Somethin' Groovy! does the exact opposite of all those late-'60s vocal albums that charted the course of new '60s pop and rock with a big-band backing. Instead, producer David Cavanaugh and music director Ralph Carmichael drape a set of vocal standards ("Makin' Whoopee," "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby," "It Might as Well Be Spring," "Love Is Here to Stay") over a soft, gauzy, quintessentially '60s backing. Lee's voice is generally in good shape for these songs, and she treats them with even more laidback charm than listeners would expect. It's difficult to escape the impression, however, that excessive tinkering with the arrangements ruins Lee's performances; her duet with harmonica player Toots Thielemans on "Makin' Whoopee" is interesting, but so disjointed and loose that it's more camp than quality. The ballads "I Can Hear the Music," "Love Is Here to Stay," and "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" are done much better, but Somethin' Groovy! is an unfortunate album, finding a solid vocal performance trapped in time by weak arrangements and flaccid productions.

This is series of seriously intoxicating Latin and American Bossa-Samba-Jazz sounds! It all began in the '50s when composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, inspired by West Coast Jazz, helped to form a new music that blended together gentle Brazilian Samba rhythms and melodies with cool-toned improvising. These compilations contain the results of Jobim's influential musical experiment, as they feature a myriad of artists serving up a cocktail blend of rare original Brazilian and American Bossa Nova and Jazz from the 60's. Each volume comes complete with a different sexy vixen on each of the covers…and we do mean SEXY! Includes 80 tracks featuring classic performances by Les McCann, Mongo Santamaria, Cal Tjader, The Champs, Lalo Schifrin, Nina Simone, Stan Getz, Art Blakey, Mel Torme, Peggy Lee, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Mann, Kenny Burrell, Mose Allison, Candido, Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra, Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66 and many more.

Peggy Lee's alluring tone, distinctive delivery, breadth of material, and ability to write many of her own songs made her one of the most captivating artists of the vocal era, from her breakthrough on the Benny Goodman hit "Why Don't You Do Right" to her many solo successes that showed her bewitching vocal power, a balance between sultry swing and impeccable musicianship. Lee started out in the early '40s as the vocalist for the Goodman band, and shortly thereafter became a star in her own right. Though she had numerous pop hits, she constantly crossed the line between pop and jazz, and was hailed by numerous critics as one of America's finest singers in either genre. In addition, Lee was involved in the film world as both an actress and a composer, most actively in the '50s (she received an Academy Award nomination for her role in Pete Kelly's Blues).

Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, Lee created a sophisticated persona, writing music for films, acting, and recording conceptual record albums combining poetry and music. Called the "Queen of American pop music", Lee recorded more than 1,100 masters and co-wrote over 270 songs.

Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, Lee created a sophisticated persona, writing music for films, acting, and recording conceptual record albums combining poetry and music. Called the "Queen of American pop music", Lee recorded more than 1,100 masters and co-wrote over 270 songs.

The collection pulls together rare jazz collaborations and vocal duets from the iconic singer-songwriter’s career.
The fourth edition of the Peggy Lee series From The Vaults has been released today, highlighting rare jazz collaborations and vocal duets from the iconic singer-songwriter’s career. The new release features thirteen tracks recorded between 1947 and 1967, including duets with then-emerging vocalists Dean Martin and Mel Tormé, homages to TV characters Batman and Mr. Magoo, and some of Lee’s own compositions. This fourth volume marks the final installment of the From the Vaults digital series. With its release, Lee’s entire catalog of master recordings from the Universal family of labels (Capitol, Decca, A&M, and Polydor) are now available via streaming. From the Vaults (Vol. 4) features a variety of fascinating moments in Lee’s career, including collaborations with celebrated jazz artists George Shearing and Toots Thielemans. Lee’s 1948 duet with Dean Martin, “You Was” had been previously released, but it’s updated here with improved sound quality. There are also a number of songs where Lee is backed by vocal groups (a rarity in Lee’s lengthy career).

At last, the wait is over, we hear you cry! AVID have finally inducted Miss Peggy Lee into the 4 Classic Albums “hall of fame”! Ok so we have taken our time in paying tribute to the great lady, but we wanted to get it right, we wanted to select the best albums that truly captured Miss Lee’s huge vocal talents. Peggy Lee spent most of her recording career at Capitol Records which she joined in 1947. She had a short break between 1952-56 where she recorded for Decca, and ironically made one of her greatest albums “Black Coffee” (AVC876). We feature three albums for her Capitol years, a couple of classics arranged by the legendary Nelson Riddle, “Jump For Joy” and “The Man I Love” which also features conducting duties by that other rather famous Capitol Records artist, Mr Frank Sinatra! These two are joined by another classic “concept” album “Blues Cross Country” arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones. To round off our selections we feature the extraordinarily intimate “Dream Street” recorded by Peggy for Decca in 1956. And if you need any further proof of the regard Peggy Lee was held in by the jazz fraternity, take a look at some of the names that appear on our selections. Harry “Sweets” Edison, Pete Condoli, Mel Lewis, Shorty Rogers, Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Bill Perkins, Lou Levy, Max Bennett, Benny Carter and Buddy Collette. Oh and did we mention Nelson Riddle, Frank Sinatra and Quincy Jones?!

Peggy Lee had a wide-ranging and diverse career as a singer, songwriter and actress. Tony Bennett called her "the female Frank Sinatra," and Frank Sinatra said that she "should be studied by all vocalists." The focus of this collection is the jazz-oriented recordings Lee made for Decca Records from 1952-56 and includes several tracks from her stellar album, Black Coffee.

Capitol Records and Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), in conjunction with Peggy Lee Associates, today release Peggy Lee: From the Vaults (Vol. 3).

LOS ANGELES, CA – May 24, 2024 – Capitol Records and Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), in conjunction with Peggy Lee Associates, today release Peggy Lee: From the Vaults (Vol. 2), the second installment in the new digital series that features rare tracks currently unavailable on streaming platforms. Recorded for Capitol between 1948 and 1951, the 12 selections on From the Vaults (Vol. 2) include songs from stage and screen by American songbook giants Irving Berlin and Yip Harburg; a song co-written by jazz great Benny Carter; another by classical-popular composer Alec Wilder; and one co-written by Lee herself.

Peggy Lee Que reste t'il de Peggy Lee ? Une des plus grandes chanteuses de jazz de l'histoire est surtout connue à travers les innombrables reprises de sa version de « Fever », titre dont elle adapta seulement les paroles. Peggy Lee est bien plus que ça, chanteuse, auteur et actrice, elle connaît une carrière qui s'étale sur soixante ans, avec une activité musicale intense durant trente d'entre elles. Jazz, mais aussi pop, d'une blondeur toute glamour, Peggy Lee éblouit depuis « Somebody Else Is Taking My Place », son premier numéro un en 1942. Peggy Lee continue à se produire dans les années quatre-vingt-dix, avant de décéder le 21 janvier 2002 de complications liées au diabète.

The always eclectic Maria Muldaur, whose previous albums have paid tribute to Shirley Temple and blues women of the '20s, takes another musical detour in this collection of songs associated with Peggy Lee. In addition to her cool, sexy, relaxed voice, Lee was arguably more talented than other vocalists from her era. As a songwriter she co-penned some of her own material, including the swinging "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'" with Duke Ellington, which features the witty double entendres that spice several other songs. Muldaur possesses a similar ability to purr ("Some Cats Know") or sizzle (an opening tour de force of "Fever" and "Black Coffee") without breaking a sweat. So this collection of 12 tracks, backed by a talented yet restrained eight-piece band, is a natural extension of her vocal strengths. The stylish, retro arrangements include vibes and big-band-styled horn charts that sound as authentic as if they were recorded in the '30s. Even though there are some finger-popping swing numbers (a zippy duet with Dan Hicks on Ted Shapiro's "Winter Weather" is especially peppy), a late-night, languid blues-jazz vibe dominates.

Dream Street captures Peggy Lee at her most intimate and melancholy – a song cycle exploring love and loss in uncompromisingly frank terms, it strips away the saccharine and schmaltz so common among the singer's Decca sessions to effectively create the first truly adult music of her career. Lee occupies the same harrowing emotional territory staked out by Frank Sinatra via the landmark In the Wee Small Hours, investing the material with the kind of heartbreak and longing that belies the whole "easy listening" tag – this is music shorn of pretense and artifice, as intense as a primal scream yet beautiful in the way only art of this magnitude can be.

A prolific singer, remembered as one of the greatest pop song stylists alongside Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan. Peggy Lee's alluring tone, distinctive delivery, breadth of material, and ability to write many of her own songs made her one of the most captivating artists of the vocal era, from her breakthrough on the Benny Goodman hit "Why Don't You Do Right" to her many solo successes, singles including "Mañana," "Lover" and "Fever" that showed her bewitching vocal power, a balance between sultry swing and impeccable musicianship.

1997 release, a two-on-one (and part of EMI's Centenary series) for this pair of 1960 albums by the songstress, eachwith a bonus track! 'Latin Ala Lee!' adds ''Till There Was You'; 'Ole Ala Lee!' adds 'Together Wherever We Go'. 24 tracks total.