We like our idols damaged. Peggy Lee was quite probably the finest jazz-influenced singer of popular songs ever. A bold statement, but despite her considerable commercial success, the fact that La Lee didn’t ‘suffer’ for her art in the same way as her mentor Billie Holiday may have detracted attention away from her true greatness. These newly excavated late-’40s radio-only transcriptions fully illustrate Lee’s prowess as, intimately accompanied by guitarist Dave Barbour, she effortlessly works her way through the American song-book in a manner Rod The Mod can only dream of.
Advertisement