I’LL SAY IT AGAIN. ‘CAUSE I’M A WOMAN.
A CONVERSATION WITH HOLLY FOSTER WELLS (GRANDDAUGHTER OF PEGGY LEE)
Peggy Lee is one of the most important artists of both this century and the last one. Not only did she kick down the doors for many female artists, but for all artists and singers in general. In1942, she had scored her first number one hit single, “Somebody Else Is Taking My Place”. In 1943 she married guitarist Dave Barbour, from the Benny Goodman Orchestra with whom she sang, and they had a daughter, Nickie Lee Foster. She in turn had her own family, including Holly Foster Wells. Ms. Wells is now the caretaker and guardian of The Peggy Lee Estate.
Peggy Lee, a gifted singer, actress, and performer, also wrote her own music, which was not common during this era. Additionally, she owned her own songs, which was very uncommon for the time and this became a blueprint for future musicians. In fact, she wrote over 270 songs, recorded over 1,100, and had over 100 chart hits throughout her seven-decade career. Quite an accomplishment. One of her biggest hits came in 1963, “I’m A Woman”. That song became so popular that Capital Records, to which she was signed, insisted on building an album around it, and in 2023, that album turned 60. Ms. Wells has been very active in putting together a brilliant new version of the classic, including never before heard bonus cuts.
“I’m the archivist,” confirmed Ms. Wells. “My grandmother trained me since I was six years old, when I started going on the road with her. She said, ‘One day you are going to take over my company.’ And she started training me on the road. She would tell me what she wanted done. And then, when she passed away, I got all her stuff. She just had one daughter, that was my mom, and now my mom has passed away, so it is all me now.”
I’M A WOMAN (60th ANNIVERSARY EDITION) ALBUM REVIEW
Ms. Wells showed me her office and her vault of incredible collectibles and a pretty complete history of Peggy Lee’s career. “We have two massive storage units as well.” In her office is a bookshelf of scrap books, photo albums, show books, original sheet music, gowns, her art and of course a lot of CDs of her music, which includes outtakes.
“I feel it is a massive responsibility because, not only to keep her legacy alive but also to do it the way she wanted. When you are speaking for someone who was so careful about everything she said and every word she used…I think about what I am saying when I am representing her. Even though she is not here, I feel like she is on my shoulder…’do this, do this, don’t do that, don’t say this…’ It is a huge responsibility because I know when I die, all the stories and that connection die with me. I got to get this stuff done, while I am here and get the stories out there.”
In putting together the I’m A woman re-release, Ms. Wells did a thorough job of putting together an amazing collection of never before heard songs as well as making sure that the story of the album was captured in the liner notes. She commissioned her discographer Ivan Santiago to write a thorough history of the album.
“There is a lot more we need to release. That is part of my goal, to get it all out there. I don’t want it sitting here in my office. It should be enjoyed. My grandmother was so meticulous about her rehearsals and her performances, that she brought with her a reel to reel tape machine, and recorded her recording sessions. She also taped rehearsals. As a result, I have all of these tapes but they have all been digitized. So I don’t have to go to Capitol Records or Universal Music, and say ‘hey, what’s in your vaults?’ Quite often I am telling them what is in their vaults. This is the story of the Bobby Darin duet, “Jealous”. I am listening to this recording session and when I hear this I am thinking ‘does Universal Music even know they have this?’
“My grandmother was at Capitol recording her I’m A Woman album, and Bobby was there recording something else and he was recording “Jealous” and their two producers met in the men’s room and said ‘wouldn’t it be cool if Peggy sang backup for Bobby. Peggy and Bobbie agreed and she walked out of her session into his and they did it on the spot. I wouldn’t have known about it if my Grandmother didn’t have these tapes and told Universal and the Bobby Darin Estate now, as they didn’t have it.”
PURCHASE MISS PEGGY LEE: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY HERE
Peggy Lee was a true original and drew inspiration from many places, including her own home life. “She wrote so many of her own songs, at a time when women didn’t do that. She was writing these songs out of regular, everyday things. Like, “It’s A Good Day”, for example, which she wrote in the early 1940s. She was at home, washing dishes, she just had my mom, and she was just so happy with the day, and she thought it was a good day. And then my grandfather, Dave Barbour, would come home from his session work. She would say, ‘Well, I don’t have dinner ready, but I have a song.’ And then they would write together. Another funny story is when my grandmother told my grandfather that she was pregnant, he had such a funny sense of humour, he said ‘Why Peg, I hardly know you’. That was very funny, but she ended up writing “I Don’t Know Enough About You”.
But not only was it unusual for an artist to write their own material, especially a female singer, she kept the copyrights. “She had the foresight to start her own publishing company. And that is the company I run to this day, and she started it in the 1940s. She would tell me, ‘You’re going to have times in your life where you will be desperate for money. I promise you, but you cannot sell these songs. You can sell diamonds; you can sell whatever. You do not sell these songs. These songs will take care of you and your family.’ And she was right. I don’t know what she would think of all these people selling their catalogues.”
Peggy Lee was a brilliant artist/singer/composer. One often wonders what but what was she like as a grandmother?
“It’s so interesting,” recalled Ms. Wells. “It’s almost like there were two different people. Obviously, she did not have multiple personalities, but there were two different people. There was Norma Egstrom the girl from North Dakota and then there was this persona of Miss Peggy Lee, her stage presence. There is a funny story about when she was getting ready to go and perform at Mason Street East. And she was in the elevator going to the dressing room and she had a scarf and sunglasses on, but someone said, ‘are you Peggy Lee?’ and she said, ‘not yet’. She hadn’t put on her make-up and stuff.
“As her granddaughter, when we were on the road, it was very much serious as this was her art and her work, something she took great pride in. She was glamorous and her persona was in place. She was very glamorous, and her lifestyle was luxurious. She felt that people had an expectation of her to be this persona, and that could create pressure for her. But when we were at home, she was a regular person and she had humble beginnings in North Dakota, that never left her. She had an incredible work ethic, very caring about her friends. She cooked and was never afraid of hard work in her house.”
Peggy Lee also influenced diverse artists such as Deborah Harry, Bob Dylan, and Paul McCartney, who even wrote a song for her. “Paul McCartney loved her Latin Olé ala Lee album. He was a fan of her’s, in particular her song “Til There Was You”. So much so that when they came over, they performed it on the Ed Sullivan show. He was a fan, and what happened, she went over to perform in the U.K. Somehow, she and Paul McCartney were in touch with each other and Sir Paul and Linda came over to her hotel for dinner. They said, instead of bringing her flowers or champagne, they brought her a song. She was so crazy about it she said, ‘You need to produce this for me’, and he agreed. Dave Grusin actually produced the whole album, Let’s Love. But Paul McCartney produced that song.”
Ms. Wells is working tirelessly to achieve her goals for her grandmother’s legacy. ‘I am working on a coffee table book as we speak. So that will be coming. I am also working on a biopic, and I want to do an indepth documentary about her. Those are my three top bucket list things. Oh and a stage musical.”
Through the use of social media and other outlets, Peggy Lee’s music is finding a whole new audience. “I am driven by this passion for people to know her and to know all the parts of her because she was fascinating. She was eccentric, a genius, she was tortured, and she was all these things, like so many artists are. I don’t want my story to go with me. Having younger people discover her is the best, the most exciting. Billie Eilish, she has been a tremendous help because she loves my grandmother’s music. She loves everything Peggy Lee did, which is really great. Just the other day I read that during COVID, Bob Dylan listened to Peggy Lee records!”
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