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Peggy Lee

I watched the movie Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose last night (loved it) and the thought shared at the end of the movie was "What if this is all there is? What if there is no 'before' and no 'after'?"

This got me thinking about the Peggy Lee song: "Is that all there is?" I decided to do an ink drawing of Peggy Lee today and read a bit about her life. This is a very, very, short story and I encourage you to read her autobiography or find out more about her.

Peggy Lee was born 1920, birth name: Norma Deloris Egstrom, in Jamestown, North Dakota. Her mother died when she was 4 and she had a terrible step mother who beat her regularly. She always knew she wanted to sing, she says she sang before she talked. She was discovered by Benny Goodman in 1943 and she joined his band. The band and Goodman were good to her and they were very successful.

She starred in The Jazz Singer alongside Danny Thomas (1952 version), Pete Kelly's Blues (1955), and was the voice of several characters in Lady & the Tramp (1955). She also co-wrote all the original songs in L&T with Sonny Burke. She was only paid $3500 with no royalties. Thirty-six years later, in 1991, she finally sued Disney and was awarded over $3.83 million.

Of all the amazing things I've read about Peggy Lee, this last fact stands out to me. Her fight with Disney helps women get what they rightfully deserve for their work in the movie and music industry.