The Peggy Lee Bio-Discography's Picture Gallery:
Public Domain And Bootleg Compilations
by Iván Santiago-Mercado
Generated on Feb 10, 2012
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Contents And Scope
This page focuses on bootleg and Public Domain compilations. They are listed chronologically, by year of release. Definitions of the terms "bootleg" and "Public Domain" can be found at the end of the page, along with an alphabetical index of all the compilations under scrutiny (a grand total of nearly 200). In Peggy Lee's discography, the earliest PD releases were Glendale's You Can Depend On Me (1981), Artistic's Easy Listening (1984), Hindsight's The Uncollected Peggy Lee (1985), and Sound Rare's If I Could Be With You (1986). All four of them contain not studio recordings but radio material, commendably sourced and mastered by the aforementioned companies themselves. The earliest reissue labels to choose a less commendable route were Deja Vu (1985), Joker Tonverlag (1986, 1988) and Jazz World (1988): those three companies appropriated Peggy Lee's studio masters from the 1940s and early 1950s. (The masters belonged, and still belong, to the owners of the Capitol, Decca, and Columbia labels. It must further be clarified, however, that the three reissue labels had offices in European countries, where copyright laws allowed for the free use of most music recorded before 1955.) Deja Vu and Joker Tonverlag also initiated what would become a long-standing, still ongoing Public Domain label practice: the piracy and motley combination of studio masters with radio material. Deja Vu actually went one step further in 1991, releasing on compact disc TV performances which, though previously available on commercial video, had never been on audio-only format. In subsequent years, and as shown below, a legion of low-cut labels has carelessly pirated all these same television, radio, and studio vocals.
THE 1980S
Issue Shown:
1. Title: The Peggy Lee Collection; 20 Golden Greats / Format: CS & LP / Label: Deja Vu / Cat. Num.: (Italy) Dvmc 2021 & Dvlp 2021 / Rel. Year: 1985 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Combines 9 of Peggy Lee's Capitol studio recordings from the 1940s with 11 numbers culled from the 1947 Summer Electric Show, co-hosted by Peggy Lee and Woody Herman. The radio tracks were most likely appropriated from item #2 below.
Issues Shown:
2. Title: Easy Listening / Format: CS & LP / Label: Artistic / Cat. Num.: (England) Cart 005 & Art 005 / Rel. Year: 1984 / Tracks: 11 / Note: Contains selections from various episodes of The Summer Electric Hour, a radio show that Peggy Lee co-hosted with Woody Herman in 1947.
3. Title: Peggy Lee On Radio / Format: CS & LP / Label: Radiola - Sandy Hook / Cat. Num.: Csh 2109 & Sh 2109 Rel. Year: 1987 / Tracks: 14 / Note: Appropriates the entire contents of the just discussed item (#2). Unlike the original release, it lacks liner notes.
Issues Shown:
4. Title: If I Could Be With You / Format: LP / Label: Starline's Sounds Rare / Cat. Num.: Sr 5008 / Rel. Year: 1986 / Tracks: 12 / Note: Contains two episodes of The Peggy Lee Show. One of the episodes was originally broadcast in 1951, the other in 1952.
5. Title: If I Could Be With You / Format: CS & LP & CD / Label: Jasmine / Cat. Num.: (England) Jasmc 2534 & Jasm 2534 & Jascd 2534 / Rel. Year: 1987 (CD released in 1993) / Tracks: 12 / Note: Reissue of the previously discussed item (#4). Shown here is the LP version, whose blue lettering distinguishes it from the original Sounds Rare LP.
Issues Shown:
6. Title: Peggy Lee ("The Entertainers" Series) / Format: CS & LP / Label: Joker Tonverlag AG - Sarabandas - Promo Sound AG / Cat. Num.: (Switzerland/Italy) Ent Mc 13 012 & Ent Lp 13 012 / Rel. Year: 1986 / Tracks: 16 / Note: Combines 10 Capitol studio recordings from the 1940s with 6 Decca studio recordings from the 1950s. The company that issued this album was of Swiss origin, but many of its products were released via Italy (where, at the time of this release, copyright for artistic material had a very quick expiration date).
7. Title: Why Don't You Do Right ("The Entertainers" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Joker Tonverlag AG- Sarabandas - Promo Sound AG / Cat. Num.: (Switzerland) Entcd 239 / Rel. Year: 1988 / Tracks: 25 / Note: Combines 13 Capitol recordings with 12 Decca recordings. Of the Capitol masters, 10 are from the 1940s and 3 are from the 1950s. My copy of this CD has a 1996 date, but a few of my sources indicate that it was originally released in Europe in January 1988. Since one of those sources is a publication from the late 1980s, the information appears to be reliable. Alternatively, it could be that a LP and/or a cassette was what was issued at that time, but I am currently inclined to think that the CD indeed dates back to 1988. The aforementioned 1980s source uses the prefix "Entcd," which would seem to point to the compact disc format. (Incidentally, there are yet other sources that list this CD as first released in 1987 or 1988.) On another note, the 1996 pressing which I own lists Promo Sound AG as the label; I do not own the 1988 pressing which reportedly lists Joker Tonverlag as the releasing label. It seems that Joker Tonverlag "[d]evolved into Promo Sound.
Issues Shown:
8. Title: You Can Depend On Me / Format: LP / Label: Glendale - Legend (distributor) / Cat. Num.: Gl 6023 / Rel. Year: 1981 / Tracks: 14 / Note: All tracks were originally recorded in 1945 for the MacGregor radio transcription company.
9. Title: Fever / Format: CS / Label: unknown / Cat. Num.: (England) unknown / Rel. Year: 1988 / Tracks: 10 / Note: Contains 6 Decca recordings and 4 Capitol recordings (3 from the 1940s and one, "Fever," from 1958). Although I am missing relevant information about this cassette, including the name of the label that released it (and although I have never actually seen a physical copy), there are various clues that logically lead to the assumption that it is either a Public Domain or a bootleg item. I would appreciate being told the label's name, and also whether this issue came out in other formats, such as LP and CD.
Issues Shown:
10. Title: The Uncollected Peggy Lee, 1948 / Format: CS & LP & CD / Label: Hindsight / Cat. Num.: Hsc 220 & Hsr 220 & Cdhsr 220 / Rel. Year: 1985 [CD: 1994] / Tracks: 12 / Note: Combines 7 radio transcription recordings (6 made for the World company, 1 for Capitol's transcription branch) with 5 performances taken from various episodes of Let's Go To Town, a National Guard radio show. The release year given in the album's title is misguided: none of these 12 numbers date from 1948.
11. Title: Fever / Format: CD / Label: Jazz World / Cat. Num.: (Denmark) Jw 77023 / Rel. Year: 1988 / Tracks: 16 / Note: Combines 11 Capitol studio recordings with 5 Decca studio recordings. All the Capitol tracks are from the 1940s, except for "Fever" (1958).
Other Qualifying Issues (Whose Artwork I Am Missing):
12. Title: I've Had My Moments / Format: CS / Label: Starline - Legend / Cat. Num.: Slc 61008 / Rel. Year: 1987 / Tracks: 10 / Note: All tracks are MacGregor radio transcriptions, recorded in 1945.
13. See also the year 1998 below, first entry (September In The Rain).
1990
Issues Shown:
1. Title: Them There Eyes / Format: CS / Label: Starline-Legend / Cat. Num.: Slc 61189 / Rel. Year: 1990 / Tracks: 9 / Note: All 9 numbers are Capitol radio transcriptions. Them There Eyes, the title of this release, appears in the spine and in the cassette itself, but not on the front cover.
2. Title: Peggy Lee ("16 Great Songs" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Take 16 / Cat. Num.: (Denmark) 8013 / Rel. Year: 1990 / Tracks: 17 / Note: Half of the tracks are radio transcriptions: 6 from the World company (probably copied from the 1985 album The Uncollected Peggy Lee) and 3 from the MacGregor company. The remainder are performances originally taped for the radio showLet's Go To Town (a total of 5, also probably copied from the 1985 album The Uncollected Peggy Lee) and Decca recordings (3).
1991
Issue Shown:
1. Title: The Peggy Lee Story; 24 Phonographic Memories / Format: Cs & CD / Label: Deja Vu - Retro / Cat. Num.: Dvremc 57 & Dvrecd 57 / Rel. Year: 1991 / Tracks: 24 / Note: Combines 20 performances from the syndicated TV series Something Special with 4 performances from a radio show that Peggy Lee co-hosted with Woody Herman in 1947, The Summer Electric Hour. Lee appeared twice in the TV series. Of the performances heard in this issue, 8 are from her 1966 appearance (including a three-song medley, counted as one), and the other 9 are from her 1967 appearance.
1992
Issue Shown:
1. Title: Old Favorites / Format: CS & CD / Label: Music International / Cat. Num.: P 6014 & P 6002 / Rel. Year: 1992 / Tracks: 10 / Note: 6 tracks are MacGregor radio transcriptions, the other 4 World radio transcriptions, all of them evidently appropriated from the albums that Glendale and Hindsight had issued in the 1980s.
Issues Shown:
2. Title: It's A Good Day {Peggy Lee With Bing Crosby} / Format: CD / Label: Parrot / Cat. Num.: (England) Parcd 001 / Rel. Year: 1992 / Tracks: 20 / Note: All the included performances were taken from episodes of Bing Crosby's radio show. This Parrot CD was the premiere release of the great majority of these tracks; many of them had never been previously issued in any format. Avid reissued all the tracks in 1997, within a 2CD set that also features Crosby's duets with Ella Fitzgerald (see below, under that year).
3. Title: Peggy Lee Sings For You / Format: CS & CD / Label: Avid / Cat. Num.: (England) Avc 514 / Rel. Year: 1992 / Tracks: 20 / Note: All the tracks are World radio transcriptions. This Avid CD was the premiere commercial release of all the tracks, except for a handful that Hindsight had released in The Uncollected Peggy Lee (1985).
Issue Shown:
4. Title: Peggy Lee ("The Wonderful World Of" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Movieplay - Intermusic's Remember / Cat. Num.: (Portugal) Rmb 1780 (75629) / Rel. Year: 1992 / Tracks: 26 / Note: Combines 15 Capitol recordings with 11 Decca recordings. Of the Capitol tracks, 9 are from the 1940s, 4 from the 1950s, and 2 ("I'm A Woman," "Big Spender") from the 1960s. Incidentally, I have never seen a physical copy of this item, and the available information about it is sparse. Because I know of another Movieplay release company that was actually licensed, this particular CD could actually be a licensed issue, not a bootlegged or Public Domain one. See also the CD Fever below, under 1994; it shares more than half of its tracks with this 1992 release.
1993
Issue Shown:
1. Title: Live, 1947 & 1952 / Format: CD / Label: Jazz Band - Flyright / Cat. Num.: (England) Ebdcd 2115 2 / Rel. Year: 1993 / Tracks: 25 (19 featuring Lee, the others featuring her guests) / Note: Combines three complete episodes of The Peggy Lee Show (originally broadcast in 1951 and 1952) with one complete episode of The Summer Electric Hour, a radio show that Peggy Lee co-hosted with Woody Herman in 1947. The tracks from Lee's own shows had never been released before. The tracks from The Summer Electric Hour had been originally issued on Artistic's Easy Listening (1985), but Jazz Band seems to have worked with a sonically better source. (Artistic contains, on the other hand, the tracks from various episodes of The Summer Electric Hour.)
Issues Shown:
2. Title: If I Could Be With You / Format: CS & LP & CD / Label: Jasmine / Cat. Num.: (England) Jasmc 2534 & Jasm 2534 & Jascd 2534 / Rel. Year: 1993 [LP and CS formats originally issued in 1987] / Tracks: 12 / Note: For further details, see this page's first section, which lists this issue in its original formats.
3. Title: Gold / Format: CD / Label: Gold - San Juan Music / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands) Gold 055 / Rel. Year: 1993 / Tracks: 14 / Note: Combines 9 radio transcriptions with 5 performances taken from various episodes of Let's Go To Town, a National Guard radio show. Of the transcriptions, 6 are from the World company, the other 3 from the MacGregor company.
1994
Issue Shown:
1. Title: Fever ("20 Original Classics" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Classic Hits - Charly Schallplat / Cat. Num.: (Germany) Crb 527 / Rel. Year: 1994 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Contains 11 Capitol recordings and 9 Decca recordings. Of the Capitol tracks, 4 date from the 1940s, 6 from the 1950s, and 1 ("I'm A Woman") from 1962. See also the CD Peggy Lee ("The Wonderful World Of" Series) above, under 1992; it shares about half of its tracks with this 1994 release.
Issues Shown:
2. Title: Peggy Lee ("20 Golden Greats - Starburst" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Hughes Leisure Group / Cat. Num.: (Australia-New Zealand) Stb 8849 / Rel. Year: 1994 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Consists entirely of radio material. There are 9 performances from Peggy Lee's own 1951-1952 radio show, 7 performances from Bing Crosby's show, 1 performance from Lee's 1947 Summer Electric Hour show, and 3 MacGregor transcription recordings. This track listing is identical to that of a 1995 British CD entitled Peggy Lee Gold (see next entry).
3. Title: Peggy Lee ("Legends In Music" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Wisepack's Legends / Cat. Num.: (England) Lecd 092 / Rel. Year: 1994 / Tracks: 16 / Note: Combines 11 Capitol recordings, all dating back to the 1940s, with 5 Decca recordings.
Issues Shown:
4. Title: The Uncollected Peggy Lee, 1948 / Format: CS & LP & CD / Label: Hindsight / Cat. Num.: Hsc 220 & Hsr 220 & Cdhsr 220 / Rel. Year: 1994 [LP & CS released in 1985] / Tracks: 12 / Note: For further details, see this page's first section, which lists this issue in its original formats (LP & CS).
5. Title: I Can't Give You Anything But Love / Format: CD / Label: Hitbuster / Cat. Num.: (Israel/Germany) Hb 490023 / Rel. Year: 1994 / Tracks: 16 / Note: Combines 11 Capitol recordings with 5 Decca recordings. All Capitol tracks are from the 1940s, except for "Fever" (1958).
Issue Shown:
6. Title: Let There Be Love; The Best Of Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Castle's / Cat. Num.: (England) Castle Mat 257 (also 316) / Rel. Year: 1994 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Consists of radio numbers only. There are 9 performances from Bing Crosby's radio show, 6 from Lee's own show, and 1 from a guest appearance in a Navy Let's Go To Town show. There are also 4 radio transcription recordings, 2 from the World company, and 1 each from Capitol and MacGregor. The exact same track listing found in this CD has been released in 2 other CDs (seen in the last two images above) which bear the same title but which were released in different years (1995, 1997).
1995
Issue Shown:
1. Title: Gone With The Wind / Format: CD / Label: Musicrama - Actual / Cat. Num.: (England) 7 85118 2 [re-pressed 2001] / Rel. Year: 1995 / Tracks: 14 / Note: Contains 6 World radio transcriptions, 5 MacGregor radio transcriptions, 1 Capitol radio transcription, and 3 performances from Lee's appearances in the radio show Let's Go To Town.
Issues Shown:
2. Title: These Foolish Things & Other Great Standards / Format: CD / Label: Pickwick International's Hallmark - Carlton / Cat. Num.: (England) 300862 / Rel. Year: 1995 / Tracks: 18 / Note: Combines 9 performances from Lee's own show with 9 MacGregor radio transcriptions. The exact same tracks can also be found in The Lady Is A Tramp & Other Great Standards, the item shown next to this one. They bear similar titles, have the same release date, and are both said to have been reissued in 1999. Still further, the information at hand describes both of them as part of a box entitled Ladies Of Song. (That particular bit of information should be partially wrong; it makes more sense to assume that only one of the items is in the box. Then again, the label Hallmark has become gradually infamous for its careless, bottom-of-the-barrel releases. Be it as it may, both CDs were sold separately in stores such as Tower Records and HMV).
3. Title: The Lady Is A Tramp & Other Great Standards / Format: CD / Label: Pickwick International's Hallmark / Cat. Num.: (England) 300862 [Reissue: 1999] / Rel. Year: 1995 / Tracks: 18 / Note: See commentary under the previous item, These Foolish Things & Other Great Standards.
Issue Shown:
4. Title: Peggy Lee Gold / Format: CD / Label: Pickwick International's Hallmark / Cat. Num.: (England) 705462 / Rel. Year: 1995 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Consists entirely of radio material. There are 9 performances from Peggy Lee's own 1951-1952 radio show, 7 performances from Bing Crosby's show, 1 performance from Lee's 1947 Summer Electric Hour show, and 3 MacGregor transcription recordings. This track listing is identical to that of an Australian 1994 CD entitled Peggy Lee ("20 Golden Greats - Starburst" Series) (see previous year's entry). Furthermore, this issue can be found with various different release dates: 1995, 2006, 2007. Given the two slightly different covers shown herein, at least two of those release dates might be correct. Notice also the existence of another Peggy Lee CD, described under the 1993 entries of this page, which has the same title as this one but which otherwise bears no relation.
Issues Shown:
5. Title: I've Got A Crush On You / Format: CD / Label: Avid / Cat. Num.: (England) Avc 549 Rel. Year: 1995 / Tracks: 25 / Note: All tracks were taken from Bing Crosby's radio show, in which Peggy Lee served as the semi-regular girl singer for various seasons. This very fine Avid CD was the premiere release of a good portion of the tracks that it contains.
6. Title: Why Don't You Do Right?, 1947-1948 / Format: CD / Label: Viper's Nest / Cat. Num.: Vn 158 / Rel. Year: 1995 / Tracks: 21 / Note: All but one of this CD's performances were taken from Jimmy Durante's radio show, in which Peggy Lee served as girl singer for a couple of seasons. Presented as a bonus track, the exceptional track is an appearances from the Navy's radio show Let's Go To Town. This worthwhile issue from the American-based label Viper's Nest was the premier commercial release of nearly all of those Lee tracks, which European PD companies went on to gradually appropriate in subsequent years.
Issue Shown:
7. Title: Let There Be Love; The Best Of Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: True Trax / Cat. Num.: (England) Cd 153 / Rel. Year: 1995 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Consists of radio numbers only. There are 9 performances from Bing Crosby's radio show, 6 from Lee's own show, and 1 from a guest appearance in a Navy Let's Go To Town show. There are also 4 radio transcription recordings, 2 from the World company, and 1 each from Capitol and MacGregor. The exact same track listing found in this CD has been released in 2 other CDs (seen in the last two images above) which bear the same title but which were released in different years (1994, 1997).
1996
Issue Shown:
1. Title: Golden Hits / Format: CS & CD / Label: Masters Music / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands) Ma Cs 61078 4 & Cd 61078 2 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Tracks: 12 / Note: Combines 6 MacGregor radio transcriptions with 5 World transcriptions and one performance from the Navy's radio show Let's Go To Town.
Issues Shown:
2. Title: For Sentimental Reasons; 16 Tender & Romantic Classics / Format: CS & CD / Label: Prism Leisure Platinum / Cat. Num.: (England) Plac 160 & Platcd 160 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Tracks: 16 / Note: Combines 2 performances from Bing Crosby's radio show with 5 performances from Lee's own radio show, plus 1 performance from the Navy's radio show Let's Go To Town, 5 MacGregor radio transcriptions, 2 World radio transcriptions, and 1 Capitol radio transcription. For Sentimental Reasons was sold both separately and as part of a 20CD set entitled Best Of Crooners & Divas Collection. Furthermore, in 2002 it was issued yet again, that time as part of a twofer whose other half is Fever, another Pegy Lee CD from the same label.
3. Title: ... Just One Of Those Things / Format: CD / Label: Master Tone Razamataz / Cat. Num.: (England) Rz 4031 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Tracks: 12 / Note: Contains only performances from Jimmy Durante's radio show, most likely appropriated from Viper's Nest 1995 CD Why Don't You Do Right.
Issues Shown:
4. Title: Listen To The Magic / Format: CD / Label: President / Cat. Num.: (England) Plcd 550 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Tracks: 28 / Note: Combines tracks from various radio shows and radio transcriptions. There are 11 performances taken from Bing Crosby's radio shows, 6 from the Lee-hosted Summer Electric Hour, and 4 from Lee's guest appearances in the Navy's Let's Go To Town. Also included are 6 World radio transcriptions and 1 Capitol radio transcription. Incidentally, the entire contents of Hindsight's The Uncollected Peggy Lee 1948 can be found here, with the exception of one track. The CD's two other sources seem to be the Artistic LP Easy Listening and the Parrot CD It's A Good Day. To its credit, the sound of this President CD is of significantly better quality than that of the issues from which it borrows.
5. Title: In The Beginning ... The Legend Of Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Pearl's Flapper Pavilion / Cat. Num.: (England) Past cd 7801 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Tracks: 22 / Note: Contains only Peggy Lee recordings from her big band years with Benny Goodman.
Issues Shown:u>
6. Title: The Lady Is A Tramp ("Platinum Collection" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Janda / Cat. Num.: (New Zealand) Cdplat 078 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Combines 9 performances from Bing Crosby's radio show with 9 performances from Lee's own radio show and 2 MacGregor radio transcriptions.
7. Title: Portrait Of Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Penny Newsound / Cat. Num.: (England) Pycd 148 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Tracks: 18 / Note: Combines 9 MacGregor radio transcriptions with 1 World radio transcription, 7 performances from Lee's own radio show, and 1 performance from the Navy's radio show Let's Go To Town.
Issue Shown:
8. Title: Peggy Lee ("The Gold Collection" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Deja Vu- Retro / Cat. Num.: (EEC) R2cd 94034 / Rel. Year: 1996 Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 40 / Note: Contains 18 World radio transcriptions along with 4 performance from the Lee-hosted Summer Electric Hour, and the audio of 18 performances from the two episodes that Lee taped for the syndicated TV show Something Special (6 from the 1966 special, 12 from the 1967 special). Deja Vu also re-released this set in 2001 in a so-called "Deluxe Edition" which uses different artwork (seen in the last two images above) and improves on this earlier version's sound quality.
Issue Shown:
9. Title: Why Don't You Do Right ("The Entertainers" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Joker Tonverlag AG- Sarabandas - Promo Sound AG / Cat. Num.: (Switzerland) 239 / Rel. Year: 1988 / Tracks: 25 / Note: Although my own (re-pressed?) copy of this CD bears a 1996 release date, various sources indicate that it was originally released in either 1986 or 1987. For further details, see above, in the section for 1980s issues.
Other Qualifying Issues (Whose Artwork I Am Currently Missing):
10. Title: Peggy Lee ("The Legends Collection" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Fast Forward / Cat. Num.: (England) Ffcd 502 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Tracks: 16 / Note: Mixes 6 MacGregor radio transcriptions with 5 performances from Lee's own radio show, 2 World radio transcriptions, 2 performances from Bing Crosby's radio show, and 1 performance from a guest appearance in The Navy's Let's Go To Town.
1997
Issue Shown:
1. Title: Let's Do It / Format: CS & CD / Label: Delta Music / Cat. Num.: (England) Mc 7102 & Cd 6102 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Tracks: 20 / Note: With the exception of two numbers (both of them taken from Lee's own radio show), all tracks are early 1940s studio recordings from Lee's big band years with Benny Goodman. The same year in the Netherlands, this CD was apparently released with the same title but a different front cover (see #2 below), and under a different label (Golden Options).
Issue Shown:
2. Title: Let's Do It / Format: CD / Label: Golden Options / Cat. Num.: (England) Go 3812 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Tracks: 20 / Note: With the exception of two numbers (both of them taken from Lee's own radio show), all tracks are early 1940s studio recordings from Lee's big band years with Benny Goodman. This CD was simultaneously released in England with the same title but with a different front cover (image #1), and under a different label. In 2006, Golden Options reissued it once more, at that time with 2 additional tracks and the new title Fever; as can be seen in the last two images above, the original artwork was kept.
Issues Shown:
3. Title: Peggy Lee ("Mystic Music" Series) / Format: CD / Label: United Audio / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands) Uae 30712 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Tracks: 24 / Note: Includes 9 Columbia recordings from Lee's big band years with Benny Goodman, 6 World radio transcriptions, 6 performances from Jimmy Durante's radio show, and 3 performances from Lee's appearances in the Navy's Let's Go To Town radio shows.
4. Title: Why Don't You Do Right?; 25 Early Hits /Format: CD / Label: Asv Living Era / Cat. Num.: (England) Aja 5237 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Tracks: 25 / Note: Concentrates on Lee's earliest years of recording activity. There are 14 Columbia recordings with Benny Goodman (1941-1943) and 11 Capitol solo recordings, the latter covering the years 1944 to 1946.
Issues Shown:
5. Title: First Lady Of Song ("Memories of Yester-Years" Series, Volume 3) / Format: CD / Label: Samba Entertainment / Cat. Num.: (England) Mtlcd 5052 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Tracks: 10 / Note: Appropriates 10 of the 12 tracks originally released in the 1985 Hindsight album The Uncollected Peggy Lee. The tracks can be itemized as 5 World radio trancriptions, 1 Capitol radio transcription, and 4 performances from Lee's appearances in the Navy's radio show Let's Go To Town.
6. Title: Peggy Lee ("The Platinum Collection" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Platinum - Start Entertainments / Cat. Num.: (England) Pc 617 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 40 / Note: This set includes 19 performances from Jimmy Durante's radio show, all of them obviously appropriated from Viper Nest's 1995 CD Why Don't You Do Right?. The rest of the tracks also come from radio. About 9 of them are from Bing Crosby's show, and about 6 others come from Lee's own show. There is also a couple of appearances from a Navy-sponsored show (Let's Go To Town) and 4 transcriptions from three different companies (Capitol, MacGregor and World).
Issue Shown:
7. Title: Let There Be Love / Format: CD / Label: Planet Media and Entertainment / Cat. Num.: (England) Plm 1027 / Rel. Year: 2000 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Consists of radio numbers only. There are 9 performances from Bing Crosby's show, 6 from Lee's own show, and 1 from a guest appearance in a Navy Let's Go To Town show. There are also 4 radio transcription recordings, 2 from the World company, and 1 each from Capitol and MacGregor. The exact same track listing found in this CD has been released in 2 other CDs, both of which released earlier (1994, 1995) and both of which carry the same title as this one. Their front covers can be seen in the last two images above.
Issue Shown:
8. Title: Peggy Lee With The Dave Barbour Band; Nat King Cole Trio 1943/49, The Vocal Sides / Format: CD / Label: Capriole / Cat. Num.: (Germany) Hmr 1009 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Tracks: 27 / Note: This CD combines 14 of Peggy Lee's MacGregor transcriptions (previously released by Glendale-Legend and by Laserlight) with 13 transcription numbers by Nat King Cole. A twofer of sorts, it is also a reissue of two CDs issued by an American label. From Laserlight's Nat King Cole Trio 1943-49 (1990), Capriole took only the vocal sides, leaving out the discs' 5 instrumentals. From Laserlight's Peggy Lee With The Dave Barbour Band (1991), Capriole took every track. Common to the American and the German label is the same parent company (and/or distributor?), Delta, which also seems to be behind various bargain basement, exploitative releases listed elsewhere in this page.
Issue Shown:
9. Title: Extra Special! / Format: CD / Label: Marginal / Cat. Num.: (Belgium) Mar 068 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Tracks: 31 / Note: This CD includes 3 Capitol recordings from 1947, 2 Decca recordings from 1956, and 26 more Capitol recordings, recorded between 1957 and 1969.
Issue Shown:
10. Title: Bing Crosby With Ella Fitzgerald And Peggy Lee, Featuring Fred Astaire / Format: CD / Label: Avid / Cat. Num.: (England) Avc 624 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Volumes: 2 / Note; All the included performances were taken from episodes of Bing Crosby's radio show. One CD is dedicated to Peggy Lee, the other to Ella Fitzgerald; in both cases, female solos and duets with Crosby are combined. The set is actually a reissue. In 1992, the two CDs had been separately released, with entirely different artwork and different titles (It's A Good Day and My Happiness).
1998
Issue Shown:
1. Title: September In The Rain ("Norma Rare Item Collection" Series) / Format: Collectors' Pressing LP / Label: Norma / Cat. Num.: (Japan) Nlp 1010 / Rel. Year: 1998 / Tracks: 8 / Note: This Japanese vinyl, pressed during the post-LP era, is exclusively dedicated to the radio transcriptions that Peggy Lee recorded in 1945 for the MacGregor company. About half of them are included. I assume the album to be a straight reissue of an old American LP on Candlelite Records (see the label identification on the upper right of the front cover). However, I have never seen that hypothetical Candlelight album, nor have I been able to confirm its existence in any other way.
Issues Shown:
2. Title: Peggy Lee ("Forever Classic" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Mastertone / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands) 0395 / Rel. Year: 1998 / Tracks: 18 / Note: Combines 10 radio transcriptions (9 from MacGregor, 1 from World) with 8 radio broadcast performances (7 from Lee's own show, 1 from the Navy's Let's Go To Town). See also next entry.
3. Title: Peggy Lee ("The Great Vocalists" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Ronco-Telstar / Cat. Num.: (England) Cdsr 051 (Reissued as Cdsr 9007) / Rel. Year: 1998 / Tracks: 18 / Note: If the information at hand is correct, this item has the exact same tracks as the previous one. (I do not own copies of the two CDs in question.) Furthermore, the front covers show the same photo, though the artwork is different otherwise. The country of release is among the other differences. See also the CD The Lady Is Peggy Lee in the next section.
1999
Issue Shown:
1. Title: A Musical Marriage; Peggy Lee & Dave Barbour / Format: CD / Label: Jasmine / Cat. Num.: (England) Jascd 355 / Rel. Year: 1999 / Tracks: 22 / Note: All 22 tracks are Capitol transcription recordings, appropriated from the licensed 5CD set The Complete Peggy Lee & June Christy Capitol Transcription Sessions, on Mosaic Records.
Issues Shown:
2. Title: The Lady Is Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Newsound / Cat. Num.: (England) Nst 026 / Rel. Year: 1999 / Tracks: 18 / Note: Combines 10 radio transcriptions (9 from MacGregor, 1 from World) with 8 radio broadcast performances (7 from Lee's own show, 1 from the Navy's Let's Go To Town). The contents are actually the same as on two 1998 CDs from the labels Mastertone and Ronco labels (items #2 and #3 in the previous section).
3. Title: A Portrait Of Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Gallerie-Music Collection / Cat. Num.: (England) Gale 442 / Rel. Year: 1999 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 47 / Note: All the tracks are studio recordings, with the exceptions of 5 Capitol radio transcriptions. Of the 42 recordings, 16 are Columbia big band recordings with Benny Goodman, and 26 are Capitol masters.
Issues Shown:
4. Title: The Fever Of ... Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Going-For-A-Song / Cat. Num.: (England) Gfs 241 / Rel. Year: 1999 / Tracks: 24 / Note: Contains studio recordings only, all from the 1940s. The bulk are from Lee's Capitol years. There are also 4 masters from her big band years with Benny Goodman.
5. Title: Oh La La Lee / Format: CD / Label: Great Voices Of The Century / Cat. Num.: (England) Gvc 2006 / Rel. Year: 1999 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 47 / Note: Contains 24 studio recordings (18 from her Columbia big band years, 6 from her Capitol years), 20 radio transcriptions (13 from MacGregor, 6 from World, 1 from Capitol), and 3 performances from Lee's guest appearances in the Navy's radio show Let's Go To Town. As far as Public Domain issues go, Oh La La Lee is a reasonable good-sounding, chronologically sequenced 2CD set with fine liner notes by Joop Arts.
Issues Shown:
6. Title: The Wonderful Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Audio Book & Music [ABM] / Cat. Num.: (England) Abmmcd 1024 / Rel. Year: 1999 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Contains studio recordings only, all from the 1940s. The bulk are from Lee's big band years with Benny Goodman. There are also 7 Capitol masters. This CD was reissued on another label (Acrobat) in 2002.
7. Title: It's Lovin' Time / Format: CD / Label: Audio Book & Music [ABM] / Cat. Num.: (England) Abmmcd 1092 / Rel. Year: 1999 / Tracks: 18 / Note: Contains studio recordings only, all from the 1940s. The bulk are from Lee's Capitol years. There are also 5 masters from her big band years with Benny Goodman and a rare Disney master ("Two Silhouetes"). This CD was reissued on another label (Hallmark ) in 2001.
Issue Shown:
8. Title: Mañana / Format: CD / Label: Castle-Pie / Cat. Num.: (England) Piesd 045 / Rel. Year: 1999 / Tracks: 20 / Note: The CD Mañana was apparently sold not only separately but also as part of two Castle Pie packages, both of them entitled Ladies Of Jazz, though featuring different front covers. One is a 3 CD set, catalogue number #904, whose first disc is dedicated to Ella Fitzgerald and the third to Billie Holiday. The other item is a 4CD set whose discs are dedicated to Holiday (the first), Fitzgerald, Lee, and Vaughan (the last). A few exceptions aside, the Lee CD concentrates on Capitol recordings from the 1940s. The exceptions consist of 2 masters from her big band years with Benny Goodman, 1 World radio transcription, and 4 radio broadcast performances (3 from Bing Crosby's show, 1 from the Lee-hosted show The Summer Electric Hour).
Issue Shown:
8. Title: Everything I Love ("The Great Vocalists Of Jazz & Entertainment" Series) / Format: CD / Label: History / Cat. Num.: (Germany) 20.3046 Hi / Rel. Year: 1999 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 35 / Note: Though sold as a separate unit online, this Peggy Lee item is actually part of a 40 CD box, shown in the first and last images. The CD contains studio recordings only (no radio or TV material), all from the 1940s. Of the 35 tracks, 15 stem from Lee's big band years with Benny Goodman. The rest are Capitol masters.
Issue Shown:
10. Title: Great Female Vocalists {Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, And Billie Holiday} / Format: CD / Label: Going-For-A-Song / Cat. Num.: (England) Gfs 4018 / Rel. Year: 1999 / Volumes: 4 / Tracks: 24 / Note: This Peggy Lee disc, though sold in the internet nowadays as a separate unit, is actually part of the 4CD box that is shown in the first abd third images. (Listed above, next to this issue's title, are the other 3 female vocalists to whom discs were also dedicated in this box.) The Lee program concentrates on Capitol recordings from the 1940s. The exceptions are 4 masters from Lee's big band years with Benny Goodman.
2000
Issue Shown:
1. Title: Linger / Format: CD / Label: Snapper-Recall / Cat. Num.: (England) Smdcd 304 / Rel. Year: 2000 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 48 / Note: Contains 11 radio transcriptions (8 from MacGregor, 2 from World, 1 from Capitol), 29 radio broadcast performances (11 from Jimmy Durante's show, 8 from Bing Crosby's show, 8 more from Lee's own show, 2 from her appearances in the Navy's Let's Go To Town shows), and 8 Columbia recordings from Lee's big band years with Benny Goodman. Of all Public Domain CD releases, I consider Linger the best one, primarily due to a well-balanced and well-sequenced choice of selections. It could be used as a fine primer to Lee's world of radio and big band swing.
Issues Shown:
2. Title: In Love With Peggy Lee ("Dressed To Kill" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Metrodome / Cat. Num.: (England) Metro 331 / Rel. Year: 2000 / Tracks: 22 / Note: Combines 15 Capitol studio recordings and 3 Columbia studio recordings (the latter from the Benny Goodman years) with 2 MacGregor radio transcriptions, 1 World radio transcription, and 1 performance from Lee's guest appearances in the Navy's radio show Let's Go To Town.
3. Title: Let There Be Love / Format: CD / Label: Planet Media and Entertainment / Cat. Num.: (England) Plm 1027 / Rel. Year: 2000 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Combines 9 recordings from Lee's big band years with 9 reecordings from her early solo years on Capitol. Also includes 1 World radio transcription and 1 duet performances from a guest appearance on a Frank Sinatra radio show.
Issues Shown:
3. Title: The Great Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Rajon Music Group / Cat. Num.: (Australia) Red 021 / Rel. Year: 2000 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 48 / Note: Combines 16 Columbia recordings from Lee's years as The Benny Goodman Orchestra's vocalist with 32 Capitol solo tracks (27 studio masters, 5 radio transcriptions).
4. Title: Peggy Lee ("Cocktail Hour" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Columbia River-Allegro / Cat. Num.: Crg 218010 / Rel. Year: 2000 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 28 / Note: Contains studio recordings only. There are 9 from Lee's Columbia years as The Benny Goodman Orchestra's vocalist, 18 from her solo years on Capitol, and 1 number recorded for what seems to have been a Disney promotional album.
Issues Shown:
5. Title: The Lady Is A Tramp / Format: CD / Label: Bianco / Cat. Num.: (England) Bia 4014 or Bia 4208 / Rel. Year: 2000 / Tracks: 20 or 24 / Note: I do not own a copy of this CD, for which I mysteriously have two different track listings, each obtained from a different source. According to the source that lists 20 tracks, the CD combines 13 studio recordings (8 from Lee's Columbia years as The Benny Goodman Orchestra's vocalist and 5 from her solo years on Capitol) with 7 radio broadcast performances (6 from Lee's own radio show, 1 from her hostess period on The Summer Electric Hour"). According to the source that lists 24 tracks, the combination consists of 8 studio recordings (3 for Columbia, 5 for Capitol) 7 radio transcriptions (3 from MacGregor, 3 from World, 1 from Capitol) and 9 radio broadcasts (5 from Lee's own show, 2 from Jimmy Durante's show, 2 from her appearances in the Navy's Let's Go To Town show).
6. Title: The Elegant Miss Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Mastertech / Cat. Num.: (Australia) 502022 / Rel. Year: 2000 / Tracks: 17 / Note: Contains studio recordings only. There are 12 from Columbia (with The Benny Goodman Orchestra), 5 from Capitol.
2001
Issue Shown:
1. Title: That Old Feeling ... You Go To My Head / Format: CD / Label: Tim International / Cat. Num.: (Germany) 205422 304 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 40 / Note: Over two thirds of the tracks are Capitol studio recordings. The exceptions are 7 Decca studio recordings and either 9 or 10 Capitol radio transcriptions.
Issue Shown:
2. Title: Black Coffee ("Silver Line" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Tim International's Past Perfect / Cat. Num.: (Germany) 205797203 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Combines 12 Decca studio recordings with 8 Capitol studio transcriptions. Among the Decca tracks, there are 7 from the 10" album Black Coffee -- i.e., all but one of that album's tracks. (The spared number is "Love Me Or Leave Me.")
Issues Shown:
3. Title: Peggy Lee ("Greatest Hits" Series) / Format: CS & CD / Label: Musicbank / Cat. Num.: (England) Apwmc 1183 & Apwcd 1183 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Combines 10 performances from Lee's 1966-1967 Something Special TV shows with 7 World radio transcriptions from the 1950s. There are also 2 numbers from The Summer Electric Hour, a radio show that Lee co-hosted in 1947.
4. Title: The Complete Capitol Small Group Transcriptions / Format: CD / Label: Disconforme / Cat. Num.: (Spain) Jfcd 22822 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 54 / Note: One of the most exploitative releases in the market, this set appropriated all of the Capitol transcription performances that Mosaic had commercially issued (most of them for the first time ever) and re-released them while the original Mosaic set was still in the market. The only transcription performances left out (for legal reasons that made them off limits) were those that the Mosaic booklet identifies as never before released (either commercially or on transcription record).
Issues Shown:
5. Title: The Way You Look Tonight / Format: CD / Label: Brisa / Cat. Num.: (Germany) 48036 2bd & (U.S.) 48309 2 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Tracks: 14 / Note: All but 2 of the tracks are Columbia big band studio recordings with Benny Goodman. The exceptions are Capitol studio recordings.
6. Title: Peggy Lee ("Vocal Jazz" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Ediciones Folio - Gyc Records / Cat. Num.: (Spain) Efvj 0__ / Rel. Year: 2001 / Tracks: 18 / Note: All but 5 of the tracks are Capitol studio recordings. The exceptions consist of 2 Columbia big band studio recordings (with Benny Goodman), 2 performances from radio broadcasts (1 from Bing Crosby's show, 1 from Lee's co-hosted radio show The Summer Electric Hour) and 1 World transcription.
Issues Shown:
7. Title: The Best Of Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Pegasus / Cat. Num.: (France) Pegcd 346 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Combines 17 Columbia big band studio recordings from the Benny Goodman era with 3 performances from radio broadcasts (2 from Lee's own show, 1 from the show that she co-hosted with Woody Herman during the summer of 1947, The Summer Electric Hour).
8. Title: Golden Earrings / Format: CD / Label: Movieplay-Intermusic's Goldies / Cat. Num.: (Portugal) Gld 25438 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 42 / Note: Combines 28 Capitol studio recordings with 14 Columbia big band studio recordings from the Benny Goodman era. Incidentally, some of this label's issues are known to be licensed, and thus official. In the case of Golden Earrings, the combination of tracks from two different labels has led me to the assumption that it is a Public Domain disc. I do not own a copy of Golden Earrings, nor do I have any solid corroboration for my assumption.
Issues Shown:
9. Title: Golden Earrings ("Flashback" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Wea / Cat. Num.: (Australia) 8573877082 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Tracks: 20 / Note: All tracks are Capitol studio recordings, except for 2 Columbia big band studio recordings (with Benny Goodman) and 1 Capitol radio transcription. Wea might be the distributor instead of the releasing label, in which case the identity of the latter remains unknown to me.
10. Title: Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Forever Gold-Solo-Pacific Entertainment / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands) Fg 080 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Tracks: 15 / Note: Combines 9 radio transcriptions (6 from World, 3 from MacGregor) with 5 performances from guest appearances in the Navy's Let's Go To Town. There is also 1 Capitol studio recording.
Issues Shown:
11. Title: Why Don't You Do Right?; 1943-1947 / Format: CD Label: Magic / Submarine / Cat. Num.: (England) Dawe 102 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Tracks: 15 / Note: Combines 13 performances from the 1947 radio show The Summer Electric Hour (hosted by Peggy Lee and Woody Herman) with two performances from a 1943 AFRS radio show featuring Benny Goodman and his canary, Peggy Lee.
12. Title: Why Don't You Do Right ("A Jazz Hour With" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Movieplay-Intermusic's A Jazz Hour / Cat. Num.: (Portugal) Jhr 73607 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Tracks: 22 / Note: All tracks are Columbia studio recordings from Lee's big band years with Benny Goodman.
Issue Shown:
13. Title: It's Lovin' Time / Format: CD / Label: Pickwick International's Hallmark / Cat. Num.: (England) Halmcd 1320 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Tracks: 18 / Note: Contains studio recordings only, all from the 1940s. The bulk are from Lee's Capitol years. There are also 5 masters from her big band years with Benny Goodman and a rare Disney master ("Two Silhouetes"). This CD is actually a reissue of a 1999 release on the ABM label (shown in the last two images), with the same title and tracks but different artwork.
Issues Shown:
14. Title: Divas {Lee, Garland, Fitzgerald, Vaughan} / Format: CD / Label: Newsound / Cat. Num.: (England) Nstbx 422 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Volumes: 4 / Tracks: 18 / Note: This seems to be an abbreviated, alternate edition of the set The Greatest Female Voices Ever, to be discussed next. The tracks are the same as in that issue. Since the internet is my only source for details about this set and the next one (I do not own copies of either item), mistakes in the information are highly possible. All the Peggy Lee tracks found in Divas are either radio transcriptions (9 from MacGregor, 1 from World) or performances from radio broadcasts (6 from Lee's own show, 2 from her appearances in the Navy's Let's Go To Town).
15. Title: The Greatest Female Voices Ever {Holiday, Lee, Fitzgerald, Washington, Garland, Vaughan} / Format: CD / Label: Newsound and (or) Trancemaster / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands?) Nstbx 602 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Volumes: 6 / Tracks: 18 / Note: This seems to be an expanded edition of the set Divas, discussed immediately above. The tracks are the same ones as in that issue. Tis CD's label is identified in some websites as Newsound, in others as Trancemaster. (Notice that the prefix Nstbx is typically found in boxed sets released by Newsound, a fact that substantially diminishes the possibility of Trancemaster as the releasing label.)
Issue Shown:
16. Title: Peggy Lee ("Deluxe Edition; The Gold Collection" Series") / Format: CD / Label: Deja Vu - Retro / Cat. Num.: (EEC) R2cd 94034 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 40 / Note: Contains 18 World radio transcriptions, 4 performances from the Lee-hosted radio show Summer Electric Hour, and the audio of 18 performances from the syndicated TV show Something Special (6 from an episode televised in 1966, 12 from an episode televised the following year). Deja Vu had originally released this set in 1996 with different artwork and lesser sound quality.
2002
Issue Shown:
1. Title: Rendez-Vous / Format: CD / Label: Soldore / Cat. Num.: (EEC) Sol 580 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Tracks: 21 / Note: Contains studio recordings only, 12 from Capitol and 9 from Columbia (the latter being big band era Benny Goodman masters).
Issues Shown:
2. Title: Fever; 24 Golden Classics / Format: CD / Label: MasterSong / Cat. Num.: (Australia) 5050572 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Tracks: 24 / Note: Contains 10 radio transcriptions (7 from World, 3 from MacGregor), 8 performances from Lee's 1966-1967 Something Special TV shows, and 6 radio broadcast performances (1 from Lee's own show, 2 from guest appearances in the Navy's Let's Go To Town, 3 from the Lee co-hosted show The Summer Electric Hour).
3. Title: Let There Be Love / Format: CD / Label: Sunflower / Cat. Num.: Sun 2092 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Combines 15 radio broadcast performances (8 from Bing Crosby shows, 4 from Lee's own show, 1 from a guest appearance in the Navy's radio show Let's Go To Town) with 5 radio transcriptions (3 from World, 1 from MacGregor and 1 from Capitol).
Issues Shown:
4. Title: Let's Do It / Format: CD / Label: Rajon Music Group / Cat. Num.: (Australia) Rmgs 1048 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Combines 12 Capitol studio recordings with 4 Columbia studio recordings from the big band era and 4 radio transcriptions (1 from MacGregor, 3 from Capitol).
5. Title: It's A Good Day; Original Recordings, 1941-1950 / Format: CD / Label: Naxos / Cat. Num.: (England) 8.120642 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Chronologically features 4 recordings from Lee's days as Benny Goodman's big band singer and 16 recordings from her solo years at Capitol in the 1940s.
Issues Shown:
6. Title: It's A Good Day ("Sounds Of The 20th Century" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Rajon Music Group / Cat. Num.: (Australia) 2029 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 36 / Note: All but three tracks are Capitol studio recordings. The exceptions are Capitol radio transcriptions.
7. Title: It's A Good Day; 50 Original Mono Recordings, 1941-1951 / Format: CD / Label: Asv Living Era / Cat. Num.: (England) Aja 266 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 50 / Note: Chronologically features 19 recordings from Lee's days as Benny Goodman's big band singer and 31 recordings from her solo years at Capitol in the 1940s.
Issue Shown:
8. Title: The Peggy Lee Story / Format: CD / Label: Proper / Cat. Num.: (England) 45 P 1277 1280 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Volumes: 4 / Tracks: 95 / Note: Contains 14 Columbia studio recordings (from Lee's big band years with Benny Goodman), 8 radio broadcast performances (5 from Jimmy Durante's show, 3 from Bing Crosby's show), and about 17 Capitol radio transcriptions. All the other tracks are Capitol studio recordings.
Issue Shown:
9. Title: Ladies Serenade {Sarah Vaughan, Peggy Lee, Doris Day} / Format: CD / Label: Madacy-North Coast / Cat. Num.: (Canada) 6887 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 10 / Note: The CD dedicated to Lee (second and fourth images) contains her Columbia studio recordings with Benny Goodman, from the big band era.
Issue Shown:
10. Title: Peggy Lee ("Triple Treasures" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Digimode - MusicPro / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands) Zhus 30072; 678654 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 57 / Note: Each of this set's discs features 19 tracks. The blurry image seen above is the box's cover, whereas the clearer images display the front covers of the individual CDs. (I should note, in passing, that used copies of these CDs are oftentimes sold separately by internet vendors, who do not acknowledge -- or do not know about -- the discs' origination in a box.) This set includes the usual motley array of tracks. Among them are 19 World radio transcriptions and 6 radio numbers (4 originally broadcast in Lee's own show, 2 taped for the Navy's program Let's Go To Town). All those numbers date from the 1950s. There are also tracks from the 1940s: 5 MacGregor radio transcriptions, 4 performances originally broadcast in the Lee-co-hosted radio show The Summer Electric Hour, 2 performances from Bing Crosby' radio show, 2 Capitol studio recordings, and 1 Capitol radio transcription. Finally, the set also includes 18 performances from the two episodes of the syndicated show Something Special, one of which was televised in 1966, the other in 1967.
Issue Shown:
11. Title: Swingin' Ladies Of Jazz {Judy Garland, Sarah Vaughan, Peggy Lee} / Format: CD / Label: Joan Records BV / Cat. Num.: (Germany) 7242 (7240-7242) / Rel. Year: 2002 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 21 / Note: The Peggy Lee CD in this set combines 12 Decca studio recordings with 8 Capitol radio transcriptions. The tracks are the same ones found in the 2001 CD Black Coffee ("Silver Line" Series). As is the case with other similar sets, used copies of these CDs are oftentimes sold separately by internet vendors, who do not acknowledge -- or do not know about -- the discs' origination in a box.
Issues Shown:
12. Title: The Best Of Peggy Lee ("Original Hits" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Tim International's Worten Jazz / Cat. Num.: (Germany) ___ / Rel. Year: 2002 / Tracks: 17 / Note: All tracks are Capitol studio recordings.
13. Title: The Wonderful Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Acrobat / Cat. Num.: (England) Acrcd 111 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Tracks: 17 / Note: Combines 12 Columbia studio recordings from the big band era with 5 Capitol recordings from the 1940s.
Issue Shown:
14. Title: Why Don't You Do Right ("Silver Line" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Tim International's Past Perfect / Cat. Num.: (Germany) 204329 203 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Tracks: 17 / Note: Contains Capitol studio recordings only.
15. Title: 'S Wonderful {Doris Day, Peggy Lee} / Format: CD / Label: Delta Blue Music / Cat. Num.: (England) 63048 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 20 / Note: One CD is dedicated to Doris Day numbers, the other to Peggy Lee numbers. The Lee disc contains 18 Columbia studio recordings from the big band era and 2 numbers from Lee's radio show, the latter broadcast in the early 1950s.
Issue Shown:
16. Title: Peggy Lee ("Idols" Box) / Format: CD / Label: Signature / Cat. Num.: (England) Signcd 2132 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Though often sold separately, this CD was actually part of a boxed 6CD set entitled Idols (seen in the last image). It is the set's first disc, whose other five discs are dedicated to Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O'Day, and Doris Day. The track listing of the Peggy Lee CD can be itemized as follows: 9 Columbia studio recordings from the big band era, 7 Capitol studio recordings, 3 performances from the radio show The Summer Electric Hour (co-hosted by Lee with Woody Herman), and 1 relatively rare performance from a guest appearance in the American Forced Radio Service show Jubilee ("I Get The Blues When It Rains"). This compact disc suffers from horrendous sound quality; speed distortion causes Lee to come off as hoarse and heavily sedated. Also, the track listing features one mistake: track #17 is misidentified as "Waiting For The Train To Come In," when it is actually "It Takes A Long, Long Train With A Big Caboose."
Issue Shown:
17. Title: The Very Best Of Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: First Budget International - Kala / Cat. Num.: 70 2192 [re-pressed in 2005] / Rel. Year: 2002 / Tracks: 21 / Note: Combines 18 Columbia big band studio recordings from the Benny Goodman years (early 1940s) with 2 performances from Lee's radio show (early 1950s) and 1 World radio transcription (also from the early 1950s). Obviously, the title of this cheap and inconsequential disc is outrageously off the mark.
Issue Shown:
18. Title: Fever; 24 Favourite Songs / Format: CD / Label: Prism Leisure Platinum / Cat. Num.: (England) Platcd 716 [reissued by Golden Sounds] / Rel. Year: 2002 / Tracks: 24 / Note: Fever includes 7 Columbia studio recordings from the big band era, 3 Capitol radio transcriptions, and 1 performance from Lee's 1967 Something Special TV show (the titular song). All other tracks are Capitol studio recordings. The Platinum label sold this CD both separately and as part of a 20CD collection known as Best Of Crooners & Divas Collection (last image above). Additionally, the CD was also packaged as part of a twofer entitled Peggy Lee; 40 Oustanding Performances. The twofer paired Fever with For Sentimental Reasons, which had been available separately a few years earlier (1996).
2003
Issue Shown:
1. Title: My Old Flame / Format: CD / Label: Legends Of Jazz / Cat. Num.: 18020 2 / Rel. Year: 2003 / Tracks: 18 / Note: Consists of 14 studio recordings (8 from Capitol, 6 from Columbia) and 4 performances from radio broadcasts (2 from the Lee co-hosted show The Summer Electric Hour, 1 from a guest appearance in the Navy's Let's Go To Town, and 1 from Lee's own show).
Issue Shown:
2-3. Title: The First Ladies ("American Legends" Series) {Peggy Lee, Dinah Washington, Judy Garland} / Format: CD / Label: K-tel / Cat. Num.: (England) Ecd 3741 (3740 3742) / Rel. Year: 2003 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 20 / Note: The Peggy Lee CD in this set combines 10 World radio transcriptions with 5 Capitol studio recordings, 4 Columbia (Benny Goodman) studio recordings, and one performance from Lee's own radio show. Although K-Tel usually licenses its music releases, in the case of this disc the motley combination of tracks suggests that the label might have taken shelter in European Public Domain regulations.
Issues Shown:
4. Title: "Lover" / Format: CD / Label: Black Cat / Cat. Num.: (made in Czech Republic) Bccd 025 / Rel. Year: 2003 / Tracks: 20 / Note: A bottom-of-the-barrel release even amidst C-grade Public Domain compilations, this is one of two CDs whose respective covers show photos of women who are not Peggy Lee. (To see the other cover, go to the year 2006.) The bul of "Lover"'s track listing consists of Columbia big band studio recordings with Benny Goodman. There are also 2 performances from Lee's radio show and 2 or 3 Capitol studio recordings.
5. Title: Miss Standing Ovation / Format: CD / Label: Joker Tonverlag AG - Sarabandas - Promo Sound AG / Cat. Num.: 39106 / Rel. Year: 2003 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Most of tracks are studio recordings (12 from Capitol, 5 from Decca). There are also 2 guest appearances from the Navy's radio show Let's Go To Town and 1 World radio transcription.
2004
Issue Shown:
1. Title: A Nightingale Can Sing The Blues ("Document" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Tim International / Cat. Num.: (Germany) 220838 [220839-220843] / Rel. Year: 2004 / Volumes: 5 / Tracks: 98 / Note: Sequenced in a roughly chronological manner, the first 20 tracks in this 5CD set are from Lee's big band days with Benny Goodman at Columbia Records, and the last disc contains 16 of the masters that Peggy Lee recorded for Decca. The middle discs include 14 of her Capitol radio transcriptions. All other tracks are Capitol studio recordings, dated from 1944 to 1952.
Issues Shown:
2. Title: Peggy Lee ("The Discovery Of Jazz" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Weton-Wesgram's and Flex Media's Centurion Jazz / Cat. Num.: (Germany) Iejg 2033 / Rel. Year: 2004 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 36 / Note: Contains 29 studio recordings (6 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 18 from her early Capitol years, 5 from her Decca period) and 7 Capitol radio transcriptions.
3. Title: Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Weton-Wesgram's and Flex Media's Centurion Jazz / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands) Iebi 1038 / Rel. Year: 2004 / Tracks: 17 / Note: Contains only Capitol studio recordings, all of them from the 1945-1947 period.
Issues Shown:
4. Title: It's A Good Day / Format: CD / Label: Riff City Entertainment / Cat. Num.: Rcd 50 286 / Rel. Year: 2004 / Tracks: 14 / Note: All the tracks are World radio transcriptions.
5. Title: I Get Ideas ("A Proper Introduction" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Proper / Cat. Num.: (England) Intro Cd 2003 / Rel. Year: 2004 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 25 / Note: Contains studio recordings only (14 from Capitol, 9 from Decca, and 2 from the big band years at Columbia).
Issue Shown:
6. Title: Peggy Lee Collection; 61 Classic Performances ("Diamond Collection" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Mastertech / Cat. Num.: (Australia) Mra 009 / Rel. Year: 2004 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 61 / Note: Contains 35 studio recordings (14 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 16 from her early Capitol years, 5 from her Decca period), 10 radio transcriptions (7 from World and 3 from MacGregor), 9 performances from Lee's 1966-1967 Something Special TV shows and 7 radio broadcast performances (3 from Lee's own show, 3 from the Lee co-hosted show The Summer Electric Hour, 1 from guest appearances in the Navy's Let's Go To Town).
Issues Shown:
7. Title: Platinum Classic Collection {Peggy Lee, Patsy Cline} / Format: CD / Label: Platinum-Start Entertainments / Cat. Num.: (Canada) Pcc 4902 / Rel. Year: 2004 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 15 / Note: One of this set's CDs is dedicated to Peggy Lee, the other to Patsy Cline. All the Lee tracks are Capitol studio masters recorded between 1945 and 1947, except for two 1941 Columbia recordings from Lee's years as a big band singer.
8. Title: Peggy Lee ("Jazz After Hours With..." Series) / Format: CD / Label: Performax-MRA / Cat. Num.: (Australia) Max 019 (Mra 202) / Rel. Year: 2004 / Tracks: 15 / Note: Contains studio recordings only -- 10 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 5 from her early Capitol years.
Issues Shown:
9. Title: Peggy Lee, Volume 1 / Format: CD / Label: Prism Leisure Platinum / Cat. Num.: (England) 3279 (also 34572) / Rel. Year: 2004 / Tracks: 10 / Note: This CD is sold both separately and together with volume 2. Seen here is the two-volume version. (The separate volume version has the exact same front cover, except for the words "2 CDs," which are of course excluded.) The catalogue number of the two-volume version is 34572, release year 2005. All tracks but one (a Capitol studio recording) are radio broadcast performances (5 from the Lee co-hosted show The Summer Electric Hour, 4 from Lee's own show).
10. Title: Peggy Lee, Volume 2 / Format: CD / Label: Prism Leisure Platinum / Cat. Num.: (England) 3280 2 (also 34572) / Rel. Year: 2004 / Tracks: 10 / Note: This CD is sold both separately and together with volume 1. The catalogue number of the two-volume version is 34572, release year 2005. All but two tracks (a Capitol studio recording and a World radio transcription) are radio broadcast performances (6 from the Lee co-hosted show The Summer Electric Hour, 2 from Lee's own show).
2005
Issue Shown:
1. Title: Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Haba'na- JBM / Cat. Num.: (Argentina?) 3 565382 005847 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Tracks: 18 / Note: Combines 13 Capitol studio recordings with 5 Decca studio recordings.
Issues Shown:
2. Title: Just the Way You Are / Format: CD / Label: Sunflower / Cat. Num.: (England) Sun 2110 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Tracks: 20 / Note: All the tracks are from Bing Crosby's radio show.
3. Title: El Rancho Grande / Format: CD / Label: Sunflower / Cat. Num.: (England) Sun 2108 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Tracks: 23 / Note: All the tracks are from Bing Crosby's radio show.
Issue Shown:
4. Title: Peggy Lee ("Voices Of The World" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Weton-Wesgram / Cat. Num.: Vow 209 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 28 / Note: I do not own a copy of this item, for which I have found not one but two front cover images online. They are very similar yet not identical. If they are faithful representations of physical items, perhaps each picture belongs to a different CD from this set. Alternatively, one picture could belong to this 2CD set's main packaging (e.g., a cardboard box), the other to an inner packaging, such as a CD jewel case. The set contains 8 Capitol radio transcriptions and 30 studio recordings (15 from her Decca years, 14 from her early Capitol years, and 1 from the Columbia years with Benny Goodman).
Issues Shown:
5. Title: Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Legacy Entertainment / C7at. Num.: ( ) 161 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Tracks: 11 / Note: Contains 9 Capitol studio recordings (1945-1947) and 2 Columbia studio recordings (1941, with Benny Goodman).
6. Title: Ladies Of Jazz {Peggy, Sarah, Ella, Billie} / Format: CD / Label: Castle Communications's Pulse / Cat. Num.: (England) Piebx 904 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Volumes: 4 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Combines 16 studio recordings (2 from Lee's big band period at Columbia and 14 from her early Capitol years) with 3 performances from radio broadcasts (2 from Bing Crosby's show, 1 from the Lee co-hosted show The Summer Electric Hour) and 1 World radio transcription. The Peggy Lee CD in this set was also sold both separately and as part of a 3CD set; see year 1999 above.
Issues Shown:
7. Title: Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman ("WWW Collectors Edition Biz") / Format: CD / Label: Weton-Wesgram - Flex Media / Cat. Num.: (Germany) Iece 1639 Rel. Year: 2005 / Tracks: 19 / Note: All tracks are Benny Goodman recordings featuring big band vocals by Peggy Lee, and made for the Columbia label.
8. Title: The Best Of Peggy Lee & Benny Goodman ("Jazz Forever" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Jazz Forever / Cat. Num.: Bd 67062 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Tracks: 18 / Note: All tracks are Benny Goodman recordings featuring big band vocals by Peggy Lee, and made for the Columbia label.
Issues Shown:
9. Title: Peggy Lee ("Masters Of Music" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Weton-Wesgram / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands) Mom 641 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Volumes: 6 / Tracks: 96 / Note: Includes 18 of Lee's Columbia studio recordings as a canary with The Benny Goodman Orchestra, 16 of her Decca studio recordings, and 14 Capitol radio transcriptions. The rest of the tracks are Capitol studio recordings from the 1944-1952 period, except for one from 1957 ("My Heart Stood Still").
10. Title: Peggy Lee (aka I Can't Stop Loving You) ("#1 Single Artist" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Weton / Cat. Num.: (Germany) 871742 301451 5 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Contains no studio recordings. There are 10 radio transcriptions (7 from World, 3 from MacGregor, 1 from Capitol), 5 performances from Lee's 1966-1967 Something Special TV shows and 5 radio broadcast performances (2 from Bing Crosby's show, 1 from a guest appearance in the Navy's Let's Go To Town, 1 from her own show, and 1 from the show The Summer Electric Hour, which Lee co-hosted).
Issues Shown:
11. Title: Peggy Lee ("Unique" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Global Journey / Cat. Num.: (England) Gj 2303 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Tracks: 21 / Note: Contains only studio recordings. Begins with one recording from Lee's Columbia years as The Benny Goodman Orchestra ("Why Don't You Do Right?") and closes with 7 Decca numbers. All other tracks are Capitol masters.
12. Title: Favourites / Format: CD / Label: Weton-Wesgram / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands) Lata 101 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Tracks: 17 / Note: Combines 12 recordings from Lee's big band period at Columbia with 5 studio recordings from her early years at Capitol.
Issues Shown:
13. Title: Blues In The Night / Format: CD / Label: Delta's Xtra / Cat. Num.: (England) 20050501 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Tracks: 26 / Note: Combines 24 studio recordings (8 from her Columbia years with Benny Goodman, 13 from her early Capitol years, 3 from her Decca years) with 2 performances from Lee's 1951-1952 radio show.
14. Title: While We're Young ("Quadromania" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Tim International / Cat. Num.: (Germany) 222455 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Volumes: 4 / Tracks: 80 / Note: Consists of 47 Capitol studio recordings, 16 Decca studio recordings and 17 Capitol radio transcriptions.
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Issue Shown:
15. Title: The Ultimate Jazz Archive; The Vocalists / Format: CD / Label: Membran / Cat. Num.: (Germany) 222796 3872 [Set 40, CD #3] / Rel. Year: 2005 / Volumes: 168 / Tracks: 20 / Note: This huge collection consists of 168 CDs encased in 42 boxes. Each CD covers a relatively brief discographical span in one artist's career, beginning with Jerry Roll Morton, 1899-1901, and ending with Billie Holiday, 1952-1955. (Holiday is among the few artists to whom more than one CD is dedicated.) These boxes or "sets" contain 4 CDs each. Set 40 includes CDs dedicated to Anita O'Day, Billy Eckstine, Peggy Lee (1941-1953), and Nat King Cole. (Since I do not have a picture for set 40, I have included above images for set 39. All sets use the exact same artwork. The other above-seen images show the box inside which the sets are packaged.) The Lee tracks can be itemized as 13 Capitol studio recordings, 3 Columbia recordings, 2 Decca studio recordings, and 2 Capitol radio transcriptions.
Issues Shown:
Listed in some online sources as 2005 releases, the two above-seen issues were originally issued earlier. If the alleged 2005 release date is correct, the edition of The Very Best Of Peggy Lee must have been a re-pressing of the 2002 original. As for the other issue shown, it is a twofer re-packaging of a couple of CDs that had been separately issued in 2004.
2006
Issue Shown:
1. Title: The Essential Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Emporium / Cat. Num.: (England?) Emtbx 365 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 60 / Note: Contains 56 studio recordings (16 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 19 from her early Capitol years, 21 from her Decca period) and 4 radio broadcast performances (2 from Lee's own show, 1 from the show The Summer Electric Hour, which she co-hosted, and 1 from a guest appearance in the AFRS radio show Jubilee).
Issue Shown:
2. Title: Miss Wonderful / Format: CD / Label: Proper / Cat. Num.: (England) Box 108 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Volumes: 4 / Tracks: 104 / Note: Contains 55 Capitol studio recordings (1944-1951), 37 Decca studio recordings (1952-1955) and 12 MacGregor radio transcriptions (1945). The front cover of this set is shown in the first and last images. The middle images display two of the 4 CDs' cardboard covers.
Issue Shown:
3. Title: The Definitive Collection, 1942-1953 / Format: CD / Label: Rajon Music Group / Cat. Num.: (Australia) Cdrtv 0196 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 40 / Note: Aside from 1 MacGregor radio transcription, all the tracks in this 2CD set are studio recordings (5 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 27 from her early Capitol years, 7 from her Decca period).
Issues Shown:
4. Title: The Very Best Of Peggy Lee; 50 Jazz Favourites / Format: CD / Label: MasterSong / Cat. Num.: (Australia) Mra 580312 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 50 / Note: Contains 24 studio recordings (6 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 13 from her early Capitol years, 5 from her Decca period), 11 radio transcriptions (8 from World, 3 from MacGregor), 8 radio broadcast performances (3 from Lee's own show, 3 from the show The Summer Electric Hour, which she co-hosted, 2 from guest appearances in the Navy's Let's Go To Town) and 7 performances from Lee's appearances in the syndicated TV show Something Special.
5. Title: Why Don't You Do Right? / Format: CD / Label: Charly's Classic Jazz / Cat. Num.: (England) Cdcd 1216 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Tracks: 12 / Note: All tracks are Columbia big band studio recordings with Benny Goodman.
Issues Shown:
6. Title: The Collection / Format: CD / Label: MCI - Balboa / Cat. Num.: Therb 112 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Tracks: 18 / Note: Combines 12 studio recordings (6 from Lee's big band period at Columbia and 6 from her early Capitol years) with 6 radio transcriptions (3 from World, 2 from Capitol, 1 from MacGregor).
7. Title: I Get A Kick Out Of You / Format: CD / Label: Lata / Cat. Num.: (England) 871742302123 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Contains numbers taped for radio and television -- no studio recordings. There are 10 radio transcriptions (7 made for World, 2 for MacGregor, and 1 for Capitol), 5 performances from the two episodes of the TV show Something Special that spotlighted Lee, and 5 radio broadcast performances (2 from Bing Crosby's show, 1 from Lee's own show, 1 from the Peggy Lee & Woody Herman show The Summer Electric Hour, and 1 from a guest appearance in the Navy's Let's Go To Town).
Issues Shown:
8. Title: These Foolish Things ("Fame" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Payless Cat. Num.: (Australia) Pef 1016 Rel. Year: 2006 / Tracks: 12 / Note: All but 3 numbers are performances from Lee's own radio show. The exceptions consist of 1 MacGregor radio transcription and 2 other radio broadcast performances, one from Bing Crosby's show and one from The Summer Electric Hour, a show that featured Lee with Woody Herman and her husband Dave Barbour.
9. Title: Lover / Format: CD / Label: Asv Living Era / Cat. Num.: (England) Aja 5644 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Tracks: 28 / Note: All tracks are Decca studio masters recorded between 1952-1955.
Issues Shown:
10. Title: Peggy Lee ("Superstar" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Destra Entertainment / Cat. Num.: (Australia) Sspe 036 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Tracks: 12 / Note: A bottom-of-the-barrel release even amidst C-grade Public Domain compilations, this is one of two CDs whose respective covers show photos of women who are not Peggy Lee. In this case, the woman seen in the photo is 1950s popular singer Patti Page. (To see the other cover, see the section dedicated to 2003 issues.) As for the tracks, nearly all of them are radio performances from Lee's 1951-1952 radio show. The exceptions are 1 performance from another show that Lee co-hosted (The Summer Electric Hour), 1 MacGregor transcription, and 1 title ("It's All Over Now") that is either a Capitol studio recording or a performance from Bing Crosby's radio show.
11. Title: American Songbook / Format: CD / Label: Golden Stars / Cat. Num.: (Portugal & The Netherlands) 5438 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 48 / Note: Contains 22 studio recordings (7 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 5 from her early Capitol years, 10 from her Decca period), 25 Capitol radio transcriptions and 1 performance from a guest appearance in the Navy's radio show Let's Go To Town.
Issue Shown:
10. Title: Memories Are Made Of This / Format: CD / Label: [unknown] / Cat. Num.: 643638 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Volumes: 6 / Tracks: 20 / Note: This set consists of six CDs, each one dedicated to a different artist. The Peggy Lee CD contains no studio recordings. It includes instead 10 performances from the 1966 and 1967 editions of the TV specials Something Special With Peggy Lee, 7 World radio transcriptions, and 3 performances from the summer program The Summer Electric Hour, which Lee co-hosted during the summer of 1947.
Issue Shown:
13. Title: Fever / Format: CS & CD / Label: Golden Options / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands) Go 3812 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Tracks: 22 / Note: With the exception of four numbers, all tracks are early 1940s studio recordings from Lee's big band years with Benny Goodman. Three of the exceptions are performances taken from Lee's own radio show, broadcast in the early 1950s. The fourth exception is a rendition of "Fever." Since I have not listened to this CD, I can only assume that the "Fever" in question is the audio from a 1967 TV performance that was part of the show Something Special With Peggy Lee. (However, it could be her Capitol recording instead.) Golden Options originally issued the contents of this CD (minus 2 tracks) in a 1997 CD called Let's Do It. The same year, that 20-track edition was simultaneously issued in England under a different label (Delta Music) but with the same title.
2007
Issue Shown:
1. Title: Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Forever Gold - Solo -Pacific Entertainment / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands) Fg 262 / Rel. Year: 2007 / Tracks: 12 / Note: All tracks are performances from Lee's radio shows, 7 of them from The Summer Electric Hour (a show that Lee co-hosted in 1947), and the other 5 from Lee's own show (originally broadcast in 1951 and 1952).
Issue(s) Shown:
2. Title: The Essential Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Mastercuts / Cat. Num.: Mcutcd 27 Rel. Year: 2007 / Tracks: 18 / Note: except for one single performance from Lee's own radio show, all tracks are studio recordings (10 from Capitol, 6 from Decca, 1 from the Columbia big band years). The first image above shows this CD's front cover. The second image shows an alternate cover that was disseminated online in the months that preceded the release of the actual CD. The titles listed in the alternate cover make it apparent that an alternate track listing was also intended. As far as I know, tihs alternate CD never crystallized into an actual release.
Issues Shown:
3. Title: Peggy Lee ("The Blue Collection" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Red & Blue / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands) Blue 2007 / Rel. Year: 2007 Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 40 / Note: Combines 32 studio recordings (13 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 14 from her Capitol years, and 5 from her Decca years) with 7 Capitol radio transcriptions and 1 performance from Bing Crosby's show.
4. Title: Peggy Lee ("The Red Collection" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Red & Blue / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands) Red 2007 / Rel. Year: 2007 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 40 / Note: Combines 35 studio recordings (7 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 19 from her Capitol years, and 9 from her Decca years) with 5 Capitol radio transcriptions.
Issue Shown:
5. Title: I Can't Give You Anything But Love ("Jazz Giants" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Weton-Wesgram & Flex Media / Cat. Num.: (Germany) Iece ___ / Rel. Year: 2007 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 60 / Note: Contains 50 studio recordings (11 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 26 from her early Capitol years, 2 from her later Capitol years, 11 from her Decca period) and 10 radio transcriptions (9 from Capitol, 1 from World).
Issues Shown:
6. Title: Doris, Dinah, Peggy / Format: CD / Label: Payless / Cat. Num.: (Australia) ___ / Rel. Year: 2007 / Tracks: 15 / Note: The Peggy Lee item in this set combines 11 studio recordings (2 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 9 from her early Capitol years) with 1 Capitol radio transcriptions and 3 performances from Lee's own radio show.
7. Title: Lover / Format: CD / Label: Nouveau Range / Cat. Num.: (Australia) 489242 / Rel. Year: 2007 / Tracks: 25 / Note: Contains studio recordings only (3 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 14 from her early Capitol years, 6 from her Decca period).
Issues Shown:
8. Title: Lover ("Essential Jazz Masters" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Backup / Cat. Num.: (Portugal) 73136 / Rel. Year: 2007 / Tracks: 20 / Note: All tracks are Decca masters recorded between 1952 and 1956.
9. Title: Mañana ("Ground Floor" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Ground Floor / Cat. Num.: (England) Grfl 042 / Rel. Year: 2007 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 40 / Note: Combines 25 Decca studio recordings and 9 Capitol studio recordings with 6 MacGregor radio transcriptions.
Issues Shown:
10. Title: Moon Flowers; The Collection, 1952-1954 / Format: CD / Label: Rev-Ola / Cat. Num.: (England) Cr Rev 212 / Rel. Year: 2007 / Tracks: 27 / Note: All tracks are Decca studio recordings, dating from the 1952-1954 period.
11. Title: Peggy Lee ("The Essential Collection" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Avid / Cat. Num.: (England) Avc 876 / Rel. Year: 2007 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 57 / Note: Combines 30 Peggy Lee performances from Bing Crosby's radio show with 27 Decca studio recordings.
Issues Shown:>
12. Title: The Divas {Ella, Billie, Peggy, Dinah, Sarah} / Format: CD / Label: Weton-Wesgram's Cheap 'o' Lata / Cat. Num.: Lata 582 / Volumes: 5 / Rel. Year: 2007 / Tracks: 20 / Note: This set is included herein because, according to the information at hand, it dedicates one separate CD to each of the listed singers. (In other words, it does not consist of discs that feature various artists, a type of release with which this page is not concerned. Unfortunately, I do not have an image for the set's Peggy Lee CD, nor have I ever seen it.) The Peggy Lee CD consists of 12 radio transcriptions (9 from World, 2 from MacGregor, 1 from Capitol), 4 performances from Lee's 1966-1967 appearances in the syndicated TV show Something Special, 2 performances from Bing Crosby's radio show, 1 performance from the 1947 radio show The Summer Electric Hour and another performance from a guest appearance in the Navy's Let's Go To Town.
13. Title: Peggy Lee ("The Ultimate Collection" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Cherished Classics / Cat. Num.: ( ) Chebx 3030 / Rel. Year: 2007 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 62 / Note: Contains 36 studio recordings (7 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 13 from her early Capitol years, 16 from her Decca period), 17 radio transcriptions (4 from World, 6 from Capitol and 7 from MacGregor), 1 performance from Lee's 1967 Something Special With Peggy Lee TV special) and 9 radio broadcast performances (6 from Lee's own show, 2 from Bing Crosby's show, 1 from a guest appearance in the Navy's Let's Go To Town).
2008
Issue Shown:
1. Title: Diva / Format: CD / Label: Delta's Xtra / Cat. Num.: (England) 26596 / Rel. Year: 2008 / Tracks: 21 / Note: Combines the Peggy Lee tracks from the 1955 Decca studio album Songs From Pete Kelly's Blues with those of her 1957 Capitol album The Man I Love. (The present page does not list Public Domain CDs if they are reissues of original albums. Public Domain items of that type are instead discussed in the album pages of this pictorial discography. However, in the case of Diva, I have made an exception. Since this product hides from potential buyers the fact that it is actually a twofer, I decided to list it both in this page and in the other relevant pages.)
Issues Shown:
2. Title: Fever! Very Best Of Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Alto Take 2 / Cat. Num.: (England) Aln 1907 / Rel. Year: 2008 / Tracks: 25 / Note: Combines 15 Decca studio recordings (1952-1956) with 10 Capitol studio recordings (3 from 1947, 6 from the 1957 album The Man I Love, and the remaining one from 1958).
3. Title: Taking A Chance On Love / Format: CD / Label: Flare / Cat. Num.: (England) Roycd 269 / Rel. Year: 2008 / Tracks: 24 / Note: The entire track listing consists of World radio transcriptions. A good portion of these tracks had never been commercially issued before.
Issues Shown:
4. Title: The Classic Years / Format: CD / Label: Prestige / Cat. Num.: 773 / Rel. Year: 2008 / Tracks: 25 / Note: Contains only studio recordings, 14 from Lee's big band years at Columbia and 11 from her early years at Capitol.
5. Title: Lover ("Hit Parade ~ Platinum Collection" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Dynamic - Rajon / Cat. Num.: (Australia?) Dyn 2966 / Rel. Year: 2008 / Tracks: 25 / Note: Contains studio recordings only (12 from Decca, 9 from Capitol, and 4 from Lee's big band years with Benny Goodman on Columbia).
Issues Shown:
6. Title: The Legendary Peggy ("The Best Of The Legends Of Music" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Luxury / Cat. Num.: (Germany) unknown / Rel. Year: 2008 / Tracks: 18 / Note: Combines the entire 1957 Capitol album The Man I Love with 6 Decca studio tracks recorded in 1956.
7. Title: The Best Of Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Cannon House / Cat. Num.: ( ) 172402 / Rel. Year: 2008 / Tracks: 15 / Note: Contains only studio recordings, 7 from Capitol and 8 from Decca.
Issues Shown:
8. Title: The Legendary Best Of Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Entium Music / Cat. Num.: (Korea) ___ / Rel. Year: 2008 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Aside from 1 MacGregor radio transcription, this CD contains only studio recordings (2 from Lee's big band years at Columbia, the rest from her early years at Capitol).
9. Title: Where Or When / Format: CD / Label: Acrobat / Cat. Num.: (England) Addcd 3047 / Rel. Year: 2008 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 38 / Note: Reprehensibly, the makers of this Public Domain CD set showed no compunction in grabbing the entire contents of the Columbia Legacy CD set Peggy Lee & Benny Goodman: The Complete Recordings, alternate takes and bonus tracks included. All tracks are from Peggy Lee's 1941-1943 big band tenure at Columbia with The Benny Goodman Orchestra, except for three 1947 Capitol studio recordings which also feature Lee in Goodman's company.
Issue Shown:
Title: All The Best / Format: CD / Label: Arc / Cat. Num.: (Japan) Ao 0016 / Rel. Year: 2008 / Tracks: 14 / Note: Contains only studio recordings, 12 from Lee's early years at Capitol and 2 from her big band years at Columbia.
2009
Issues Shown:
1. Title: Greatest Hits / Format: CD / Label: Not Now / Cat. Num.: (England) 846078 / Rel. Year: 2009 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 49 / Note: Contains only studio recordings, of which 2 are from Lee's big band years at Columbia. There are also 22 Decca numbers (including the entire contents of the 12" LP Black Coffee) and 25 tracks from her Capitol years, dating from the periods 1945-1949 and 1957-1958 (including the entire contents of the album The Man I Love).
2. Title: Fever ("Versions Originales Studio" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Membran / Cat. Num.: (Germany) 205 / Rel. Year: 2009 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Contains only Capitol studio recordings, 1947-1963.
2010
Issue Shown:
1. Title: Ridin' High; The Complete Record Releases, 1957-1959 / Format: CD / Label: Future Noise's Fantastic Voyage / Cat. Num.: Fvtd 043 / Rel. Year: 2010 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 72 / Note: As indicated by the title, this set contains only 1957-1959 studio recordings from Lee's second period at Capitol Records. Each Lee track found in her 5 albums from that period is here, along with the 45 singles from that same period. As a bonus, a radio station's interview of Peggy Lee (dating from a couple of decades later) has also been included.
Issues Shown:
2. Title: These Ladies Can Swing {Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone} / Format: CD / Label: Play / Cat. Num.: (England) Play / Rel. Year: 2010 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 14 / Note: This label shamelessly appropriates the entire contents of the Capitol Jazz CD edition of Things Are Swingin', including the bonus tracks. All Lee tracks, contained in volume 3, are thus from 1958. (This label also issued the same 1958 album in a twofer with a 1957 Capitol album, The Man I Love. See Capitol page, under the entries for those albums.)
3. Title: Peggy Lee ("Golden Voices Collection" Series) / Format: Commercial CDr & MP3 / Label: X5 Music / Cat. Num.: __ / Rel. Year: 2010 / Tracks: 19 / Note: MP3 Peggy Lee collections began to proliferate in the year 2010. In the present page, I have featured only MP3 collections that have also been released as CDrs. (Buyer beware: the sound quality of CDrs derived from Public Domain MP3 ranges from mediocre to atrocious.) The particular item under discussion at least features decent artwork -- something that can hardly be said of the other Public Domain MP3 products listed below. The track listing consists of 10 radio transcriptions (9 from MacGregor, 1 from World), 8 radio broadcast performances (7 from Lee's own show, 1 from an appearance in the Navy's Let's Go To Town) and 1 Capitol studio recording.
Issues Shown:
4. Title: Why Don't You Do Right; Selected Recordings / Format: Commercial CDr & MP3 / Label: Setco / Cat. Num.: __ / Rel. Year: 2010 / Tracks: 12 / Note: This bargain basement item contains studio recordings. Two of them are from Lee's big band years at Columbia (one recorded in 1941, the other in 1942). To fill the rest of this CDr/MP3 file, Setco appropriated all the tracks of the CD All-Time Greatest Hits, Volume 1, which the legitimate record label Curb released in 1990, after licensing the masters from Capitol.
5. Title: Fever; The Unforgettable Peggy Lee / Format: Commercial CDr & MP3 / Label: Setco / Cat. Num.: __ / Rel. Year: 2010 / Tracks: 12 / Note: This item contains the same tracks as #4, though sequenced in a different order. If the information provided by online commercial sites is correct, the bottom-of-the-barrel label Setco released both items within one month of one another.
Issue Shown:
6. Title: DeLuxe Peggy Lee; The Ultimative Edition For Collectors / Format: CD / Label: Dayl / Cat. Num.: (Korea) 3661585351962 / Rel. Year: 2010 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Combines 14 studio recordings (2 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 6 from her early Capitol years, 6 from her Decca period) with 6 Capitol radio transcriptions.
2011
Issue Shown:
1. Title: The Hits And More ... / Format: CD / Label: Jasmine / Cat. Num.: / Rel. Year: 2011 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 53 / Note: Contains only studio recordings. There are 16 from Lee's 1947-1951 Capitol period, 28 from her 1952-1956 Decca period, and 9 from her 1957-1959 second Capitol period.
Issues Shown:
2. Title: Peggy Lee At The Supper Club / Format: CD / Label: yyy~ Sounds Of Yesteryear / Cat. Num.: (England) Dsoy 854 / Rel. Year: 2011 / Tracks: 29 / Note: All tracks are performances from various episodes of The Supper Club radio show, where Peggy Lee first appeared as a guest and later became a regular hostess. A total of 8 numbers is sung not by Lee but by other acts, including Lee's guests (Frankie Laine, Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis) and the show's vocal group (The Satisfiers with Helen Carroll). There are three more Lee-less tracks: the show's theme as taped by The Starlighters with Jo Stafford (heard twice in this CD) and an orchestral introduction. Lee is heard in the other 18 tracks, both solo and in duets with her guests.
3. Title: Waiting For The Train To Come / Format: Commercial CDr & MP3 / Label: Mocking Bird / Cat. Num.: __ / Rel. Year: 2011 / Tracks: 15 / Note: All tracks are from Lee's 1945-1947 Capitol recording period.
4. Title: Best Of Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: zzz~ Tgg / Cat. Num.: [UPC] 011891602525 / Rel. Year: 2011 / Tracks: 20 / Note: Combines 11 performances from two episodes of the syndicated TV series Something Special (1966, 1967) with 5 World radio transcriptions (ca. 1953) and 4 performances from The Summer Electric Hour, a radio show that Peggy Lee co-hosted with Woody Herman (1947).
Issues Shown:
5. Title: Peggy Lee ("The Absolutely Essential CD Collection" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Big3 / Cat. Num.: Bt 3039 / Rel. Year: 2011 / Volumes: 3 / Tracks: 60 / Note: Combines 18 Decca studio recordings with 3 MacGregor radio transcriptions and 39 Capitol studio recordings (32 from the 1944-1952 period, 6 from the 1957 album The Man I Love, and 1, "Fever," from 1958).
6. Title: It's A Good Day / Format: commercial CDr & MP3 / Label: Mocking Bird / Cat. Num.: __ / Rel. Year: 2011 / Tracks: 17 / Note: All tracks are Capitol studio masters recorded between 1945 and 1947.
Issues Shown:
7. Title: Dressed Up With A Broken Heart / Format: commercial CDr & MP3 / Label: Ida Loca / Cat. Num.: __ / Rel. Year: 2011 / Tracks: 15 / Note: Combines 1941 Columbia big band studio recordings (8, from Lee's big band period) with 1947 Capitol studio recordings (7, from her early Capitol years).
8. Title: Shady Lady Bird / Format: CDr & MP3 / Label: Mocking Bird / Cat. Num.: __ / Rel. Year: 2011 / Tracks: 15 / Note: All tracks are 1941 big band recordings from Peggy Lee's years with The Benny Goodman Orchestra at Columbia Records.
Issues Shown:
9. Title: The Collection / Format: commercial CDr & MP3 / Label: Plaza Mayor / Cat. Num.: (England) __ / Rel. Year: 2011 / Tracks: 20 / Note: All tracks are studio recordings, including 4 from Lee's early Capitol period and 3 from her Decca years. The remainder are from the first 7 years of Lee's second Capitol period (1957-1963).
10. Title: Johnny Guitar ("The Big Voices" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Bestend / Cat. Num.: (Greece) 2711402319 / Release Year: possibly 2011 / Tracks: 12 / Note: All included tracks were recorded between 1953 and 1956, therefore falling into Lee's Decca period. Johnny Guitar could actually be a licensed issue, but I have yet to find confirmation for (or a rebuttal to) this possibility. This CD seems to belong to a series of compilations that were custom-made for the Greek newspaper The World of Investors (Ο Κόσμος των Επενδυτών) (Ο ΚΟΣΜΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΕΠΕΝΔΥΤΗ). The compilations were apparently offered to subscribers of this business paper. My thanks to Peter Stoller for his very kind assistance during my research of this issue.
Issues Shown:
11 - 13. Title: Peggy Lee (Éditions BD Music, BD Jazz Series, Volume 125) / Format: CD & Book Of Illustrations / Label: BD Music / Cat. Num.: (France) Bdjz 127 - Bd 100 (Also 978 2 84907 127 4) / Rel. Year: 2011 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 48 / Note: My thanks to fellow peggyphile Yvan Tarbouriech for his very generous help with the research of this issue, which consists of a booklet and two CDs. The tracks listing includes 8 radio studio transcriptions (3 from MacGregor, 5 from Capitol), 2 radio broadcast performances (1 from Lee's own show, 1 from Jimmy Durante's show), and 38 studio recordings (11 from Lee's big band period at Columbia, 6 from her Decca period, and 21 from her Capitol years, the latter divided between 1944-1952 and 1957-1960 tracks). The discographical information provided by this item is correct, except for the details given about the MacGregor tracks, which are wrongly dated "ca. 1949/1950." The 24-page booklet is dedicated to a cartoon strip by Fanny Michaelis, in which the life of Peggy Lee is narrated through the combination of words and illustrations. I regret to say that, as far as the illustrations go, this item leaves plenty to be desired. The front cover alone is extremely unappealing. (Even more grievous: nearly all other issues in the series boast far more engaging covers.) Moving from the front cover to the pages inside, the booklet's illustrations also fall off the mark. Lee is invariably shown as stocky, plump, and non-glamorous. The cartoon's Dave Barbour bears little physical resemblance to the actual man. One of the illustrations overdramatizes his alcoholism to the point of suggesting that he was physically abusive while drunk -- a charge for which I am not aware of any proof. Whereas many of the drawings seem to have sprung entirely from the illustrator's imagination, there are a few that were obviously inspired by actual photos. An instance is the very last illustration shown above, which is clearly based on a 1948 photo published in Life magazine, where Lee and her family are seen in their garden. (In the actual photo, Lee is not surrounded by sheet music, however, but by the primroses to which she is tending.)
RELEASE YEAR UNKNOWN
Issues Shown:
2. Title: Presenting Doris Day & Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: unknown / Cat. Num.: unknown / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 16 / Note: This set (which I have never seen, except in this picture of web origin) is described in an internet site as dedicating one CD to each titular singer. The Lee portion of the track listing consists of 11 Capitol studio recordings (1945-1947) and 5 Decca studio recordings (1952-1956).
3. Title: My Old Flame / Format: CD / Label: unknown / Cat. Num.: unknown / Tracks: / Note: I would appreciate receiving information about this CD, for which I'm fully lacking discographical details.
4. Title: Peggy Lee ("Bestsellers Jazz" Series) / Format: CD / Label: JasRac / Cat. Num.: (Japan) Gr 1034 / Tracks: 14 / Note: All tracks are Decca studio recordings.
5. Title: 101 Hits / Format: CD / Label: unknown / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands?) unknown / Volumes: 4 / Tracks: 101 / Note: Aside from 7 titles, I do not have the track listing for this 4CD set. I would appreciate receiving assistance in the location of a full track listing.
Issues Shown:
6. Title: That Old Feeling / Format: CD / Label: unknown Cat. Num.: (Australia) unknown / Tracks: 20 / Note: All tracks are Capitol studio numbers recorded between 1944 and 1950, except for one track from the 1957 Capitol album The Man I Love.
7. Title: Peggy Lee's Why Don't You Do Right? / Format: CD / Label: Charly's Classic Jazz / Cat. Num.: (England) possibly Cdcd 1216 / Rel. Year: unknown / Tracks: 12 / Note: All tracks are Columbia studio recordings from Peggy Lee's big band years with The Benny Goodman Orchestra. My familiarity with this item is strictly based on sightings online; I do not own a copy, nor have I ever seen one. It appears to be a reissue of a 2006 CD that features the same tracks and is also titled in honor of the hit song, although its front cover is different (viewable above, in the section dedicated to the year 2006). Given how often internet sites contain wrong or misleading information, I further find it possible that this item is not a compact disc, after all, but a MP3 file.
Issues Shown:
8. Title: Peggy Lee ("Legends" Series) / Format: CD / Label: unknown / Cat. Num.: (Australia) unknown / Tracks: 12 / Note: Contains 5 Decca studio recordings and 7 Capitol studio recordings (6 from 1947, 1 from 1951).
9. Title: The Best Of Peggy Lee ("Jazz Odissey" Series) / Format: LP / Label: unknown / Cat. Num.: (Brazil?) unknown / Tracks: 11 / Note: All tracks are Decca studio recordings. Since I am missing the name of this issue's releasing label, I am only assuming it to be a non-licensed, Public Domain item.
10. Title: Peggy Lee ("Great Singers" Series) / Format: CD / Label: unknown / Cat. Num.: unknown / Tracks: 18 / Note: I would appreciate receiving discographical information about this CD, for which I'm missing a track listing.
Issue Shown:
11. Title: Jazz Divas / Format: CD / Label: unknown / Cat. Num.: (England) unknown / Volumes: 12 / Tracks: 18 / Note: The set's Peggy Lee tracks are found in fourth disc. Her 18 selections include 9 radio transcriptions (6 from World, 2 from MacGregor, 1 from Capitol) and 4 numbers from the two episodes of the TV series Something Special that were dedicated to the singer. There are also 5 radio performances (2 from Bing Crosby's show, 1 from a guest appearance in the Navy's Let's Go To Town, 1 from Lee's own show, and 1 from The Summer Electric Hour, the latter being a show which Lee co-hosted). No studio masters are included.
Other Issues Of Unknown Date; Front Cover Artwork Also Missing:
12. Title: Peggy Lee ("Just Jazz" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Jazz & Blues / Cat. Num.: (The Netherlands) Bn 222 / Tracks: unknown (aside from just two, both from the Decca period)
Index
The following index lists all the CDs, cassettes, and LPs whose front covers are on display above. Next to the titles are the respective years of release. If you are looking for information about a particular item, use the release year as your guideline to locate it in the sections above. Issues for which the year of release is declared as "unknown" can all be found in the section that directly precedes this index. Please also notice that this page is dedicated to compilations only. Bootleg and PD issues that contain full original Peggy Lee albums (e.g., Latin Ala Lee!, Black Coffee, et cetera) can be found in the main Capitol and Decca pages, where they are mentioned within the entries for the official albums.
101 Hits: release year unknown
All The Best: 2008
American Songbook: 2006
Best Of Peggy Lee [Cannon label]: 2008
Best Of Peggy Lee, The [Pegasus label]: 2001
Best Of Peggy Lee [Tgg label]: 2011
Best Of Peggy Lee, The ("Jazz Odissey" Series): unknown
Best Of Peggy Lee, The ("Original Hits" Series): 2002
Best Of Peggy Lee & Benny Goodman, The ("Jazz Forever" Series): 2005
Bing Crosby With Ella Fitzgerald And Peggy Lee, Featuring Fred Astaire: 1997
Black Coffee ("Silver Line" Series): 2001
Blues In The Night: 2005
Classic Years, The: 2008
Collection, The [Mci Balboa label]: 2006
Collection, The [Plaza Mayor label]: 2011
Complete Capitol Small Group Transcriptions, The: 2001
Definitive Collection, The, 1942-1953: 2006
DeLuxe Peggy Lee; The Ultimative Edition For Collectors: 2010
Diva: 2008
Divas: 2001
Divas, The: 2007
Doris, Dinah, Peggy: 2007
Dressed Up With A Broken Heart: 2011
Easy Listening: 1980s
Essential Peggy Lee [Emporium label]: 2006
Essential Peggy Lee [Mastercuts label]: 2007
El Rancho Grande: 2005
Elegant Miss Peggy Lee, The: 2000
Everything I Love ("The Great Vocalists Of Jazz & Entertainment" Series): 1999
Extra Special!: 1997
Favourites: 2005
Fever [Golden Options label]: 2006
Fever [Jazz World label]: 1980s
Fever [label unknown]: 1980s
Fever ("20 Original Classics" Series): 1994
Fever ("Versions Originales Studio" Series): 2009
Fever! Very Best Of Peggy Lee: 2008
Fever; 24 Favourite Songs: 2002
Fever; 24 Golden Classics: 2002
Fever; The Unforgettable Peggy Lee: 2010
Fever Of ... Peggy Lee, The: 1999
First Ladies, The ("American Legends" Series): 2003
First Lady Of Song ("Memories of Yester-Years" Series): 1997
For Sentimental Reasons; 16 Tender & Romantic Classics: 1996
Gold: 1993, 1995
Golden Earrings ("Flashback" Series) [Wea label]: 2001
Golden Earrings [Movieplay Goldies label]: 2001
Golden Hits: 1996
Gone With The Wind: 1995
Great Female Vocalists: 1999
Great Peggy Lee, The: 2000
Greatest Female Voices Ever, The: 2001
Greatest Hits: 2009
Hits And More ... , The: 2011
I Can't Give You Anything But Love [Hitbuster label]: 1994
I Can't Give You Anything But Love ("Jazz Giants" Series): 2007
I Can't Stop Loving You ("#1 Single Artist" Series): 2005
I Get A Kick Out Of You: 2006
I Get Ideas ("A Proper Introduction" Series): 2004
I've Got A Crush On You: 1995
I've Had My Moments: 1980s
If I Could Be With You: 1980s, 1993
In Love With Peggy Lee ("Dressed To Kill" Series): 2000
In The Beginning ... The Legend Of Peggy Lee: 1996
It's A Good Day [Mocking Bird label]: 2011
It's A Good Day [Riff label]: 2004
It's A Good Day {Peggy Lee With Bing Crosby}: 1992
It's A Good Day; 50 Original Mono Recordings, 1941-1951: 2002
It's A Good Day; Original Recordings, 1941-1950: 2002
It's A Good Day ("Sounds Of The 20th Century" Series): 2002
It's Lovin' Time [ABM label]: 1999
It's Lovin' Time [Hallmark label]: 2001
Jazz Divas: unknown
Johnny Guitar ("The Big Voices" Series): 2011
... Just One Of Those Things: 1996
Just the Way You Are: 2005
Ladies Of Jazz: 2005
Ladies Serenade: 2002
Lady Is A Tramp, The (Bianco): 2000
Lady Is A Tramp, The ("Platinum Collection" Series): 1996
Lady Is A Tramp, The & Other Great Standards: 1995
Lady Is Peggy Lee, The: 1999
Legendary Best Of Peggy Lee: 2008
Legendary Peggy, The: 2008
Let There Be Love (Planet): 2000
Let There Be Love [Sunflower label]: 2002
Let There Be Love; The Best Of Peggy Lee: 1994, 1995, 1997
Let's Do It [Delta label]: 1997
Let's Do It [Rajon label]: 2002
Linger: 2000
Listen To The Magic: 1996
Live, 1947 & 1952: 1993
"Lover" [Black Cat label]: 2003
Lover [ASV label]: 2006
Lover [Nouveau Range label]: 2007
Lover ("Essential Jazz Masters" Series): 2007
Lover ("Hit Parade ~ Platinum Collection" Series): 2008
Mañana: 1999
Mañana ("Ground Floor" Series): 2007
Memories Are Made Of This: 2006
Miss Standing Ovation: 2003
Miss Wonderful: 2006
Moon Flowers; The Collection, 1952-1954: 2007
Musical Marriage, A; Peggy Lee & Dave Barbour: 1999
My Old Flame [Legends Of Jazz label]: 2003
My Old Flame [unknown label]: unknown
Nightingale Can Sing The Blues, A ("Document" Series): 2004
Oh La La Lee: 1999
Old Favorites: 1992
Peggy Lee [Centurion Jazz label]: 2004
Peggy Lee [Forever Gold label]: 2001
Peggy Lee [Forever Gold label]: 2006
Peggy Lee [Haba'na label]: 2005
Peggy Lee [Legacy label]: 2005
Peggy Lee [Prism label]: 2004, 2005
Peggy Lee [Signature label]: 2002
Peggy Lee ("#1 Single Artist" Series): 2005
Peggy Lee ("16 Great Songs" Series): 1990
Peggy Lee ("20 Golden Greats - Starburst" Series): 1994
Peggy Lee ("The Absolutely Essential CD Collection" Series): 2011
Peggy Lee ("Bestsellers Jazz" Series): unknown
Peggy Lee ("The Blue Collection" Series): 2007
Peggy Lee ("Cocktail Hour" Series): 2000
Peggy Lee (Deluxe Edition; "The Gold Collection" Series): 2001
Peggy Lee ("The Discovery Of Jazz" Series): 2004
Peggy Lee (Éditions BD Music, BD Jazz Series): 2011
Peggy Lee ("The Entertainers" Series): 1980s
Peggy Lee ("The Essential Collection" Series): 2007
Peggy Lee ("Forever Classic" Series): 1998
Peggy Lee ("The Gold Collection" Series): 1996
Peggy Lee ("Golden Voices Collection" Series): 2010
Peggy Lee ("The Great Vocalists" Series): 1998
Peggy Lee ("Greatest Hits" Series): 2001
Peggy Lee ("Great Singers" Series): unknown
Peggy Lee ("Jazz After Hours With..." Series): 2004
Peggy Lee ("Just Jazz" Series): unknown
Peggy Lee ("Legends" Series): unknown
Peggy Lee ("The Legends Collection" Series): 1996
Peggy Lee ("Legends In Music" Series): 1994
Peggy Lee ("Masters Of Music" Series): 2005
Peggy Lee ("Mystic Music" Series): 1997
Peggy Lee ("The Platinum Collection" Series): 1997
Peggy Lee ("The Red Collection" Series): 2007
Peggy Lee ("Superstar" Series): 2006
Peggy Lee ("Triple Treasures" Series): 2002
Peggy Lee ("The Ultimate Collection" Series): 2007
Peggy Lee ("Unique" Series): 2005
Peggy Lee ("Voices Of The World" Series): 2005
Peggy Lee ("Vocal Jazz" Series): 2001
Peggy Lee ("The Wonderful World Of" Series): 1992
Peggy Lee At The Supper Club: 2011
Peggy Lee Collection, The; 20 Golden Greats: 1980s
Peggy Lee Collection; 61 Classic Performances ("Diamond Collection" Series): 2004
Peggy Lee On Radio: 1980s
Peggy Lee Sings For You: 1992
Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman ("WWW Collectors Edition Biz"): 2005
Peggy Lee Story, The [Proper label]: 2002
Peggy Lee Story, The; 24 Phonographic Memories: 1991
Peggy Lee With The Dave Barbour Band; Nat King Cole Trio 1943/49, The Vocal Sides: 1997
Peggy Lee's Why Don't You Do Right?: unknown
Platinum Classic Collection {Peggy Lee, Patsy Cline}: 2004
Portrait Of Peggy Lee: 1996
Portrait Of Peggy Lee, A: 1999
Presenting Doris Day & Peggy Lee: unknown
Rancho Grande, El: 2005
Rendez-Vous: 2002
Ridin' High; The Complete Record Releases, 1957-1959: 2010
September In The Rain ("Norma Rare Item Collection" Series): 1998
Shady Lady Bird: 2011
Swingin' Ladies Of Jazz: 2002
Taking A Chance On Love: 2008
That Old Feeling: unknown
That Old Feeling ... You Go To My Head: 2001
Them There Eyes: 1990
These Foolish Things ("Fame" Series): 2006
These Foolish Things & Other Great Standards: 1995
These Ladies Can Swing: 2010
Ultimate Jazz Archive, The; The Vocalists: 2005
Uncollected Peggy Lee, The: 1980s, 1994
Very Best Of Peggy Lee, The: 2002, 2005
Very Best Of Peggy Lee, The; 50 Jazz Favourites: 2006
Waiting For The Train To Come: 2011
Way You Look Tonight, The: 2001
Where Or When: 2008
While We're Young ("Quadromania" Series): 2005
Why Don't You Do Right ("A Jazz Hour With" Series): 2001
Why Don't You Do Right ("The Entertainers" Series): 1980s, 1996
Why Don't You Do Right ("Silver Line" Series): 2002
Why Don't You Do Right? [Charly label]: 2006
Why Don't You Do Right?; 25 Early Hits: 1997
Why Don't You Do Right?; 1943-1947: 2001
Why Don't You Do Right?; 1947-1948: 1995
Why Don't You Do Right; Selected Recordings: 2010
Wonderful Peggy Lee, The: 1999
Wonderful Peggy Lee, The: 2002
You Can Depend On Me: 1980s
First General Note
Bootleg And Public Domain
In this discography, the terms "bootleg" and "Public Domain" refer to music items -- specifically, CDs, LPs, and cassettes -- that have been released without authorization from the owners of Peggy Lee's masters. (At the time of this writing, EMI and Universal own most of the music under discussion.) About 200 items are listed in the present page, the immense majority of them falling under the category of Public Domain.
Whereas "bootlegs" are both unauthorized and illegal, "Public Domain" issues are unauthorized yet legal in their country of release. Since they began to appear (1980s), the source for nearly all of Peggy Lee's Public Domain items was Europe, where private ownership of creative works used to expire within a relatively short span of time. Thanks to relatively flexible copyright laws, the expiration date was between 15 and 25 years in Italy, Scandinavia, and much of the rest of the continent. England and France were just about the only notable exceptions (50 years). There were even cases of countries where certain types of records did not fall under copyright law. For instance (and according to reports that I have not fully corroborated), live audio performances were not protected by the Italian legal system.
As long as their products were made and sold within the continent, reissue companies that were set up in Europe had free rein to appropriate and release most music (including American music) which dated from the first half of the 20th century. Despite the geographical restriction, these companies' products would easily find their way into the United States, becoming available at both low-scale and high-end USA record stores. By the mid- 1990s, the rise of the internet had made PD issues all the more available, not just in the United States but rather worldwide.
In 1994, after 117 countries agreed to abide by the updated GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) treaty, and after the World Trade Organization (GTO) became an acting body (1995), the expiration span for music works settled to between 50 and 70 years in the majority of European countries. Probably spearheaded by the conglomerates which own 1950s and 1960s rock music (a still lucrative music period), additional time increases are being proposed and will doubtlessly be implemented as time keeps going by.
For their part, some PD labels (most notably, the Disconforme family of labels, which includes Lonehill and the Music Soundtrack Factory) have found an ideal haven in Spain's Andorra, where the expiration date remains 25 years, and where there is the additional incentive of very low-rate taxes.
In the present day climate, when compact discs are no longer lucrative, many PD labels have predictably transitioned to the conveniently lax world of MP3 files. The shoddiest PD labels currently in operation are actually the ones selling MP3 files. As for the few PD labels which still cater to collectors, those companies have tended to remain in the CD realm. Some MP3-oriented Public Domain labels are also offering their products in CD versions, copied from their MP3 files. Common to those CDs and to their MP3 counterparts is the gaudy, bargain basement quality of both artwork and audio transfers. No artistic inclinations and no concern for quality control are apparent. The music has been copied from LPs and CDs which in some instances have not been even cleaned; the artwork rarely rises even a notch above the level of the disgraceful.
Second General Note
Recommendations
Given the negative points made right above, my decision to recommend any Public Domain issues might come across as paradoxical. Granted that we are talking about generally subpar product, there have been a few PD companies which have elevated themselves from their competition. Rather than appropriating and recycling the same tracks previously issued by other companies, these superior PD labels have supplied rare or even previously unavailable material, along with discographical data and some fine artwork. Among such companies are the very worthwhile Sepia, as well as Jasmine and Proper.
Also worthy of commendation are the labels that originally made some of Lee's radio material available: in particular, Glendale, Sounds Rare, Artistic, and Hindsight. Had it not been for them, much of Lee's radio material might have never been commercially issued. (Those well-intentioned, collector-oriented companies unwittingly fed, on the other hand, an endless string of shoddy labels, which appropriating this radio material without any noticeable compunction.)
Out of the PD issues that have recycled the same batch of studio, radio and television performances, I would actually single out the following three as exceptionally satisfactory (within reason), due to well-sequenced track selection and okay sound quality. For specfic details about them, see relevant sections above, under the years 1999, 2000, and 1996.
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