Purchase
Fever, March 2006
Hardcover
The Life and Music of Miss Peggy Lee
Henry Holt
March 2006
Featuring: Peggy Lee
464 pages ISBN: 0805073833 Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Non-Fiction Biography
The first major biography of the legendary singer--an
enthralling account of a charismatic artist moving through
the greatest, most glamorous era of American music "I learned courage from Buddha, Jesus, Lincoln, and Mr. Cary
Grant." So said Peggy Lee, the North Dakota girl who sang
like she'd just stepped out of Harlem. Einstein adored her;
Duke Ellington dubbed her "the Queen." With her platinum
cool and inimitable whisper she sold twenty million records,
made more money than Mickey Mantle, and along with pals
Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby presided over music's greatest
generation. Yet beneath the diamonds she was still Norma
Delores Egstrom, insecure and always looking for acceptance. Drawing on exclusive interviews and new information, Peter
Richmond delivers a complex, compelling portrait of an
artist and an era that begins with a girl plagued by loss,
her father's alcoholism, and her stepmother's abuse. One day
she gets on a train hoping her music will lead her someplace
better. It does--to a new town and a new name; to cities and
clubs where a gallery of brilliant innovators are ushering
in a brand-new beat; to four marriages, a daughter,
Broadway, Vegas, and finally Hollywood. Richmond traces how
Peggy rose, right along with jazz itself, becoming an
unstoppable hit-maker ("Fever," "Macana," "Is That All There
Is?"). We see not only how this unforgettable star changed
the rhythms of music, but also how--with her drive to
create, compose, and perform--she became an artist whose
style influenced k.d. lang, Nora Jones, and Diana Krall. Fever brings the lady alive again--and makes her swing.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
|