While this is commonly known as her “signature song”, it isn’t even a direct cover of the original song. In fact this was her 48th Billboard hit, in a career that had already brought her fame as a singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her sultry delivery, impeccable timing and bluesy intonation, Lee had already earned her respect of jazz greats while her commercial hits won her legions of admirers. Versatile and prolific, she has become one of the swing era’s most recognisable voices, famous for such hits as “Why Don’t You Do Right” and “It’s a Good Day”, the latter being one of her many original compositions.
“Fever” was written in early 1956 by R&B singer/songwriter Eddie Cooley and pianist Otis Blackwell (under the pen name John Davenport). Blackwell made many contributions to the early rock’n’roll canon, including “All Shook Up”, “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Great Balls Of Fire”, among others. The pair persuaded a young, new R&B singer named Little Willie John to record it. Little Willie had originally resisted recording the song. The 18 year-old did not find it to his liking, expressing particular displeasure at the use of finger snaps throughout. Fortunately, the handlers of the young and temperamental artist talked him into doing the tune. Released on King Records, John’s interpretation was a well-conceived straightforward R&B arrangement featuring foreboding tenor saxophones, a heavy driving beat and bluesy backing vocals. John’s recording of “Fever” became one of his biggest hits, reaching No.1 on the R&B charts and No.24 on the pop charts in 1956.
Willie John stayed with King Records until 1963, when the label dropped him, allegedly due to behavioral problems. A combination of factors caused Little Willie’s life to continue on a downward spiral. The partying youngster’s taste for alcohol and gambling led him to frequent somewhat seedy environments, where he sometimes had to endure heckling on account of his short height (about 5’4″). In 1964, John was arrested after a fight in which he attacked another man with a bottle. He jumped bail and left town. Two or three years later another altercation resulted in him allegedly stabbing to death another man which resulted in John receiving a manslaughter sentence. He jumped bail once again, but was finally arrested in May of 1965. Little Willie John ended up spending most of the next two years of his life in prison. They were also his last two years: he died there at the age of 31.
Born Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920), known professionally as Peggy Lee, she was a jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman’s big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and performer. During her career, she wrote music for films, acted, and recorded conceptual record albums that combined poetry and music.
Peggy Lee’s cover of “Fever” not only breathed new life into the R&B classic, but revitalised her career. While Lee remained a favourite singer among jazz fans, her swing-era pop vocals had begun to lose relevance among younger audiences. Her subdued yet sensual take on “Fever”, however, spoke directly to a younger crowd while bearing all the wit and sophistication of the coolest jazz records.
While being based on the Cooley/Blackwell song, her version had significant lyrical and instrumental arrangement differences. Since her early beginnings as a dinner club and nightclub singer in the 1940’s, she had intended this song to mainly be a song she could perform live in those environments. She discarded about 10 lines of the original lyrics and wrote many additional lines, Lee came up with new lyrics that chronicled lovers through the ages (including the verses beginning “Romeo loved Juliet,” and “Captain Smith and Pocahontas”). Failing to copyright her new lyrics, Lee’s additions were credited to the original writers, Cooley and Blackwell. The finger snaps, sparse arrangement and satirical storytelling echoed the voice of the Beat Generation. Lee understood this new era and her place in it, and wanted to tap into the burgeoning rock’n’roll audience. She used Beat slang in lyrics such as “Julie, baby, you’re my flame” and “Daddy-o, don’t you dare”, as she swings in a perfect R&B tone over a West Coast “cool school”-inspired arrangement.
Peggy Lee’s version peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and spent a total of 12 weeks on that chart. It set a peak at number five on the UK Singles Chart where it first appeared on August 15, 1958. Lee’s recording of “Fever” was a multiple nominee at the very first Grammy Awards ceremony in 1959. “Fever” was nominated for Record Of The Year and also garnered a Best Arrangement nomination, which was questionably bestowed on Jack Marshall, who had not actually been involved, rather than on Peggy Lee. A third nomination at the ceremony was strictly for Lee, in the category of Best Vocal Performance, Female.
Lee was nominated for twelve Grammy Awards, winning Best Contemporary Vocal Performance for her 1969 hit “Is That All There Is?” In 1995 she was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
She received the Rough Rider Award from the state of North Dakota, the Pied Piper Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the Presidents Award from the Songwriters Guild of America, the Ella Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Society of Singers, and the Living Legacy Award from the Women’s International Center. In 1999 she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Lee continued to perform into the 1990s, sometimes confined to a wheelchair. After years of poor health, she died of complications from diabetes and a heart attack on January 21, 2002, at the age of 81. She was cremated and her ashes were buried in a bench-style monument in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Views: 71