entertainmenT-
1
Peggy
Lee's
Search
for Success
The thrilling intensity of her singing style
mirrors a great talent, a troubled life and
a faith that has helped sustain her
By MAR Y A SAUNDERS
and BOB GAINES
Before EVERY performance,
Peggy Lee closes her eyes
and recites a special prayer.
Because these silent moments mean
so much to her, she is reluctant to talk
about them. The only thing she ever
has revealed came out during this
family weekly interview, when she
explained :
"I stand there and say, 'Father, I
am in Your presence. I know I cannot
leave Your presence.' Then I feel safe,
and I can give freely of myself. I try
to reach out with my songs to touch
the people who are listening."
Peggy has been trying to under
stand how to feel this safety of God's
presence for a long time. Born Norma
Jean Egstrom in Jamestown, N. Dak.,
she was only five when her mother
died. The children in the family were
scattered among relatives and friends
to grow up. "I was lonely and missed
my mother terribly," Peggy says.
As the years passed, the anxious
".and fear-haunted girl somehow
got the idea she would like to be a pro
fessional singer. One day she bragged
rashly to some of her school chums
that she was "going out to Hollywood
to sing."
"I never thought anybody would
take me seriously," Peggy says. "But
after they gave me a farewell party,
I had no choice."
With $18 and one battered suitcase,
she set off to conquer Hollywood only
to find that one can easily be lonely
and jobless in the movie capital. Soon
she was forced to return meekly to
Jamestown.
Although she never expected it, it
was North Dakota, not Hollywood,
that gave Peggy her first real chance.
The manager of a Fargo radio station
liked her voice and gave her a job. He
didn't like her name, however, and
changed it to PeggyLee.
Singing dates on other stations and
in small hotels followed. It was a tough
grind, but in the process the distinc
tive ballad style of Peggy Lee was
developing. Finally, Benny Goodman,
a musician with a reputation as a
tough perfectionist, heard her and of
fered her a job. During the two years
Peggy toured with his band, he shaped
and sharpened her jazz style.
But despite Peggy's growing suc
cess, the loneliness and fears of her
childhood still haunted her. "I was
always extremely nervous and fright
ened when I sang," Peggy recalls..
The critical moment came in 1943,
when she had her first chance to sing
on network radio. As air time neared,
she sat shivering in her New York
hotel suite, her throat so choked and
raw she could hardly talk.
Suddenly the distraught singer re
membered a lecture she had heard just
before leaving Los Angeles. A minis
ter, Dr. Ernest Holmes, had spoken
about the healing power of prayer.
She phoned him and poured out her
desperation to him. Dr. Holmes lis
tened quietly, then answered: "Don't
worry, Peggy. I'll pray for you. The
power of God, through prayer, is
available to everyone."
v "Within two hours I was out of bed
and the soreness seemed almost gone,"
Peggy says. "By show tinle, no one
even knew I was sick."
After that, she consulted Dr. Holmes
often, and his counsel strengthened
her. In the years that followed, she
was able to establish herself as one of
the most successful vocalists in the
country. Her recordings of "Haflana,"
"Why Don't You Do Right," "Lover,"
and "Fever" sold millions, and her
current hit, "I'm a Woman," is well on
its way to the top. In addition, she
has become a successful lyricist, writ
ing such songs as "It's a Good Day"
and "Golden Earrings," and her dra
matic performance in the movie, "Pete
Kelly's Blues," won her an Oscar
nomination.
Unfortunately, Peggy's singing suc
cess has not been matched by success
in marriage.
While with Benny Goodman, she
fell in love with Dave Barbour,'
a composer-guitarist with the band.
After they were married, they quit
traveling and settled down in Cali
fornia, where together they wrote
some of Peggy's best songs.
"I tried very hard to keep the love
and closeness Dave and I had found,"
Peggy says. "I wanted our daughter
Nikki to have a home with a mother
and father, a blessing that I had never
had. I was willing to give up my
career for it." ,
But despite the. affection that ex
isted and still exists between Peggy
and Dave, the marriage broke up in
1948. After that came brief marriages
to actors Brad Dexter and Dewey
Martin.
Peggy's troubled life and the
growing faith that helps to sustain
her seem to give special intensity
to her singing. It gets through to lis
teners, and they flock to hear her. As
jazz critic Leonard Feather said, "If
you don't feel a thrill when Peggy
Lee sings, you're dead."
fmrnUy Weekly, April 14. IM1
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