The Decca Years
The Peggy Lee Bio-Discography And Videography

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From Capitol To Decca: The Switch Of Record Labels

In 1952, after spending seven successful years at Capitol Records, Peggy Lee decided to sign a five-year contract with Decca Records. Among the factors that motivated her decision were the active courtship of Decca executives and, conversely, a passive stance from Capitol's leadership.

According to Capitol executive Alan Livingston, at this point in time Peggy Lee was being taken for granted by the label. Capitol might have thought of the singer as past her best-selling 1947-1948 prime, when songs such as "Golden Earrings" and "Mañana" had become chartbusters. There was good reason to still deem Lee a proven commodity, however. After all, she had continued to land on the Top 10 and Top 20 of the charts during the years 1948-1951. To quote Will Friedwald, who interviewed Livingston for the EMI set The Singles Collection, Capitol must have "nonchalantly assumed that her renewal was routine."

Livingston further explains that "she was being actively courted by Sonny (Burke) and Milt (Gabler), so she wanted to go where she felt she was appreciated." The fact that "she had separated from Dave Barbour in 1951 ... probably contributed to her desire for a change of scene," adds Friedwald.

A more circumstantial motivation pertained to Lee's whereabouts at this point in time. She spent much of 1951 and 1952 away from Los Angeles. (A heavy, busy television work schedule had led the artist to move to New York, which was then the only geographical source for tube programming.) Whereas both Capitol and Decca did studio recording work in New York, Decca seems to have maintained a stronger branch there, with active involvement from the aforementioned producer Milt Gabler.

For yet another, more precise catalyst leading to the artist's switch of record labels, see also notes below, under session dated May 1, 1952.


Peggy Lee's Decca Years: An Overview

Peggy Lee's five- year period with Decca Records proved commercially and artistically successful. The period is bookended by bona fide hits that would become permanently associated with her ("Lover" and "Mr. Wonderful"). Lee gave Decca a total of 10 top thirty singles (including a million seller) and a top 10 album. Still further, the most highly regarded album of her career (Black Coffee) was done for this label. So was one her cult albums, Sea Shells, a much-admired foray into the world of oriental poetry and folk airs, backed only by harp and harpsichord music.

This was also the period in which Peggy Lee branched out into the realm of film, with a well-received starring role in The Jazz Singer (1953) and an award-nominated role in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955). She was commissioned to write for various film soundtracks, too (most notably, Disney's classic Lady And The Tramp). Moreover, and as already mentioned, the singer spent much of 1951 and 1952 appearing daily on television, at a time when the medium was still in its infancy.


Producer Milt Gabler's Assessment Of The Decca Artist

Peggy Lee's more jazz-oriented sessions at Decca were produced under the supervision of Milt Gabler, who is quoted as follows in Bruce Jenkins' book Goodbye: In Search Of Gordon Jenkins: "She was a very sensitive person, a poetic person ... She used to make me put flats and screens all around her, so she would be isolated from the band. She just didn't want to feel that there was anybody else in the room besides her. And it worked. She would record poetry with a harp, and if you gave her a blues or something with a beat, she was dynamite. She had it all." Most probably, Gabler's recollection pertains to Lee's handling of ballads. Anecdotal evidence from sessions later in her career suggests that she also favored singing with the band around her, especially if the material was uptempo.


Statistics: Total Number Of Masters & Titles Still Unissued

This discographical page shows a total of 138 masters, recorded for Decca between 1952 and the first month of 1957.

Those 138 Decca masters are not the only Peggy Lee performances that are extant from the 1952-1956 period. Additional material includes 49 recordings made for radio airplay, listed in this discography's World transcriptions page. Moreover, this discography will eventually include pages itemizing other contemporaneous performances, given by Lee on radio, television, film and rehearsals.

Aside from two songs that were later re-made (see sessions dated December 20, 1956, and January 10, 1957), only one of Peggy Lee's Decca titles remains unissued: "The Legend Of The Well" (February 7, 1955). It is currently deemed lost. An attempt was made to find and release it, but the master was nowhere to be found in Decca's vaults.


Peggy Lee's Departure From Decca Records And Its Aftermath

By all accounts, the artist left Decca Records on good terms. In later years, she would express pride and satisfaction with the varied, experimental work that she had done for the label. Yet she had been yearning to return to Capitol, the label that she considered her "mothership." By April of 1957, Peggy Lee was again under Capitol contract.

Long after her departure, Decca continued mining Peggy Lee's catalogue. A fair share of her albums for the label were actually released after she had rejoined Capitol: Sea Shells (1958), Miss Wonderful (1959), Lover (1964), and The Fabulous Peggy Lee (1964). Three LP compilations were also issued by the Decca gamily of labels. The main and earliest one was the oft-reprinted The Best Of Peggy Lee (1960, 1966, etc.), on Decca itself. Then, in 1970, Decca's budget label Vocalion released two more compilations: So Blue and Crazy In The Heart, both of which compiled and combined tracks from specific albums.

In the 1980's and 1990's, compilations of Peggy Lee Decca material continued to be released, though more often abroad (England, Japan) than in the United States. During those decades, some work by Lee was also made available through MCA's Special Markets branch.

Such persistent release of product -- long after Lee had left the label -- suggests Decca's and MCA's awareness of Lee's continued popularity over the years. Unfortunately, Decca seems to have undermined its own strategy: from the mid-1950's to the mid-1990's, very limited promotion was done for any of Lee 's product.

Most notoriously, Lee's return to Capitol seems to have limited promotion and manufacturing of two original albums that were released as she was about to leave Decca: Dream Street (January, 1957) and the 12" version of Songs From Lady And The Tramp (April, 1956). To date, those two worthwhile albums are far less well-known than her other original Decca and Capitol albums from the 1950's.


A Note On Recommended CDs and LPs

The most recent, ongoing version of this discography (2007-2008) contains a few new features. One of them constitutes an effort to recommend, for each Peggy Lee studio master, a superior CD or LP issue. Such recommended items are easy to locate throughout, because their titles are in capitalized and bold lettering. For instance, the following is one of the most highly recommended issues on this page of Decca sessions: CLASSICS & COLLECTIBLES. (n. b. : For a couple of defects in this otherwise excellent 2-CD set, see notes under all three of the following 1954 sessions: May 24, December 6, and December 20.)

Recommendations are based primarily on above-average sound quality and overall production (design, liner notes, track information). (When there is no issue worth recommending, I have indicated so in the notes.)


A Note About Decca's 78's And 45's And Foreign Issues

At Decca, the same catalogue number was assigned to a 78 and its counterpart on 45. The only difference between numbers was the addition of a 9, as a prefix, to the 45. Posing a minor problem to discographers is the fact that Decca's official session information generally lists only the 78, irrespective of whether there was (or wasn't) a 45 counterpart. Fortunately, I have actually seen many of Peggy Lee's Decca singles on both formats. I also count with more round confirmation of the singles' existence on both formats. Ron Towe, Peggy Lee's first bio-discographer, states that all of her singles were released in both formats until Decca 30117 in 1956, when the 78 format was skipped.

I should also mention my current policy (2007-2008) on foreign issues that predate the CD era. I have listed or mentioned them only when they are original, and when their repertoire partially differs from the original US counterpart.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Gordon Jenkins (con), Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra (acc), Peggy Lee (v)

Songs

1. "Be Anything (But Be Mine)" In The Charts
Peggy Lee's very first single on Decca (28142) garnered favorable reviews, as well as airplay and sales. According to Joel Whitburn's estimates in his book Pop Memories, 1890-1954, the single's "Be Anything (But Be Mine") peaked at #21, on the week of May 24, 1952. It was one of four competing versions to make the charts. Mercury's Eddy Howard And His Orchestra placed the highest, at number 7. Versions by Champ Butler and Helen O'Connell placed lower than Lee's, at 26 and 27, respectively. (n. b. : Decades after her stay at Decca, Peggy Lee and others erroneously remembered the song "Lover" as her earliest hit on the label. "Lover" certainly was her biggest hit for the record company, and one of her earliest, too, though not the initial one.)

Peggy Lee (ldr), Gordon Jenkins (con), Milt Gabler (pdr), Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra (acc), Others Unknown (orc), Art Drellinger, Jack Greenberg, Tom Parshley, Milt Yaner (sax), Art Ryerson (g), Jack Lesberg (b), Bernie Leighton (p), unknown (d), Peggy Lee (v)

Arrangements And Cross-references (Film)

1. "Lover"
Peggy Lee conceived the original arrangement of "Lover," and Gordon Jenkins did the orchestration for the studio recording.

Lee's inspiration for the arrangement came from watching scenes featuring the Spanish Foreign Legion, in the 1935 movie La Bandera. Some of the scenes showed the legion's horses changing pace, from gait to gallop, at the command of a banner waved by the film's star, Jean Gabin. Lee's mind associated the horses' gallop with Latin rhythms, and the waving banner with musical keys. Relying on such associations, she conceived a piece in which musical keys are frequently raised, and in which multiple time signatures are combined. "Using the different tempos," she said in an interview, "made it seem like we were changing the keys, which we were to a certain extent, but it made it sound like we were going faster, you know?"

The singer initially met with her rhythm section, to explain her concept to them. She let the musicians know the tempo in which she wanted to sing the number, and discussed with them her desire to have a large number of percussionists involved -- eventually, there would be eight of them. As Lee herself tells it, "[t]he bongos would be playing straight eights. The congas would be playing six-eight and other Latin rhythms, and the drums played a straight fast four. We tried this in clubs and concerts, and people went wild over it, including some pros."

After meeting with such success in concert, an elated Lee proceeded to try to record the number, first for Capitol, which nixed the idea, and then for Decca, where Jenkins was enlisted to orchestrate the piece. Years later, when a modest Jenkins was asked about this arrangement, he said that "it was absolutely her idea. She laid it out for me -- not literally the music notes but the tempo and the Latin drummers, the whole pseudo-sexy feel of this thing, changing keys a couple of times, the whole thing was dictated by her. Everybody's running around saying what a brilliant arranger I was, but the whole conception of the thing was hers."

For her part, Lee retorted, "[w]ell that's ridiculous. I just had an idea for the rhythm section, nothing to do with the whole orchestration, and he brought my concept to life. I had no idea that he could embellish so beautifully."


Songwriters:

1.Richard Rodgers
Peggy Lee writes in her autobiography that Richard Rodgers "was usually very strict about how his songs were interpreted. In fact, when we would receive his scores at Capitol, he would send instructions on how they were to be performed. All of us respected him so highly that we were happy to follow his orders. A bit later on, when I did Lover, apparently I forgot that."

Lee picked the song "Lover" as a suitable candidate for her La bandera-inspired arrangement because of the composition's spare and passionate lyrics, which mirrored the movie's romantic storyline. Lee might have also watched the movie Love Me Tonight (1932), in which case her association of this song with horses would not be surprising. In an scene from that movie, operetta singer-actress Jeannette MacDonald sings "Lover" (with partially different lyrics) while she rides a carriage pulled by a favorite horse of hers. (I am not aware, however, of any mentions from Lee of the 1932 film.)

Not surprisingly, Lee's radical re-thinking of the melody resulted in strongly worded displeasure from the original composer, who had written the number as a waltz. The most pointed remark that he is said to have uttered: "I don't know why Peggy picked on me when she could have f*ck*d up 'Silent Night'." Other received accounts quote a more diplomatic lament: "my little waltz, my little waltz." (It's worth noting that, before 1952, Rodgers waltz had already been re-cast in a danceable uptempo, by acts such as Gene Krupa and Frank Sinatra. Rodgers was probably aware of and unhappy with those earlier uptempo versions, yet he is not known to have expressed his displeasure as strongly as he did in the case of Lee's version . The composer's mortification in 1952 might have had more to do with the fact that, unlike those earlier and more modest experiments, Lee's version was enthusiastically received by the public and by some professionals -- in particular, by various arrangers, which called it an innovative concept.)

Rodgers eventually changed his tune (as it were). According to Lee in her autobiography, years later the composer told her that he was using her recording in lectures, as an illustration of how songs can remain vibrant despite changing trends in music. Lee also refers to an appreciative telegram that Rodgers sent her after she had participated in a 1976 televised tribute in his honor. She directly quotes him as having written: "[y]ou interpret my songs any way you like. I trust your taste." She had certainly taken this opinion to heart, as it were, long before receiving it. Her rather extensive repertoire of recordings by Rodgers (about 30 compositions) often shows an innovative, experimental approach to the song's music.


Personnel

In his notes for Decca LP Dxsb 7164, Leonard Feather reports that over 36 musicians participated in this recording session, not including the unidentified voices in charge of the background vocals.


At The Recording Session

This master of "Lover" was rejected. (The song was successfully re-recorded on May 1, 1952.) According to Lee herself, the acoustics at Liederkranz Hall, along with the presence of eight percussionists, made it impossible to pick up her vocal on "Lover."

Gordon Jenkins had a different recollection of the events. In 1977, he told the British press that the recording "was a pain in the ass (laughter). Oh, my God, what a disaster. I must have had 40 guys, then we had 4 Latin cats, and they were out in center field some place -- way the hell out. We're going at a big, fast tempo, and it's just murder trying to keep the thing together, and then Peggy stops and announces that she can't sing in tune because my drummer isn't playing on the cymbal. She must hear him play on the cymbal, or she can't sing. It was a buzz cymbal, a great big thing with a little piece of metal to give it extra vibration. She just wanted the guy to keep playing that thing all the way through. I said, 'Peggy, if he plays on the cymbal, this is going to be the worst shambles you've ever seen in your life.' And for the moment it went right down the drain; she went home and gave up the date. What are you gonna do? That's not my fault. I just went down to the saloon. But when we called a new session about 3 days later, some other drummer showed up, and we went ahead and made the record."


Songs

1. "Lover" In The Charts
The song "Lover" was Peggy Lee's second chart hit on Decca. For other specifics, see notes under session dated May 1, 1952.

2. "Just One Of Those Things" In The Charts
"Just One Of Those Things" was Peggy Lee's fourth hit at Decca Records. (For her second and third chart hits, see sessions below.) According to Joel Whitburn's estimates in his book Pop Memories, 1890-1954, the song peaked at #14 on the week of August 2, 1952. It was this standard's second (and last) time in the charts, after a 1935 top ten version by Richard Himber And His Orchestra.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Gordon Jenkins (con), Milt Gabler (pdr), Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra (acc), Others Unknown (orc), Art Drellinger, Jack Greenberg, Tom Parshley, Milt Yaner (sax), Art Ryerson (g), Jack Lesberg (b), Bernie Leighton (p), Harry Jaeger (d), Peggy Lee (v)

At The Recording Session

Lee's first attempt at recording "Lover," on April 28, had failed, to her great disappointment. Amidst a 37-piece orchestra that included eight percussionists, the microphones had not picked up the vocal to her satisfaction. (For other reasons why the original vocal was rejected, see notes under session dated April 28, 1952.)

During this second "Lover" session, Lee was placed in an isolation booth. The success of this idea, never previously attempted by Lee, would lead her to favor this method, particularly when recording ballads, which required a greater feel of intimacy and concentration from her.


Personnel

1. Milt Gabler, Morty Palitz
There is some discrepancy about the identity of the A&R man who presided over the "Lover" session(s). Lee's autobiography makes passing reference to Morty Palitz, and other texts have followed suit. However, Milt Gabler is given credit in literature about him. (He is also mentioned as one of the person who, along with Sonny Burke, saw her rendition of "Lover" at The Copacabana, and signed her to Decca Records.) It could be that both men were involved or present during the sessions. It could also be that Lee has wrongly referred to Palitz, rather than Gabler, in her autobiography.


Songs

1. "Lover"
One of the reasons for Peggy Lee's switch of labels in 1952 was her desire to record the song "Lover," and her disappointment with Capitol's refusal to let her do so. An unidentified producer at Capitol objected on the shaky grounds that the label already had a hit recording of "Lover," by Les Paul (which has been released three years earlier!), and thus didn't need another. Lee protested, arguing that she definitely had another hit version in her hands and citing the enthusiastic reaction that her arrangement of this number was receiving live in concert.

Nothing else is known about the reasoning behind Capitol's refusal, other than the aforementioned reference to Les Paul's hit. I suspect that Capitol was unwilling to spend money in what might have sounded like a costly experiment (given the prospective use of a large orchestra), with no guarantee of commercial success.

Lee seems to have felt stung by the label's lack of confidence. After Decca's producer Milt Gabler offered a record contract, and added that he would like her to record "Lover," Peggy Lee proceeded to sign with Decca.


Songs

1. "Lover" In The Charts
"Lover" was Peggy Lee's second hit at Decca Records. According to Joel Whitburn's estimates in his book Pop Memories, 1890-1954, the song peaked at #3, on the week of June 7, 1952. The recording is said to have sold a quarter of a million in its first two weeks, and was eventually certified a million seller (Lee's second recording to hit the million mark, after her 1948 Capitol hit "Mañana"). It was the standard's fourth time in the charts, following a couple of hit versions from back in 1933 (when the song was brand new) and the innovative (multi-track) 1948 version by Les Paul, which peaked at #21.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Vic Schoen And His Orchestra (acc), Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee (v)

Songs

1. "Watermelon Weather" In The Charts
The duet "Watermelon Weather" became Peggy Lee's third hit on Decca Records. The song peaked at #28, on the week of July 26, 1952, according to Joel Whitburn's estimates in his book Pop Memories, 1890-1954. Competing against the Decca version by Crosby and Lee was another duet, by Perry Como and Eddie Fisher, on RCA Victor. RCA won the battle in the charts, as their duet peaked at # 19.


Cross-references (Radio As Source)

Bing Crosby and Peggy Lee were heard singing "The Moon Came Up With A Great Idea Last Night" and "Watermelon Weather" on radio broadcasts from "Chesterfield Presents The Bing Crosby Show." (See this discography's page for Radio Broadcasts, once it opens for viewing.) "Watermelon Weather" was heard on a June 18, 1952 broadcast. Seven days later, "The Moon Came Up With A Great Idea Last Night" was heard on the show, too. Because Crosby's Chesterfield programs were usually taped and occasionally released on commercial record, the possibility exists that the Decca single contains the actual radio numbers. That possibility notwithstanding, the chronology of events makes it likelier that Crosby and Lee recorded the songs for Decca first, and later reprised them on his radio show. My own listening leads me to believe that the single is different from the radio versions, though very similar. For other studio recordings associated with Crosby's radio shows, see also notes under sessions dated November 17, 1952 and November 22, 1955.

Axel Stordahl (con), Peggy Lee (v)

Cross-references (Film)

1. The Road To Bali Sessions
In 1952, Decca Records and Bing Crosby dedicated three sessions to songs from the Paramount movie Road To Bali. Peggy Lee participated in two of the three dates (June 20 and 24). The third session (June 23) featured Crosby solos only.

Starring Crosby with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, the movie would be released the following year (1953). All three movie stars sing in the film's soundtrack, and all three seem to have been under contract with Decca Records during the early 1950's. Yet Peggy Lee was asked to record Lamour's soundtrack numbers.

For other instances in which Peggy Lee fulfilled a similar role, see sessions dated September 16, 1953, and April 10, 1954, both of them dedicated to songs from the movie Irving Berlin's White Christmas. On a related note, this Decca page contains numerous sessions dedicated to numbers from movies starring Peggy Lee, and movies for whose soundtracks Lee had co-written material. Perhaps this association with the world of the movies, so prevalent during Lee's Decca years, explains the label's decision to have her fill in the female role during both the Road To Bali and the Irving Berlin's White Christmas sessions. Another factor to weigh in is Lee's friendship with the star of both films, and a precedent: Crosby had probably arranged for Lee to have a cameo in an earlier movie of his, Mr. Music (1950).


Session's Masters

Also recorded during this session was master L6817 ("To See You Is To Love You"), sung by Bing Crosby, sans Peggy Lee. The session was thus shared by Crosby and Lee.

Bing Crosby (ldr), Sonny Burke and His Orchestra (acc), Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Peggy Lee (v)

Cross-references (Film)

One of the Road To Bali sessions. For further details, see previous session, dated June 20, 1952.


Session's Masters

Also recorded during this session was master 6821 ("The Road To Bali"), a vocal duet by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, sans Lee.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra (acc), Peggy Lee (v), The Gordon Jenkins Chorus (bkv)

Songs

1. "Sans Souci"
Mysteriously, the song "Sans Souci" receives the alternate title "Cyprus" in some sources, including ASCAP. It's worth noting that the lyrics seem to allude to a story -- to a character in exile, or perchance to an illegal alien. Was this vocal intended for a movie or for a Broadway musical? I have not found any helpful information on this subject matter.

It is also worth noting that Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke are not the only songwriters to give the title "Sans Souci" to a composition. Among others, Johnny Mercer and Count Basie composed numbers bearing the same title. (Mercer's "Sans Souci" is actually contemporaneous with Lee's. His was part of the musical Top Banana, which debuted on November 1, 1951.)

Lee's "Sans Souci" was a favorite of arranger Gordon Jenkins. In his own words: "Peggy just sees and hears things differently than other people. Good singer. Real good. 'Sans Souci,' which she wrote, is on the flip side [of our hit record 'Lover'] and that's the one I liked. It was recorded extremely well for those days." Jenkins' recollection of "Sans Souci" as the flip side of a "Lover" single is erroneous.

2. "River River" In The Charts
The song "River River" was Peggy Lee's fifth hit on Decca Records. According to Joel Whitburn's estimates in his book Pop Memories, 1890-1954, the song peaked at #23, on the week of November 22, 1952.


Arrangements

1. Gordon Jenkins
The arranging credit for "Sans Souci" is found in Peggy Lee's 1990 album There'll Be Another Spring: The Peggy Lee Songbook. The arranger of "River River" is also believed to have been Jenkins, although any factual corroboration has yet to come forth.

Bing Crosby (ldr), Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires, John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra (acc), Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee (v)

Cross-references (Radio As Source)

During this Bing Crosby session, the Old Groaner also recorded masters 6894 ("Fatherly Advice"), 6895 ("Sleigh Ride"), and 6896 ("I Love My Baby"), none of them with Peggy Lee. "Little Jack Frost Get Lost" and "Sleigh Ride" were the session numbers chosen for release on Decca single (9) 28463.

Crosby discographer Timothy A. Morgereth asserts that all four titles in this session are test pressings transcribed from radio broadcasts. Indeed, Bing Crosby and Peggy Lee sang "Little Jack Frost Get Lost" on a January 11, 1950 broadcast of "Chesterfield Presents The Bing Crosby Show." In further support of his assertion, Morgereth notes that the matrical numbers for this Decca session do not follow the numerical sequence to which Decca "religiously adhered."

Aural comparison of the radio and studio versions suggests that they might be one and the same. (There is always the possibility that the test pressing in question contained a rehearsal of the broadcast, rather than the broadcast version itself.) The most obvious difference between radio broadcast and studio version pertains to the respective endings. The audience's final applause is absent from the Decca master.

For issues containing the original radio version, this discography's radio pages should be consulted (once they are complete and available for viewing). See also notes under Decca sessions dated May 16, 1952 and November 22, 1955.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra, The Gordon Jenkins Chorus (acc), Peggy Lee (v)

Peggy Lee (ldr), Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra, The Gordon Jenkins Chorus (acc), Peggy Lee (v)

Cross-references (Film)

1. The Jazz Singer Session
Both songs in this session were written for the 1953 Warner Brothers movie The Jazz Singer, starring Danny Thomas and Peggy Lee. (In connection to this movie, this discography's film page should also be consulted, once it is open for viewing.)


Songs

1. "I Hear The Music Now"
The melody of "I Hear The Music Now" is based on a theme by the French composer Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896), best remembered for his opera Mignon. My thanks to Michael J. White for first alerting me to the connection. See also [upcoming] notes about the song "Once In A Lifetime," under the session dated September 14, 1950.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Victor Young and His Singing Strings (acc), Peggy Lee (v), unknown (bkv)

Songs And Cross-references (Film)

1. "How Strange" And The Bullfighter And The Lady
"How Strange" was the love theme of the Republic movie The Bullfighter And The Lady, starring Robert Stack, and scored by Victor Young. An instrumental version of "How Strange" is indeed heard throughout the movie. Also heard during a very early scene is a version with vocals in Spanish. The scene in question takes place at a Mexican night club, in which the protagonists meet. The voice of a female vocalist is barely heard in the background, singing Spanish lyrics that seem to concentrate on romantic sorrow and longing ("me hablas de tu dolor ... el dolor de tu amor ... quisiera tenerte en mis brazos"). The melody is definitely that of "How Strange," but the Spanish lyrics bear no connection with the ones written by Peggy Lee, nor is Lee the Spanish-singing vocalist in this scene.

In a later scene, a female vocalist is actually seen, dressed in full traditional Mexican regalia, and singing in Spanish. She is presumably the same vocalist heard earlier. (This second time, she again sings of sorrow and unrequited love, but to a melody other than that of "How Strange." This Spanish singer is left unidentified in the movie's credits.

The movie was released in 1951 (two years before this studio session). Probably, Peggy Lee added English lyrics to the instrumental belatedly, at the suggestion of Victor Young himself, with whom she was collaborating in other projects around this session's time.

My thanks to George McGhee for his very kind assistance during the research of this movie. For another sports/love film in which Robert Stack also happens to star, and in which the film's theme is actually sung by Peggy Lee in the movie soundtrack, see session dated January 19, 1955.

2. "Where Can I Go Without You" In The Charts
Peggy Lee's self-penned song "Where Can I Go Without You" was her eighth Decca hit, and the second self-written number that she would take to the charts while on this record label. According to Joel Whitburn's estimates in his book Pop Memories, 1890-1954, the song peaked at # 28 on the week of March 13, 1954. Decca issued the song on single almost a year after it had been recorded. A plausible explanation: since Peggy Lee's version of the song "Baubles, Bangles And Beads" had just proved a success, Decca might have wanted to capitalize with the release of another Lee ballad.


Personnel

My discographical sources give conflicting information about this session's accompaniment. Decca's files name Dave Barbour & His Orchestra. On the other hand, the Decca EP Songs In An Intimate Style identifies Victor Young & His Singing Strings as the accompaniment, and so do later issues of the song. Close listening strongly suggests the presence of Young, who is also the composer of both session songs. Since I hear no indication of Barbour's presence, I have tentatively chosen to give credit to Victor Young alone.

Unknown "vapor voices" on "How Strange" only.


Arrangements

1. Hal Mooney
Peggy Lee kept two arrangements of "Where Can I Go Without You" in her music library. One of them is by Hal Mooney, with whom she worked during her Decca years. It is not known if Mooney's arrangement was written exclusively for Lee's live shows, or if it was (also) used for this session.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Barbour and His Orchestra (acc), Peggy Lee (v)

Songs

1. "Who's Gonna Pay The Check" In The Charts
"Who's Gonna Pay The Check," a tongue-in-cheek novelty sung in a mock, pseudo-Italian accent, became Peggy Lee's sixth hit on Decca Records. Starting a pattern that had previously repeated itself again and again, while she was at Capitol Records, this was the Decca artist's first climb on the charts with a number that she herself had authored. According to Joel Whitburn's estimates in his book Pop Memories, 1890-1954, the song peaked at #22 on the week of May 22, 1953.


Arrangements

1. Joe Lipman
Peggy Lee kept a Joe Lipman arrangement of "Who's Gonna Pay The Check" in her music library. It is not known if Lipman's arrangement was written exclusively for Lee's live shows, or if it was (also) used for this session.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Milt Gabler (pdr), Walter "Pete" Candoli (t), Max Wayne (b), Jimmy Rowles (p), Ed Shaughnessy (d), Peggy Lee (v)

Album Notes

1. The Black Coffee Sessions
This is the first of four sessions dedicated to the jazz-oriented LP Black Coffee. For a complete look, see 1953 sessions dated May 1 and May 4, as well as one 1956 session, dated April 3.

Little is known about the genesis of Peggy Lee's most acclaimed album. Could it have been the idea of Milt Gabler (the man who had signed Lee, and who was a jazz buff)? To judge from a comment made by Pete Candoli (and quoted in a biography about Lee), Gabler was not responsible for the idea. According to Candoli, the head of A&R at Decca "was a nice guy," who would say to Lee and her session musicians, " '[y]ou guys do what you want. It's your show.' "

The idea for the album is likelier to have come from Peggy Lee herself. She would have simply decided to record the jazzier material that she and her musicians favored in concert, during this period of her career. Indeed, an inspection of contemporaneous concert reviews evince a connection between her live and her album's repertoire. As early as April 1951 (The Copacabana, New York), Peggy Lee was singing onstage future album numbers, such as "A Woman Alone With The Blues."

At New York's club La Vie En Rose, merely a month before the recording date, she would further sing at least three numbers also found in the album: "I've Got You Under My Skin," "My Heart Belongs To Daddy," and "Easy Living." Appearing with her during that gig at La Vie En Rose were three of the four musicians who participated in the Black Coffee sessions: Pete Candoli, Jimmy Rowles, and Ed Shaughnessy.

An obvious incentive for recording this repertoire must have been the overwhelmingly positive response that her nightclub act was receiving. The reviews had actually been ecstatic. To wit: "... an electric singer with a driving beat on some songs and a sensual appeal on torcheroos ... one of those shows that happen rarely. Only a top-flight act could follow her ..." "She rides, slides and glides over a flock of songs that run out the string, encasing her versatility, pace and handling." "Peggy Lee ... proved that you can entertain an audience without falling back on either this week's Hit Parade or special material." "Peggy gave the greatest performance we have seen delivered by any singer in a Manhattan club in the last five years."

Peggy Lee (ldr), Milt Gabler (pdr), Walter "Pete" Candoli (t), Max Wayne (b), Jimmy Rowles (p), Ed Shaughnessy (d), Peggy Lee (v)

Arrangements

1. Jimmy Rowles
As mentioned in a previous session, the songs recorded during the Black Coffee sessions (April 30, May 1 and May 4 , 1953) were mostly numbers that Peggy Lee and her musicians were doing in concert. When done live, the songs probably had head arrangements, with significant input from Lee herself, and from the musicians' group, which included Jimmy Rowles.

The identification of Rowles as the official arranger of the sessions relies on the following comments, made by Peggy Lee for a Goldmine article written by William Ruhlman, and published on May 26, 1995: "Jimmy Rowles did all those arrangements. The figures in there are all Jimmy's ..." In 1954, Lee had also told Ralph Gleason that Rowles contributed most of her arrangements, "though we work out a lot of head things" (Downbeat article, July 14, 1954). Furthermore, in an apparent reference to her Decca years, Lee writes in her autobiography that "Jimmy Rowles and Marty Paich did a lot of arranging for me -- and Jimmy! He's a champ."

For a vocal duet by Peggy Lee and Jimmy Rowles, see also session dated May 24, 1954.


Personnel

1. Pete Candoli
Presumably because he was under contract with another record label, Pete Candoli is listed under the pseudonym Cootie Chesterfield in the back cover of the Black Coffee album.

2. Joe Mondragon
In the biography Fever: The Life And Music Of Peggy Lee, Pete Candoli is quoted as saying, in passing, that Mondragon was the bassist of the album Black Coffee. This comment seems to be erroneous, and is left uncorrected or untouched in the biography. The bassist listed in the album's back cover is Max Wayne. Mondragon was, however, Peggy Lee's bassist in live dates from the early 1950's. (The biography also ties the album to the month of August, without any clarifying explanation. August was the month on which the album was originally released.)

Peggy Lee (ldr), Milt Gabler (pdr), Walter "Pete" Candoli (t), Max Wayne (b), Jimmy Rowles (p), Ed Shaughnessy (d), Peggy Lee (v)

Songs And Songwriters

1. "Black Coffee"
The music of "Black Coffee" was the source of a minor dispute over its authorship. Sonny Burke is said to have paid a fee to pianist Mary Lou Williams, who argued that the song was musically similar to her own "What's The Story, Morning Glory." Williams' composition had become popular twenty years earlier, in the 1930's.

There is a good chance that neither composer deserves original credit. The musical phrase at the center of the dispute seems to date farther back in time. In the 1920's, it was heard in another song, "Aunt Hagar's Blues," which W. C. Handy co-wrote and published at that time. Handy, known nowadays as the father of the blues, was heavily inspired by the Southern black oral tradition of blues and spirituals. All three aforementioned songs ("Aunt Hagar's Blues," "What's Your Story, Morning Glory," and "Black Coffee") might thus be using variations on a traditional blues riff.


Collectors' Corner

1. The 10" and 12" LP Covers Of Black Coffee
Priced by record collectors, the 1953 and 1956 versions of the album Black Coffee feature different covers. They can be seen here:

http://www.peggylee.com/pics/covers/peg259.jpg
http://www.peggylee.com/pics/covers/peg50.jpg

For the songs that were added to the 12" version of the album, see session dated April 3, 1956.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Sy Oliver (con), Peggy Lee (v)

Songs & Cross-references (Film)

1. "Love You So", "I Love You So" And About Mrs. Leslie
The Decca EP Songs In An Intimate Style credits "Love You So" to Bill Walker. Curiously, Peggy Lee and Victor Young are credited with writing a a song with a similar title, "I Love You So." Lee and Young's song was copyrighted one year later, however, and is listed as the theme of the 1954 Paramount movie About Mrs. Leslie.

Peggy Lee (ldr), Victor Young (con), Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires (acc, bkv), Peggy Lee (v) <