Peggy Lee

Peggy Lee

Lee was born Norma Deloris Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota. After her mother died her father remarried and her stepmother was very cruel to her. So she left home, and in 1941, she joined Benny Goodman's band—then at the height of its popularity—and for over two years toured the United States with it. She recorded several hits and became a star. In 1944, Lee began to record for Capitol Records, for whom she produced a long string of hits over the next three decades. She also recorded for Decca Records (1952-56). She was also known as a songwriter with such hits as the songs from the Disney movie Lady and the Tramp, which she also sang. She also acted in several films and was nominated for an Oscar in 1955. Lee was nominated for twelve Grammy Awards, winning Best Contemporary Vocal Performance for her 1969 hit "Is That All There Is". In 1995 she was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In the early 1990s, she retained famed entertainment attorney Neil Papiano, who, on her behalf successfully sued Disney for royalties on Lady and the Tramp. Lee's lawsuit claimed that she was due royalties for video tapes, a technology that did not exist when she agreed to write and perform for Disney. She continued to perform into the 1990s and still mesmerized audiences and critics alike. After years of poor health, Lee died from complications from diabetes and cardiac disease at the age of 81 in 2002.