Peggy Lee grew up in North Dakota and began singing on local radio as a young teenager. It was the program director at WDAY who suggested she change her name from Norma Egstrom to Peggy Lee and by age 17, she was off to Los Angeles to make her way in music. She landed a gig with Benny Goodman's band and she spent two years on the road with them from 1941 to 1943. As she got more into the jazz world, her vocal style would set her apart. Lee's sublte, sultry voice offered an understated, yet powerful presence in music...and led to a career that spanned seven decades.
Lee's string of hit songs included the definitive version of "Fever" which was released in 1957. But, her first Number 1 hit came in 1942 with "Somebody Else is Taking My Place", followed by another Number 1 chart topper in 1943, "Why Don't You Do Right?" The latter would make her famous. Lee then made her name as more than a girl singer. She was an acccomplished songwriter, penning such classics as "What More Can A Girl Do" recorded by Sarah Vaughan, "Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)", and music for the enduring Disney film "Lady and The Tramp" (a film for which she not only wrote music, but voiced four of the characters.) She was nominated for an Oscar for her work in the film "Pete Kelly's Blues" and also appeared alongside in the 1952 remake of "The Jazz Singer." She recorded for Capitol Records and Decca Records, Throughout her life, she was nominated for 12 Grammy Awards and was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.
