With The Benny Goodman Orchestra 1941-43 (CD) – Peggy Lee

Peggy Lee was one of great female singers of the post-war era, her unmistakeable sophisticated and sultry style making her one of the most distinctive performers of the time, ranging across the genres from ballads to jazz and pure pop. She began her recording career when she joined Benny Goodman’s Orchestra as vocalist in 1941, when she had just turned 21, and was with Goodman for two years until 1943, when she married guitarist Dave Barbour and they both left the band. She recorded some some sessions again with Goodman in 1947. This 44-track 2-CD set comprises titles which she recorded with Goodman’s orchestra in the initial period, and were released at the time on Columbia, along with alternate takes of the songs and titles which were not released at the time, plus titles from the 1947 sessions. Also included are some hard-to-find radio recordings from the 1941-42 period, which capture Peggy working in a ‘live’ environment. It’s an entertaining anthology of her work during what was a key formative time in the career of a great artist, and a great showcase for a talent which was already abundantly evident.

Track List

1. Elmer’s Tune
2. My Old Flame
3. I See a Million People (But All I Can See Is You)
4. That’s the Way It Goes
5. I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good)
6. My Old Flame
7. How Deep Is the Ocean
8. How Deep Is the Ocean
9. Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)
10. Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)
11. Shady Lady Bird
12. Somebody Else Is Taking My Place
13. Somebody Nobody Loves
14. How Long Has This Been Going On?
15. That Did It Marie
16. Winter Weather
17. Ev’rything I Love
18. Not Mine
19. Not a Care in the World
20. Blues in the Night
21. Where or When
22. On the Sunny Side of the Street
23. The Lamp of Memory
24. If You Build a Better Mousetrap
25. When the Roses Bloom Again
26. My Little Cousin
27. The Way You Look Tonight
28. I Threw a Kiss in the Ocean
29. We’ll Meet Again
30. Full Moon
31. There Won’t Be a Shortage of Love
32. You’re Easy to Dance with
33. All I Need Is You
34. Why Don’t You Do Right
35. Let’s Say a Prayer
36. The Freedom Train
37. Keep Me in Mind
38. For Every Man There’s a Woman
39. Soft As Spring
40. The Shrine of St. Cecilia
41. That Did It Marie
42. Blues in the Night
43. Mr. Five-By-Five
44. Praise the Lord (And Pass the Ammunition)