Search - Peggy Lee & Benny Goodman :: The Best of Peggy Lee and Benny Goodman

In The Time Of The Torch Singer

Alfred Johnson | boston, ma | 07/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"No question, I am a sucker for a torch singer. Billy Holiday, Helen Whiting, Ivy Andersen, you name it. And naturally included on that list is Ms. Peggy Lee. No, not the Peggy Lee of the 1950's when I was growing up and she had changed her performing persona into a femme fatale with such hits as "Fever" but back in the days before I was born with Benny Goodman and the Swing era. I can still remember as a kid seeing a film clip of her in, I think, "Stage Door Canteen" doing her classic "Why Don't You Do Right Like Some Other Men Do". Wow. And this album is filled with such material from that 'innocent' era. Plenty of torch songs like "My Old Flame" and including Cole Porter standards like "Let's Do It". Naturally, Goodman is at his perfectionist best with a singer like Ms. Lee in front with just enough clarinet solos to keep things interesting. If you want to go back to the mists of time in the career of one Peggy Lee this one is for you."

"How Many Roses Are Sprinkled With Dew?

Rebecca*rhapsodyinblue* | CA USA | 01/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Peggy Lee's wonderful talent should be studied by all vocalists, her regal presence is pure elegance and charm." ~ Frank Sinatra, 1994 ~



Frank Sinatra was right when he said that "Peggy Lee's talent should be studied by all vocalists." She was one of the greatest vocalists of all-time. Her style of singing is so distinctively charming with that husky, soft and delicate voice she was famous for. She was mostly remembered for her 1958 hit recording of "Fever." This recording offers almost an hour of listening pleasure and a trip down memory lane with Peggy Lee and Benny Goodman and his Orchestra/Benny Goodman Sextet. Most of the songs on this compilation were recorded in early 1940s and were in the Top Ten hits on the Billboard.



Peggy Lee was the star vocalist of Benny Goodman and a Grammy Award Winner in 1969 for Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance for her hit song "Is That All There Is," which was also nominated for Best Record of the Year.



In this album, Ms. Lee presented the simple elegance of singing and performed four of the nicest tracks accompanied by Benny Goodman Sextet. The first one is a classic from the pens of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields "The Way You Look Tonight," which was beautifully interpreted with the addition of a unique and heavenly musical instrument - a celeste, played by Mel Powell making it so endearing to one's ears. To me, this is one of the best nostalgic versions ever recorded. The rest of the tracks by the Sextet are "Where Or When," "Blues In The Night" and "On The Sunny Side Of The Street."



Her version of Gershwin Brothers' "How Long Has This Been Going On?" with Benny Goodman and his Orchestra is one of the best I've ever heard. It's simply wonderful! My very favorite from this compilation is a beautiful and timeless gem from Irving Berlin, one of the best and most versatile songwriters of all-time, "How Deep Is The Ocean?"



How much do I love you?

I'll tell you no lie

How deep is the ocean?

How high is the sky?



How many times a day do I think of you?

How many roses are sprinkled with dew?

How far would I travel to be where you are?

How far is the journey from here to a star?



And if I ever lost you,

how much would I cry?

How deep is the ocean?

How high is the sky?



If you love the nostalgic sound of the Forties, you'll be delighted with this recording. Timeless music to enjoy not only today but for years to come.



Wholeheartedly recommended.

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