the source in error: because Pozo was definitely part of other Mink Jazz sessions, the CD's discographer incorrectly and inadvertently added the percussionist to this date as well. Granted that drums play a prominent role in one of the date's three songs --"Please, Don't Rush Me" -- chances are that drummer Mel Lewis was the only member in charge of percussion during that number and throughout the session.

A third source contains a telling note that further tips the balance against the Capitol Jazz CD. In the back cover of the original album issue (Capitol LP #1850), it is stated that Pozo was out on this date and back on the next day.

3. Harry Klee
4. Instruments (Flute, Alto Flute, Trumpet)
Whereas Capitol's session file identifies the instrument played by Harry Klee as a trumpet, the CD Mink Jazz stipulates that he's playing flute (and alto flute) in this session.


Arrangements And Arrangers

1. Benny Carter
The Capitol CD Mink Jazz gives a collective personnel in which Benny Carter is listed as arranger of all of this session's numbers. In Peggy Lee's sheet music library, there is one arrangement of "I'll Get By," and it is indeed by Carter. But her library has no arrangements of the other songs, which seem to have used head arrangements. I have thus abstained from crediting Carter for any of these arrangements, the only exception being "I'll Get By."

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), John Kraus (eng), Benny Carter (con), Benny Carter and Orchestra (acc), Justin Gordon (f, ts), Jack Sheldon (t), Herb Ellis, Al Hendrickson (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Lou Levy (p), Mel Lewis (d), Francisco "Chino" Pozo (per), Peggy Lee (v)

The Mink Jazz Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: March 29 and 30, 1962. February 2, 5, 6 and 7, 1963.


Arrangements And Arrangers

1. Benny Carter
The Capitol CD Mink Jazz gives a collective personnel in which Benny Carter is named as this session's arranger. Corroboration arguably exists in the case of only one song: Peggy Lee kept in her music sheet library an arrangement of "I Didn't Find Love" which is indeed credited to Carter.

The library also has copies of the arrangements for the session's other three numbers, but no arranger is credited by name in them. Since I have abstained from blindly trusting collective credits throughout this discography, I have given credit to Carter only for the arrangement of "I Didn't Find Love."


Masters And Dating

1. "I Believe In You" [Master #37395]
The Capitol Jazz Discography lists "I Believe In You" under two 1962 sessions (March 28 and 30) and calls the version from the later session a remake. Both versions are given the same master number. As in previous instances where the same pattern is shown, I have refrained from entering the same master twice, particularly because I have found no indication that the original version was preserved. (My general assumption is that, once the remake was recorded and deemed satisfactory, the earlier version was scrapped. In order to confirm or deny this assumption of mine, an aural inspection of the session tapes would of course be necessary.)

2. "I Never Had A Chance"
Mysteriously, the master take of "I Never Had A Chance" is identified as #2 in some Capitol documents, as #3 in others.


Personnel

1. Jack Sheldon
My two main sources for the presence of Jack Sheldon in this session are the book Blue Note: A Discography (by Michael Cuscuna & Michel Ruppli) and the Capitol Jazz CD Mink Jazz, which was also produced by Cuscuna. Sheldon is not listed, on the other hand, in Capitol's session file. See also notes under session dated March 29, 1962.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Benny Carter (con), Justin Gordon (r), Conrad Gozzo, Al Porcino, Clarence "Shorty" Sherock, Ray Triscari (t), Milt Bernhart, Billy Byers, Kenny Shroyer (tb), Al Hendrickson (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Lou Levy (p), Emil Richards, aka Emil Radocchia (vib, per), Mel Lewis (d), Peggy Lee (v)

The Sugar 'N' Spice Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: March 28 and 31, 1962. April 2 and 4, 1962.


Arrangements

1. Benny Carter
The Capitol Jazz CD Sugar 'N' Spice credits all of this session's arrangements to Benny Carter, who also conducted the date. As usual, I have distrusted such a collective credit, all the more so since there is no corroboration for it. Ed Berger's discography of Benny Carter lists none of these arrangements. In Peggy Lee's sheet music library, there are arrangements for two of the songs, but men other than Carter receive authorship credit: Billy May for "Big Bad Bill" and Quincy Jones for "The Best Is Yet To Come." (The library holds no arrangement of "Tell All The World About You.") Hence I am assuming that, because Carter was the session's conductor, Capitol automatically and erroneously listed him as the arranger of the songs. I am tentatively trusting the library's credits. (The tentativeness is due to the fact that, because I have not listened to the library's arrangements, I cannot fully guarantee that they are the same ones heard in the album.)


Masters And Dating

1. "I Believe In You" [Master #37395]
The Capitol Jazz Discography lists "I Believe In You" under two 1962 sessions (March 28 and 31) and gives to the two performances the same master number. Meanwhile, Lee's session file lists it only under one of the sessions. For details about my policy when there are two alleged performances with the same master number, see relevant note under previous session.


Personnel

1. Chino Pozo
According to the discographical notes found in the Capitol Jazz CD Sugar 'N' Spice, percussionist Chino Pozo played on an earlier album date (March 28, 1962) but not on this one. On the other hand, the Capitol Label Discography lists Chino Pozo as one of two percussionists on this date.

The probable reason why the makers of the Capitol Label Discography included Pozo in both March 28 and 31 sessions is that -- under a rationale that I have already explained above -- they list master #37395 ("I Believe In You") under both dates. In this discography, I have placed "I Believe In You" only under the earlier date; thus I have not added Pozo to personnel of this session.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Benny Carter (con), John Cave, Willard Culley, Vincent DeRosa, Sinclair Lott (frh), Clarence Karella (tu), Al Hendrickson (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Lou Levy (p), Mel Lewis (d), Peggy Lee (v)

The Sugar 'N' Spice Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: March 28 and 31, 1962. April 2 and 4, 1962.


Arrangers And Arrangements

1. Billy Byers
2. Benny Carter
3. Billy May
4. Shorty Rogers
The Capitol Jazz CD Sugar 'N' Spice collectively names Billy Byers, Billy May and Shorty Rogers as the arrangers of this session's numbers.

On the other hand, Peggy Lee's sheet music library credits Billy May with each of the arrangements from this session, except for "I'll Be Around," whose author is identified as Benny Carter. In the case of "Amazing," credit to Billy May is also given in the back cover of the LP Extra Special!.

Since the CD's credits are collective and therefore leave unclear which man wrote which arrangement, I am putting more trust in the more specific credits provided by Lee's library -- at least until additional information comes forth.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh (pdr), Benny Carter (con), Bill Green, Paul Horn (r), Al Porcino, Uan Rasey, Jack Sheldon, Ray Triscari (t), Milt Bernhart, Billy Byers, Tom Shepard, Kenny Shroyer (tb), Herb Ellis (g), Max K. Bennett (b), Lou Levy (p), Mel Lewis, Francisco "Chino" Pozo (d), Peggy Lee (v)

The Sugar 'N' Spice Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: March 28 and 31, 1962. April 2 and 4, 1962.


Songs And Songwriters

1. "Embrasse Moi"
2. Aimé Barelli
3. Peggy Lee
"Embrasse Moi" has lyrics in English that Peggy Lee wrote to a melody by French composer, trumpet player and bandleader Aimé Barelli. With a French lyric written by Marcel Argenon, the song was recorded in 1960 by Barelli's wife, Lucienne Delyle. (There are some sources which state that the French lyrics were co-written by Gerard Gustin and Michel Cassez, both of whom collaborated often with Barelli. But Argenon is named as the author of the French lyrics in most sources, including ASCAP.)

In the Capitol Jazz CD Sugar 'N' Spice, the songwriters credited for "Embrasse Moi" are Barelli and, mysteriously, someone named Larne. Since Marcel Argenon wrote under the pseudonym "Jacques Larue," Capitol Jazz may have actually made a typo in writing "Larne." More alarmingly, the track lister of the Capitol Jazz CD failed to credit Peggy Lee herself.

The original Sugar 'N' Spice issue (Capitol LP #1772) credits Aimé Barelli and Peggy Lee -- not Marcel Argenon or the aforementioned 'Larne.'


Arrangers And Arrangements

1. Billy May
2. Billy Byers
3. Benny Carter
The Capitol Jazz CD Sugar 'N' Spice identifies both Billy Byers and Benny Carter as this session's arrangers but doesn't detail which numbers were arranged by either man. Hence I have given more credence to other sources, in which specifics are supplied.

Billy Byers is credited with an arrangement of "The Sweetest Sounds" extant at Peggy Lee's sheet music library.

The singer's library also has two arrangements of "I've Got The World On A String," and one of them is indeed by Byers. Billy May authored the other one. Since I have not consulted the library's actual scores, I can only assume, tentatively, that the Byers arrangement is the one used in this session. The May arrangement may be the one that Lee sang in the 1950s, on radio, with May backing her.

The library also contains arrangements of "I Don't Wanna Leave You Now" and "Embrasse Moi" but neither identifies an author, unfortunately.

As for Benny Carter -- the other arranger credited by the Capitol Jazz CD -- I have found no sources that can vouch for his involvement. However, lack of sources should not be taken as an absolute dismissal of possible authorship. Chances are that an undetermined quantity of Carter's arrangements remains unidentified and therefore, yet to be properly credited. Lee's versions of "I Don't Wanna Leave You Now" and "Embrasse Moi" could be among those.


Issues

1. The Album Sugar 'N' Spice In The Music Charts [LP]
Peggy Lee's 10th album chart entry made its debut during the week of November 17, 1962. It peaked at #40 and spent 21 weeks in Billboard's album chart.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Cavanaugh, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller (pdr), Benny Carter (con), Other Individuals Unknown (acc), Max K. Bennett (b), Stan Levey (per), Peggy Lee (v)

The I'm A Woman Album Sessions (Cross-references)

Dates: November 14, 1962. January 2, 3, 4 and 5, 1963. March 29, 1962.


The Recording Session

The song "I'm A Woman" was brought to producer Dave Cavanaugh by the songwriters themselves, who were hoping that Lee would record it. In the songwriters' autobiography, Mike Stoller writes: "No response. Months passed. By chance I picked up The New Yorker and noticed an item about Peggy Lee at Basin Street East. Benny Carter was her conductor and, according to the reviewer, the highlight of her show was I'm A Woman."

"I went to see her," continues Stoller. "It was freezing cold and the streets were covered with ice. I barely managed to make my way to the club where, halfway through the show, she sang the song ... After the show, I waited outside the dressing room ... Wonderful job, she said sweetly. Lovely song. And that was it. Next morning I called Cavanaugh. A little flustered, he explained that Peggy did indeed like the song and would soon record it, using only a rhythm section, as she had done it in her live show. How about a little more instrumentation?, I urged. How about a trumpet or a sax? Cavanaugh said, Okay, that won't cost too much. We were invited to the session at Capitol's New York studios. We wound up contributing quite a bit. I wrote a horn chart, voicing the alto sax above the trumpet, something I took from Ray Charles' bag of arranging tricks."

At the session, lyricist Jerry Leiber wanted to tell Lee how to sing the lyric. Among other details, he did not want the vocal to be sung on the beat. If his later involvement with other versions of the song is any indication, he probably envisioned "I'm A Woman" as a number to be interpreted in the rough and raspy "roaring blues mama" tradition. Lee was probably more inclined to record the song in the same successful manner in which she had been singing it at Basin Street East -- which is to say, on the beat and in more of a "mellow" (if still "taunting") blues tradition. When Leiber tried to make her sing it his way, she told him in no uncertain terms to mind his own business. "I immediately saw that you could only push this gal so far," writes Leiber. "Her interpretation was too correct ... I didn't get it." Stoller counter-argues: "I got it. The public got it. I'm A Woman was an across the board hit and put Peggy back in business. It even nabbed a Grammy nomination."

"We never once received a call from Cavanaugh to congratulate us. Years later, jazz [pianist] Mike Melvoin told me that on his first day as Peggy's pianist, he was handed a stack of demos and told to pick out anything good. The only thing he liked was I'm A Woman."

For the next chapter of the Lee, Leiber & Stoller saga, see session dated January 29, 1969.


Songs

1. "I'm A Woman" In The Music Charts And At The Grammys
"I'm A Woman" spent nine weeks in Billboard's Hot 100. After entering the chart during the week of January 5, 1963, it peaked at #54. In Cashbox magazine, it peaked at #71 and spent 6 weeks in the chart. For Lee's next chart entry, see session dated June 26, 1964. The song has gone on to become perennially associated with Lee.

On May 15, 1961, it was time for the Grammy's fifth awards ceremony. Almost as a matter of course, it was also time for Ella Fitzgerald's and Peggy Lee's fifth straight year of nominations. In the category of Best Solo Vocal Performance, Female, Lee was nominated for the song "I'm A Woman," Fitzgerald for the album Ella Swings Brightly With Nelson Riddle. This time the field was crowded, with a total of seven nominees. Diahann Carroll, Lena Horne, Ketty Lester, Sandy Stewart and Pat Thomas were the other singers in the category. Fitzgerald held her crown.


Sessions And Masters (Cross-references)

1. Session's Number
Some official documents identify this session as number 8542, whereas other documents, including Capitol's Peggy Lee sessions file, give it the number 10842. The first number definitely belongs to the New York recording session. As for the higher number, I am assuming that it refers to some undetermined extra work undergone by these New York masters when they were brought to LA.

2. "Close Your Eyes"
For the master of "Close Your Eyes" that has been issued, see session dated February 7, 1963.

This yet-to-be-issued 1962 master is phrased in a manner similar to that 1963 version, although there certainly are small differences throughout. Most notably, the ending is different, with Lee singing the line "close your eyes" twice and then closing her vocal with the line "rest your head in my shoulder." Also from a musical standpoint, the master is similar to the later one yet it has some significant differences, such as a relatively long trumpet solo that is played halfway through.


Personnel And Issues

1. Leiber & Stoller
2. Dave Cavanaugh
Capitol's session file credits only Dave Cavanaugh as producer of this session. Nonetheless, the songwriters of "I'm A Woman" have stated that they had a substantial if mostly uncredited involvement in the production of "I'm A Woman." According to Jerry Leiber, "[w]e were not credited with being producers, but we were invited in the studio with Dave Cavanaugh, and he abdicated his role as an active, hands-on producer to us." According to Mike Stoller, producer Cavanaugh had "planned to record the song with just a rhythm section, as it was being done at Basin Street East [by Lee, in concert], but I implored him to add a trumpet and an alto sax as I had a specific idea for an arrangement."

3. Max Bennett
4. Stan Levey
The source for my inclusion of these two musicians is the Capitol Label Discography. Capitol's session file does not list the musicians who played during this session.

5. Personnel Listed In The Best Of Peggy Lee, The Capitol Years (Blues & Jazz Sessions)
Capitol CD #724382120421 offers the following personnel for this session's master of "I'm A Woman": Benny Carter And His Orchestra, including Manny Klein, trumpet; Stan Levey, drums; Mike Melvoin, piano; Max Bennett, bass; John Pisano or Al Hendrickson, guitar.

Leaving Carter aside, I believe that this personnel is only an educated guess made by the discographical annotator of the CD. The annotator must have looked at the personnel of Peggy Lee's other sessions for the album I'm A Woman (January 2-5, 1963), and must have assumed that this session's personnel had to be the same. A detail that gives away the annotator's action is his repetition of the wording "John Pisano or Al Hendrickson": in Capitol's Peggy Lee session file, these exact same words appear in most of her I'm A Woman sessions (January, 1963).

There are various objections to the assumption that such personnel might be correct. For starters, the other album sessions took place a month and half after this one; such an amount of elapsed time works against the assumption that the exact same musicians played in the early and the later dates. Also, the different location (NY for this date, LA for the other ones) makes it all the more likelier that the personnel was not identical.

That said, all of the proposed musicians are logical choices as possible players at this session. I just lack definitive evidence to enter each of their names with confidence. (As previously mentioned, Capitol's session file does not list personnel for this date, and I have no access to the AFM file.) I have included only Max Bennett and Stan Levey, because their participation finds corroboration in the Capitol Label Discography, and because they were both regular members of Lee's section during these years. Melvoin is also a very plausible candidate. As explained above, Melvoin had just begun working for Lee, and he is known to have been the person who suggested "I'm A Woman" as a worthwhile song for Lee to check out.


Arrangements

1. "I'm A Woman"
Ed Berger's discography of Benny Carter credits the composer and saxophonist with the arrangement of "I'm A Woman." Carter is also credited in the copy of the arrangement that Peggy Lee kept in her sheet music library. See personnel notes above, however, for the reason why Mike Stoller also receives credit in this discography.

Lee's library has two additional arrangements of "I'm A Woman," one by Shorty Rogers, the other by René Richards.

GENERAL NOTES

Peggy Lee's Artistic Career, 1957-1959; 1960-1962

The three years covered by this discographical page (1960-1962) find Peggy Lee at a peak of popular and critical acclaim. [It should be clarified from the outset that this was by no means the only high point of Lee's professional career. As I see it, there had been three previous peaks. The last of them had comprised the years 1952-1955, when Lee had scored 4 'home runs': "Lover," Black Coffee, the music score for Lady And The Tramp, and the Oscar nomination for her acting in Pete Kelly's Blues. And after this early 1960s period, there would be a late 1960s peak: still lying ahead was the attention and success that her version of "Is That All There Is?" would generate.

As a career peak, the time span under discussion could arguably be expanded to include the years 1957 to 1959, in which Lee came back to Capitol Records and proceeded to generate a continuous string of chart hits. During the earlier half (1957 - 1959), as she kept making both the album and the singles charts, Lee proved to be a popular commodity for the record company. Most notably, she created a hot single ("Fever") that to this date remains a strong seller in Capitol's back catalogue. Then, during the period's later half (1960-1962), when the Billboard's Hot 100 had became nearly off-limits for most 1930s or 1940s singers other than Sinatra, Lee still managed to crack that chart. Recorded in late 1962, "I'm A Woman" charted at the start of 1963 and, like "Fever," became strongly associated with the vocalist.

Lee's greatest popular triumphs of the 1960-1962 period are not her singles, however, but her albums. On April 11, 1960, Latin Ala Lee! entered Billboard's album chart, where it stayed for over a year (59 weeks, to be exact) and nearly cracked the top 10. The album proved a trendsetter, too. Its successful run and the catchiness of its renditions prompted similarly latinized projects from many other singers. Later on (September 1961 - January 1962) another album, Basin Street East Proudly Presents Peggy Lee, spent over 20 weeks in the lower quarter of the chart.

Evidence of widespread approval and enthusiasm for Peggy Lee's work is at its most obvious in 1961, when material recorded during the previous year earned her no less than 3 Grammy nominations. (There's actually a 4th nomination, Best Album Cover, which, though obviously not for her, was still for one of her releases.)

Peer approval is also evident from the reception enjoyed by Lee's self-penned compositions from this period. Two in particular. Both "I Love Being Here With You" and "I'm Gonna Go Fishin' " became hip numbers amidst the 'in' crowd, and went on to generate dozens and dozens of versions by other acts. "Fishin' " was immediately favored, especially by singers who worked in jazz-oriented settings. "I Love Being Here With You" has been more slowly embraced, but is nowadays the more popular number of the two, especially among vocalists who use it as an opener for their concert and nightclub acts.

Besides the success of her recorded work, at this time Lee achieved a peak as a performing act. After a long hiatus from appearing in the New York nightclub scene, her return to the Copacabana in 1959 earned very appreciative reviews. The reviews only grew in enthusiasm when, in 1960, she moved on to the smaller but more music-oriented club called Basin Street East. Raves from both critics and regular concertgoers solidified her standing as one of the highest paid female nightclub singers of the 1950s and 1960s.

There's more. Thanks to her string of hits, to her success as a nightclub performer, and to her excellent interpretative skills, Lee also became an in-demand television act during these years. She not only guested in many variety shows but also appeared in her own specials, which were filmed in Los Angeles, Manhattan, and London during 1961 and 1962.

The 1957-1962 period thus established Peggy Lee as both a skilled craftsmaker and a hip hitmaker. Besides her continued success as a songwriter and a vocalist, her nightclub work became one more area for which she earned acclaim. In the music industry, Lee came to be perceived as a trendsetter by some and as a solid success by most everybody. Both literally and figuratively, Peggy Lee became known as "an act to watch" during these years.


Popularity: Peggy In The Polls

In 1959, Peggy Lee had ranked #8 in Downbeat's female singers poll. In 1960, Lee climbed to #6 in that poll.

She did even better in Metronome's 1960 All Star, Female poll. Her name had not appeared in the previous four or five years of that poll. Rankings and total vote numbers were as follows:

1. Ella Fitzgerald (820 votes)
2. Anita O'Day (500 votes)
3. Nina Simone (489 votes)
4. Sarah Vaughan (444 votes)
5. Peggy Lee (378 votes)
5. Annie Ross (378 votes)
6. Chris Connor (313 votes)
7. Dinah Washington (269 votes)
8. June Christy (211 votes)
9. Dakota Staton (151 votes)
10. Julie London (103 votes)

Peggy Leee also placed at #4 in the magazine's Disc Jockey poll for favorite female singer, published on May 26, 1960. (Of the 66 djs polled, over half picked Ella Fitzgerald, a choice which resulted in awfully small numbers for the rest of the top five. Anita O'Day received 3 votes, Peggy Lee 4, Chris Connor and Sarah Vaughan 6.)

The next year (1961), Peggy Lee placed #4 in both Downbeat's and Playboy's polls.

The rankings from the Playboy Jazz Poll, Female Vocalist are noteworthy because of the larger number of respondents. Results were as follows:

1. Ella Fitzgerald (10,363 votes)
2. June Christy (1,637 votes)
3. Julie London (1,593 votes)
4. Peggy Lee (1,506 votes)
5. Nina Simone (1,276 votes)
6. Dakota Staton (1,168 votes)
7. Sarah Vaughan (1,099 votes)
8 Chris Connor (1,066 votes)
9. Keely Smith (1,012 votes)
10. Anita O'Day (869 votes)

For the year 1962, Peggy Lee's ascent in the Downbeat poll continued:

1. Ella Fitzgerald
2. Nancy Wilson
3. Peggy Lee
4. Carmen McRae
5. Sarah Vaughan
6. Anita O'Day
7. Chris Connor
8. Nina Simone
9. Gloria Lynne
10. June Christy


Statistics: Total Number Of Peggy Lee Masters

This discographical page shows a total of 127 masters and 4 alternate takes, recorded for Capitol Records between 1960 and 1962.

Of the four alternate takes, "Christmas Carousel" and "Jingle Bells" are reported as issued on an 8-track holiday compilation which I have not been able to track down. Therefore, the alleged release of those two takes is still in need of corroboration. A third alternate ("Here's That Rainy Day") is available in the CD set Miss Peggy Lee, where it substitutes the original master. Finally, I have given the title Toys For Tots, Three-Singer Edit to the fourth so-called alternate, which in reality is a mix created by Capitol's engineers, without Lee's direct participation, in 1996.

Only issued alternate takes are listed throughout this discographical page. Additional takes of many of Peggy Lee's masters are known to exist in the vaults, but no systematic listening of them has ever been made.

The page's 127 masters include 26 live performances from concerts in New York's Basin Street East nightclub. Also included in the 127 count are 6 studio remakes of the live performances at Basin St. East. Extant information about the Basin Street masters is complex and confusing. (A sizable amount of speculation has gone into my effort to organize, date and correctly identify whether a given master is a live or a studio number. If additional information comes forth, readers should thus expect modifications to the currently shown data.)

The Basin Street East sessions include various medleys. For discographical purposes, their handling has been somewhat problematic. Generally, I have treated each medley as a single entity. (That is to say, all songs within any given medley have been counted as one unit -- which is as it should be, since such is also the procedure followed in the official paperwork of most record companies.) But I have made special allowances in one regard: because I want to make it easy to identify the songwriter of every song, this database separately lists each of the songs from any given medley .

The total unissued masters in the 1960-1962 page is 10: "Close Your Eyes," "My Guitar," and 8 numbers from the Basin Street East sessions. Besides being unissued, these 10 masters share in common the fact that Peggy Lee re-recorded all of them in subsequent (or in related) sessions. In the case of "Close Your Eyes" and "My Guitar," both unissued masters feature arrangements that differ from versions that were recorded later.