The Peggy Lee Bio-Discography's Picture Gallery:
Peggy Lee's Guest Appearances In Albums By Other Artists
by Iván Santiago-Mercado

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Scope and Contents

The chief purpose of this page is to itemize Peggy Lee's appearances in other artists' albums. Generally, the explanation for such appearances is obvious: at some point, Lee and the album's artist recorded together. In some instances, the album's artist is also a singer with whom she duetted (Dean Martin, Mel Tormé). Other times, the artist is a musician (Barney Bigard, Red Norvo), a conductor or a producer (Milt Gabler, Quincy Jones) who worked with Lee at a given recording session.

It is worth noting that most of these appearances can be found not only in the other artist's albums but also in Lee's own CDs and LPs. There are, however, a few exceptions. The guest spots that Lee did for albums by Benny Carter, Michael Franks, and Gilbert O'Sullivan do not appear in any of Lee's albums. They can be found only in CDs by those gentlemen. From Mel Tormé's album California Suite (section XI below), only one of the tracks has shown up in Lee's discs. Finally, one of two instrumentals in which Peggy Lee played drums (see section XVI below) has yet to appear in any Lee issue.

Please bear in mind that this page is restricted to studio recordings. Duets taped for radio and television are not factored in. Neither are various-artists compilations, nor songwriter anthologies. As for Peggy Lee's studio recordings with Benny Goodman and Bing Crosby, this pictorial discography features separate pages for such material.

I. ART LUND




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: Art Lund With The Benny Goodman Orchestra, 1941-1946 ("The Big Bands' Greatest Vocalists" Series) / Format: LP / Label: Joyce Record Club / Cat. Num.: 6015 / Rel. Year: unknown / Note: During a few of the months which Peggy Lee spent as the "girl singer" of The Benny Goodman Orchestra, Art Lund served duty as her counterpart, the "boy singer." The pair is shown in the photo that graces the front cover of this LP (image #1). They can be seen on the left side of the picture, sitting down near the pianist while waiting for their spots. (Dancers are up front, the band on the back.) This Joyce Record Club LP includes two duets that Lund and Lee recorded with Goodman for Columbia: "Winter Weather" (1941) and "If You Build A Better Mousetrap" (1942). Both numbers are also available in various Peggy Lee - Benny Goodman anthologies, including the 1999 2CD set Peggy Lee & Benny Goodman; The Complete Recordings, 1941-1947.

2. Title: Band Singer; The Best Of Art Lund / Format: CD / Label: Collectors' Choice / Cat. Num.: Ccm 153 2 (also A 31705) / Rel. Year: 2000 / Note: Though not a reissue nor directly connected in any way to the aforementioned LP, this CD contains the same two duets mentioned in entry #1.

II. BARNEY BIGARD




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: The Chronogical Barney Bigard, 1944 / Format: CD / Label: Classics / Cat. Num.: (France) 896 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Note: Clarinetist Barney Bigard and vocalist Peggy Lee crossed paths at the recording sessions that producer Dave Dexter Jr. set up for his concept album New American Jazz. This CD includes the two numbers sung by Lee during those Capitol sessions, "That Old Feeling" (1944) and "Ain't Goin' No Place" (1944). Both numbers are also available in numerous Peggy Lee anthologies.

III. BENNY CARTER




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: The Benny Carter Songbook, Volume 1 / Format: CS & CD / Label: MusicMasters / Cat. Num.: 01612 65134 4/2 (also 01612 65172) / Rel. Year: 1996 / Note: After a long career as a recording artist, Peggy Lee's swan song turned out to be "I See You," the guest vocal that she did in 1995 for this all-vocals digital tribute to Benny Carter. Notice that this CD is the only issue in which Lee's appearance can be found; It is not in any of her CDs. MusicMasters actually released two volumes of The Benny Carter Songbook; Lee is featured only in the first. For extensive detail about this project, consult notes under session dated August 26, 1995, near the end of this page.

IV. BOB HOPE




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: Bob Hope In Hollywood / Format: CS & LP / Label: MCA / Cat. Num.: 906 / Rel. Year: 1984 / Note: Contains the number "Merry-Go-Runaround," a trio that Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Peggy Lee waxed for Decca in 1952. The number was actually from the motion picture Road To Bali, in which leading lady Dorothy Lamour accompanied Hope and Crosby.

2. Title: Thanks For The Memories / Format: CD / Label: MCA / Cat. Num.: 10611 / Rel. Year: 1992 / Note: Contains the same number mentioned in item #1. "

General Note

Merry-Go-Runaround" actually appears in a large number of Bob Hope compilations. Most of them are from Public Domain labels, and quite a few are named after the standard "Thanks For The Memory," which he co-introduced. Herein I have listed, as a sample, only two official compilations from the Decca-MCA-Universal family. Of course, "Merry-Go-Runaround" can also be found in Peggy Lee's own anthologies.

V. DEAN MARTIN




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: The Capitol Years / Format: CD / Label: Capitol / Cat. Num.: 0777 7 98409 2 2 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Note: This compilaton includes the 1948 Peggy Lee - Dean Martin duet "You Was."

2. Title: Hey, Brother, Pour The Wine / Format: CD / Label: Collectors' Choice / Cat. Num.: 609 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Note: Contains the aforementioned duet.

General Note

"You Was" can also be found in various official Peggy Lee issues, not to say anything of the many Public Domain compilations by both Martin and Lee that contain this track, too. For my sample above, I have picked just two of the official issues.

VI. GEORGE SHEARING




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: George Shearing & Friends / Format: CD / Label: Pair / Cat. Num.: Pdcd 2 1347 / Rel. Year: 1995 / Note: This licensed compilation includes five tracks from the 1959 Peggy Lee - George Shearing album Beauty And The Beat: "Do I Love You?," "Get Out Of Town," "All Too Soon," "There'll Be Another Spring," and "Blue Prelude."

2. Title: The Definitive George Shearing / Format: CD / Label: Blue Note & Verve / Cat. Num.: 589857 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Note: Contains "You Came A Long Way From St. Louis," another track from the 1959 Peggy Lee - George Shearing album Beauty And The Beat.

VII. GILBERT O'SULLIVAN




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: Can't Think Straight / Format: CD Single / Label: Park / Cat. Num.: (England) Parkcd 15 / Rel. Year: 1992 / Note: This 3-song CD single describes itself as an advance sample from the album Sounds Of The Loop (item #2). Although the front cover gives equal billing to both singers, Peggy Lee participates in only one of the three songs, "Can't Think Straight." O'Sullivan sings solo in the other two numbers.

2. Title: Sounds Of The Loop / Format: CS & CD / Label: Park / Cat. Num.: (England) Parkmc 19 & Parkcd 19 / Rel. Year: 1993 / Note: The original edition of Sounds Of The Loop was released in Japan by Toshiba Emi (CD Tocp 6897). In that 1991 release for the Asian market, O'Sullivan sings "Can't Think Straight" in the company of pianist and vocalist Takao Tisugi. Two years later, the above-shown edition of Sounds Of The Loop was produced and released in the United Kingdom. It adds the O'Sullivan - Lee duet version of "Can't Think Straight" to the numbers from the Japanese original, including O'Sullivan's duet with Takao Tisugi. Additional differences between the Toshiba EMI and Park editions are discussed here, under the session dated August 2, 1992.

3. Title: The Berry Best Of Gilbert O'Sullivan / Format: CD / Label: Capitol / Cat. Num.: (England) 5986722 / Rel. Year: 2004 / Note: This is one of various O'Sullivan compilations that contain his "Can't Think Straight" duet with Peggy Lee. Please notice that this duet can only be found in his albums; it is not in any of Peggy Lee's issues.

4. Title: Caricature; The Box / Format: CD / Label: Rhino Handmade / Cat. Num.: Rhm 2 7849 / Volumes: 3 / Rel. Year: 2004 / Note: This O'Sullivan career retrospective includes his 1992 "Can't Think Straight" duet with Peggy Lee.

General Note

Above, I have offered just a sampling of the various anthologies that include "Can't Think Straight." Most of the excluded compilationss fall under the bootleg and Public Domain categories. There is, however, at least one additional anthology which is actually from a legitimate, licensing label. Entitled The Best Of Gilbert O'Sullivan and released by Rhino, that compilation has the peculiarity of having been re-pressed, reportedly at O'Sullivan's request, due to an error. The original pressing (1994) contained a version of "Can't Think Straight" in which O'Sullivan's duet partner was listed in the track listing as Peggy Lee, yet the singer actually heard in the CD was not her, but Kirsten Siggaard. After O'Sullivan voiced his displeasure with the mistake, the CD was re-pressed, that time using the duet version that features Peggy Lee.

VIII. JOHNNY MERCER




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: Johnny Mercer ("Mosaic Select" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Mosaic / Cat. Num.: Ms 028 (also 946 3 90562 2 4) / Volumes: 3 / Rel. Year: 2007 / Note: In this anthology of mostly jazzy sides from Johnny Mercer's years as a Capitol vocalist, there are two tracks that bear a direct connection to Peggy Lee. One of them is a 1947 pop-oriented recording of Irving Berlin's "The Freedom Train" in which Mercer and Lee are but two members of the Capitol roster who sings the number. "The Freedom Train" can also be found in Peggy Lee anthologies and, as shown elsewhere through this page, in compilations by some of the other artists who were part of the session's personnel. The other track connected to Lee in this Mercer collection i "It's A Good Day," a song whose lyrics were written by Peggy Lee, and which Mercer (Lee's songwriting mentor) recorded in 1945.

IX. QUINCY JONES




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: Q; The Musical Biography Of Quincy Jones / Format: CD / Label: Rhino / Cat. Num.: 74363 / Volumes: 4 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Note: This Quincy Jones retrospective includes one track sung by Peggy Lee, "As Time Goes By." That track is from If You Go, one of the two albums that Jones arranged and/or conducted for Lee in 1961.

X. MARGARET WHITING




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: My Ideal; The Definitive Collection / Format: CD / Label: Jasmine / Cat. Num.: (England) 174 / Rel. Year: 2007 / Volumes: 3 / Note: Includes a 1947 recording of Irving Berlin's anthem "The Freedom Train," for which various Capitol artists took turns in singing the song's lyrics. Peggy Lee and Margaret Whiting were the two female leads in the varied group. "The Freedom Train" can also be found in Peggy Lee anthologies and, as shown elsewhere through this page, in compilations by some of the other participating artists.

XI. MEL TORMÉ




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: Mel Tormé Sings His Own California Suite / Format: 78 album & EP & LP / Label: Capitol / Cat. Num.: Edd 200 [8 28004-28007] & Kcf 200 (6F 28004-28007) & P 200 / Rel. Year: 1950 / Note: Peggy Lee appears under the pseudonym Susan Melton and plays the antagonist "The Easterner" in this paean to the West Coast. Her singing is heard (sometimes very briefly, sometimes at greater length) in the following segments of the suite: "We Think The West Coast Is The Best Coast," "Coney Island," "The Miami Waltz," "Got The Gate On The Golden Gate," and the reprise of "We Think The West Coast Is The Best Coast."

2. Title: Mel Tormé Sings His California Suite / Format: LP / Label: Discovery - Trend / Cat. Num.: Ds 910 / Rel. Year: 1984 / Note: Reissue of item #1.

3. Title: Mel Tormé Sings His Own California Suite, Complete Edition / Format: CD / Label: Fresh Sound / Cat. Num.: (Spain) Fsrcd 496 / Rel. Year: 2008 / Note: In addition to the original version released by Capitol in 1950, Mel Tormé did a second version of his California Suite for Bethlehem in 1957. That second version does not feature Peggy Lee. Fresh Sound's compact disc includes both the Lee and the non-Lee versions of the suite.





Artwork Shown:

4. Title: California Suite & The Velvet Fog / Format: CD / Label: Jasmine / Cat. Num.: (England) Jascd 365 / Rel. Year: 2000 / Note: Features Tormé's entire 1950 California Suite, originally released on Capitol Records. Also includes "The Old Master Painter," a hit duet that Peggy Lee and Mel Tormé recorded while both were under Capitol contract.

5. Title: Mel Tormé ("The Best Of The Capitol Years" Series) / Format: CD / Label: EMI / Cat. Num.: (England) 0777 7 9 9426 2 6 / Rel. Year: 1995 / Note: Includes "The Old Master Painter" (1949) and "Don't Fan The Flame" (1951), two of the four duets that Peggy Lee and Mel Tormé recorded while they were under contract with Capitol. Not included were "Bless You (For The Good That Is In You)" (1949) and "Telling Me Yes, Telling Me No" (1951). As of 2011, both excluded duets can be found only in Peggy Lee anthologies -- not in Mel Tormé issues.

6. Title: The Mel Tormé Collection, 1944-1985 / Format: CS & CD / Label: Rhino / Cat. Num.: R2 71589 & R4 71589 / Volumes: 4 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Note: Commendably encompassing, this career retrospective of Mel Tormé includes one number from his California Suite for Capitol Records. The number is "Got The Gate On The Golden Gate," and Peggy Lee is among those who sing in it.

General Note

Some of the duets that Peggy Lee and Mel Tormé recorded for Capitol Records can also be found in other Tormé CD compilations, most of them in the Public Domain. Above, I have circumscribed my choices to official compilations and to releases from collector-oriented labels.

XII. MICHAEL FRANKS




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: Dragonfly Summer / Format: CS & CD / Label: Reprise / Cat. Num.: 9 45227 4 & 9 45227 2 / Rel. Year: 1993 / Note: This original Michael Franks album includes his duet "You Were Meant For Me" with Peggy Lee, which they recorded in 1992. The duet can not be found anywhere else -- neither in Lee's CDs nor in compilations of Franks' work.

2. Photo from the session.

XIII. MILT GABLER




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: Billy Crystal Presents The Milt Gabler Story / Format: CD & DVD / Label: Verve / Cat. Num.: B 0003911 00 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Note: This tribute to celebrated producer Milt Gabler includes Peggy Lee's hit recording of "Lover," which she and Gabler did while both were working for Decca Records (1952). Disappointingly, the liner notes of this issue have nothing to say about the collaboration.

XIV. PAUL WESTON




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: 1. Title: Paul Weston; A Life In Music; Songwriter, Composer, Arranger, Conductor / Format: CD / Label: JSP / Cat. Num.: 957 / Rel. Year: 2009 / Volumes: 3 / Note: Includes a 1947 recording of the Paul Weston-conducted number "The Freedom Train," in which Peggy Lee is among the Capitol vocalists who take turns in singing the vocal. This number can also be found in Peggy Lee anthologies and, as shown elsewhere through this page, in compilations by some of the other artists who were part of the session's personnel.

XV. THE PIED PIPERS




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: The Pied Pipers ("Capitol Collectors" Series) / Format: CS & CD / Label: Capitol / Cat. Num.: C4 95289 & C2 95289 / Rel. Year: 1992 / Note: Includes a 1947 recording of Irving Berlin's "The Freedom Train," in which The Pied Pipers and Peggy Lee are among the Capitol vocalists who take turns in singing the vocal. This number can also be found in Peggy Lee anthologies and, as shown elsewhere through this page, in compilations by some of the other artists who were part of the session's personnel.

2. Title: Dreams From The Sunny Side Of The Street / Format: CD / Label: Jasmine / Cat. Num.: (England) 412 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Volumes: 2 / Note: Includes the same performance mentioned in entry #1.

XVI. RED NORVO




Artwork Shown:

1. Title: The Chronological Red Norvo And His Orchestra, 1945-1947 / Format: CD / Label: Classics / Cat. Num.: (France) 1386 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Note: An all-star roster got together for a 1947 Capitol date that resulted in "Ja-Da" and "Three-Thirty Jump," both instrumentals that are included in this Red Norvo CD. Each of the 11 participating musicians played an instrument different from the one for which they were best known. Peggy Lee was the drummer, Red Norvo the pianist, and the ensemble was baptized as Ten Cats And A Mouse. Although Capitol iconceived the record as nothing more than a fun novelty, the ensemble's playing proved good enough to be taken seriously by both the press and the radio stations. Of the two instrumentals, only "Three-Thirty Jump" has appeared in a Peggy Lee compilation (Capitol's so-called pink box, Miss Peggy Lee). As for "Ja-Da," it can only be found in the original 78 release, in this Norvo CD, and in a couple of various-artists compilations.

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