“My Old Flame” appeared on the Goodman band recording session list in October 1941. This blues-inflected ballad from Paramount’s Mae West film Belle of the Nineties went on to become a jazz standard recorded by many singers after Lee. This song possessed a gently walking bass line, understated, with soft dynamics (until the more raucous trumpet solo halfway through), and a tenderly delivered melody and lyric by a golden-voiced singer. Here stood a preview of Lee’s later penchant for singing at an extremely soft volume. The band joined her in creating a gentle, quiet form of swing that pleasurably moved as one unrushed, plaintive voice. Goodman’s brief, high-pitched clarinet solo transformed toward the end of the recording into a fleeting double-time flurry, adding a passionate contrast to the previously easygoing, dreamy stroll of the song.
Irving Berlin’s “How Deep Is the Ocean” enjoyed a medium swing interpretation by Goodman and Lee that stood firmly among the definitive versions of this famous tune. The introduction opened with an ascending minor riff played first by the low brass, then passed to the saxophones and finally to the trumpets at one-measure intervals over a steady bass walking quarter notes. Lee entered in a new key following this long instrumental storyline. Her lyrical contribution revealed beauty in the poetry Berlin infused within this timeless song. Lee’s respectful delivery of the text kept with the tradition of the period. Lyrics were never interpreted by singers fronting a big band but were simply delivered as purely and beautifully as their voices allowed. Interpretation and stylistic affectation were deemed inappropriate for singers of the big band genre. These permutations began to come into common use mostly by singers such as Billie Holiday, whose skills became best known within the context of the small jazz combo. As was typical of song recordings from the big band era, this song’s wonderful lyrics were not repeated but only presented once, with instrumental openings and endings surrounding the prized lyrical content.
Using understatement, tenderness, and thoughtful phrasing to express song lyrics, Lee found ways to cover her songs with a robe of alluring sensuality. Even as early as her first few sessions with the Benny Goodman Orchestra, Peggy exhibited musical restraint, as heard in her first recorded hit, “Somebody Else Is Taking My Place” by Howard, Ellsworth, and Morgan. Her minuscule slides from note to note connected the lyrics and tones in an elegantly controlled, sophisticated manner. Lee’s conversational quality revealed a thoughtful artist developing a keen ability to communicate emotion and depth throughout the course of a song. She successfully matched the band’s lighthearted, bouncy tone of this swing arrangement, even though the lyrics suggested that a more serious approach might have been appropriate. Later in her career Lee would surely have modified her approach to this lyric in a way that preserved its heartbreaking sentiment, but she had not yet learned to assert herself in insisting that her arrangements consistently respect the intention of the text. As a result this recording exhibited a triteness and vocal indifference uncharacteristic of her later work, manifested in the vividly cheerful way she sang about being passed over for another lover. Nevertheless, the music prevailed, and the band’s relentless swing led to a warm reception by the public and a hit song on the radio. Recorded November 13, 1941, “Somebody Else Is Taking My Place” debuted March 7, 1942, hovered in the pop music charts for fifteen weeks, and peaked at number one.[5] This marked the first of many number-one hits Peggy Lee would enjoy throughout her long career.
Peggy Lee, 1943. Photofest.
“Somebody Nobody Loves” followed suit as another sad story put to a carefree swing. We might wonder why the lyrics of such songs were not paired with more sensitive, somber musical accompaniment. These songs balanced out the happy, optimistic songs of the swing era without sacrificing the all-important dance beat. Lyricists knew that if they could mold their texts to fit a danceable beat they had a better chance of hearing them performed by the most popular bands. In the early 1940s dance halls provided a primary form of entertainment, and American popular music was synonymous with swing. Most songs during this era required a danceable beat, regardless of the mood of the text. As a result, this period included a great many songs whose music would surely have been more somber if composed in a later period.
Most importantly, music from the early 1940s intentionally maintained a lighthearted and joyful mood to provide the American public with a needed distraction from reality. The shock and horror of World War II pervaded the everyday lives of American citizens as well as men and women serving in the armed forces. Performing artists, recording artists, and film actors often offered their services to the USO to support American soldiers, and upbeat songs played by leading swing bands served this cause very well. Inspiring and encouraging servicemen and their families back home became a ministry performed by American dance bands. Bing Crosby, a friend of and frequent collaborator with Peggy Lee, served the USO faithfully, and Lee did her part by providing upbeat music at wartime for radio and for American families awaiting the return of their beloved soldiers. As the war dragged on, optimistic dance music became a valuable, although perhaps ironic, offering to the American public provided by performing artists.
On the same day that Lee recorded the ironically upbeat “Somebody Else Is Taking My Place,” she also recorded the Gershwin standard “How Long Has This Been Going On?” from the Broadway musical Rosalie, with the Benny Goodman Orchestra. This gently swinging ballad allowed Lee to showcase her innate expressive compass. She supported her voice with efficient energy, yielding superb resonance and tonal purity that suggested years of formal training. Lee’s lovely rendition of this Gershwin gem allowed her to stand among the many other revered recordings of this song, including Lena Horne’s 1945 recording replete with a light, fluttering vibrato that contrasted with Lee’s slightly cooler, more emotionally charged version.
“That Did It, Marie,” a heavily swinging tune recorded the same day, gave both Lee and Goodman an opportunity to allow their swing style to rise to a new level. Lee bent notes, employed ascending and descending smears and falls, and wrapped a thick sense of easygoing style around the humorous narrative personifying various band instruments. The lyrics described a saxophone’s “jumpin’ jacks” and urged “jump, jump, jump it through that trumpet.” Goodman later poured on the blues during his improvised clarinet solo, wailing lines that drew the band into exuberant swing. Lee’s vibrato (albeit light and gentle) came through as a hallmark of these early recordings. As her career developed, she would use less vibrato and focus more on smoothness of tone, phrasing, and rhythmic timing.
Later that same month, the Goodman band recorded “Winter Weather,” which peaked at number twenty-four on the popular music charts. For this vocal duet, Lee sang the first chorus followed by an instrumental trip through the song. Benny Goodman then provided an improvised chorus, alternating with arranged passages for the full band. Following that, the male singer for the Goodman band, Art London (who later modified his name to “Lund”), sang the second verse before the band played a four-bar transition and Lee sang the reprise. This bouncy, optimistic song included interesting key changes, calling to mind the lyrical descriptions of unpredictable weather.
In December 1941 Lee and Goodman reentered the recording studio to record Johnny Mercer and Victor Schertzinger’s “Not Mine,” from the film The Fleet’s In. This song, while still requiring a higher vocal range than Lee preferred in later years, gave Lee the opportunity to exercise a more womanly tone that sounded more at home in front of the microphone. Goodman recalled that when first hired, “[Lee] was so scared for about three or four months, I don’t think she got half the songs out of her mouth.”[6] Lee was not the only one growing more comfortable with their collaboration. During the improvisational solo for this song Goodman employed a double-time technique (briefly playing notes twice as fast), exhibiting exemplary control and obviously enjoying himself.
“Not a Care in the World,” from Broadway’s Banjo Eyes by John Latouche and Vernon Duke (arranged by Eddie Sauter), was recorded by the band in December 1941. This easygoing swing tune marched ever onward with Benny Goodman providing the opening melodic statement on his clarinet, unlike the contemporary tradition of a vocalist singing the first iteration of a song’s melody. Keeping the focus on himself, Goodman often commanded the attention of audiences