The Peggy Lee Bio-Discography:
A Gallery Of Albums That Feature Lee's Recordings With Benny Goodman
by Iván Santiago-Mercado
Page generated on Dec 24, 2020
Scope And Contents
The albums displayed in this page contain vocals recorded by Peggy Lee while she was The Benny Goodman Orchestra's female vocalist (1941-1943). Attention is given to albums fully dedicated to Lee's "canary" work -- not to albums that mingle her vocals with the instrumentals by the band, nor to the many "hybrid" CDs in which Lee's big band performances are mixed with her later numbers as a solo artist. Also, only studio recordings are covered herein. (For radio broadcasts featuring Lee in her role as Goodman's canary, consult this page instead.) A note at the bottom of the present page provides further clarification on its general contents. An index of album titles is also supplied at the bottom of the page.
Photo
Seen above is an example of an album holder, which 1940s music fans could buy for the express purpose of keeping together, within one receptacle, the 78-rpm singles in their collections. This particular Columbia album holder was probably manufactured in 1943 or 1944.
I. BENNY GOODMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA WITH PEGGY LEE
Album Covers Shown:
1 & 2. Title: Benny Goodman And His Orchestra And Sextet; Vocals By Peggy Lee / Format: 78-rpm album / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: C 170 / Tracks: 8 / Discs Or Volumes: 4 (#38280, #38281, #38282, #38283) / Rel. Date: August 1948 / Note: Original American issue. Different copies of the same issue are shown in these images. Benny Goodman And His Orchestra And Sextet; Vocals By Peggy Lee is actually one of the two earliest all-Peggy-Lee albums ever issued. (The very first one was Rendezvous With Peggy Lee, on Capitol Records.)
3. Found in a commercial site on the web, this mysterious image obviously displays the same 78-rpm album seen in image #1, yet its colors are partially different and the picture seems dimmer. The dimness suggests discoloration due to the passing of time. Instead of assuming that it is a foreign edition or a reissue, I am more inclined to believe that image #2 shows a severely discolored copy of the same album edition seen in image #1. 
Album Covers Shown:
4. Title: Benny Goodman And His Orchestra With Peggy Lee / Format: 78-rpm album / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: (Canada) a70 / Tracks: 8 / Discs Or Volumes: 4 (#6399, #6400, #6401, #6402) / Rel. Year: possibly 1949 / Note: Canadian edition of item #1. Although the artwork has been overhauled and the album's title slightly altered, the track listing is still the same. Note that the song listing (visible inside one of the artwork's black quadrangles) suffers from one glaring error. The eighth title is given as "Somebody Loves Me;" it should instead be "Somebody Nobody Loves."
5. Here is another mysterious web finding. Since the pictured front cover is essentially identical to the cover of the Canadian 78-rpm album (image #4), I am left to wonder if it could have been artificially colored by the person who uploaded it. Another possibility -- though less likely -- would be that the copy seen in image #4 presents the original colors of the set, and that copy #3 is the one which has undergone discoloration.
Album Covers Shown:
6. Title: Benny Goodman And His Orchestra And Sextet; Vocals By Peggy Lee / Format: 10" LP / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: Cl 6033 / Tracks: 8 / Rel. Year: 1949 / Note: This is the 10" LP edition of item #1.
7. Title: Benny Goodman And His Orchestra And Sextet; Vocals By Peggy Lee / Format: double EP / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: B 406 / Tracks: 8 / Rel. Year: possibly 1949 / Note: This is the EP edition of item #1. The above-given release date is likely, but still tentative. (I have consulted sources that give this item a 1949 release date, and I also have seen sources that date it 1950.) 
Album Covers Shown:
8. Title: Benny Goodman With Peggy Lee / Format: 10" LP / Label: Philips / Cat. Num.: (Netherlands) B 07626 R / Tracks: 8 / Rel. Year: unknown / Note: European edition of item #6 above.
9. South African edition of the 10" LP seen in image #8. 
10. Title: Benny Goodman With Peggy Lee / Format: 10" LP / Label: Philips / Cat. Num.: (Australia) B 07626 R / Tracks: 8 / Rel. Year: unknown / Note: This LP's label, title, and tracks are the same ones as those of items #7 and #8 above. The front cover is different in its execution, although it does follow the mold established by the original American 10" LP. In this Australian pressing, Lee is seen wearing a dress that covers her up to the neck. From such "coverage," it could be gleaned that her décolletage underwent censorship in Australian land. (Just a possibility. Since the photo of Goodman is also different from the one used in the American and European pressings, maybe the "coverage of Lee's bosom" had no ulterior motivation.)
11. One side from one of the discs belonging to this section's original subject of discussion, the 1948 78-rpm album set (whose front cover is seen in image #1 above).
II. BENNY GOODMAN PRESENTS PEGGY LEE
Album Cover Shown:
Title: Benny Goodman Presents Peggy Lee / Format: EP / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: B 1636 / Rel. Year: 1953 / Tracks: 4
III. PEGGY LEE SINGS WITH BENNY GOODMAN
Album Covers Shown:
1. Title: Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman / Format: LP / Label: COLUMBIA's Harmony / Cat. Num.: Hl 7005 / Rel. Year: 1957 / Tracks: 10
General Note (Series & Year of Release): The LP under scrutiny does not carry a release date, and none of my sources provide one. Fortunately, an answer has come through my research of trade periodicals. During the second half of 1957 (particularly, in August), Columbia posted several ads on behalf of what was a brand new line, called Harmony. For instance, one of the inspected ads not only announces the launching of Harmony but also lists sixty-seven albums already available for purchase. An article published on the August 3, 1957 issue of Cash Box further explained that "[s]imultaneous with Columbia's Fall Program announcement ... the major diskery last week launched a new label called Harmony Records. The new label has been designed to compete with the lower-priced LP merchandise and makes its debut with 50-12" LP albums ..." The points stressed in Columbia's sale pitch were price ($1.98), volume or variety ("albums ranging in mood and tempo from teen-age pops through flamenco, spirituals, to Bach's Brandenburg's Concertos"), and so-called impulse purchase (the expectation that chain stores and dealers would order in large quantities, due to the two aforementioned pitch points).
Issue Notes: This LP holds the honor of bearing one of the lowest numbers (7005) in Columbia's Harmony line, preceded only by the following four albums: Semper Fidelis: The Marches Of Philip Sousa (7001; performed by The Goldman Band), Teen Age Dance Party (7002; Dan Terry And His Orchestra), New Sounds By Pete Rugolo (7004), and Dance Date With Dick Jurgens (7004). Over the decades, copies of Harmony 7005 have been abundantly available at used record stores, suggesting frequent reprints on Columbia's part.
Technical Notes: Electronically re-recorded to simulate stereo. Suffers from not only mediocre sound quality but also serious mastering errors. The most glaring ones: two performances, "That Did It, Marie" and "Full Moon" miss their respective first vocal choruses. These errors have been carried over to all the configurations and reissues of the album that are shown in this section.
2. Title:
3. Title: Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman ("Cameo" Series) / Format: LP / Label: CBS / Cat. Num.: (United Kingdom) 32417 / Rel. Date: May 1984 / Tracks: 10 / Note: British reissue of item #1. For an additional photo of the item, check this section's last entry.
4. Title: Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman / Format: LP / Label: Columbia Special Products / Cat. Num.: P 13584 / Tracks: 10 / Rel. Year: Some online commercial databases assign a 1989 issue date to this LP, but the extent to which such sites are accurate remains uncertain. / Note: Reissue of item #1 above. 
Album Covers Shown:
5 & 6. Title: Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman / Format: 8-track cartridge / Label: Columbia Special Products / Cat. Num.: Ba 13584 / Tracks: 10 / Rel. Year: 1976 / Note: Seen with and without its cover, this is the cartridge version of item #1 above.
7. Title: Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman ("The Best Of Times" Series) / Formats: LP & CS / Label: CBS / Cat. Num.: Pck 7005 & Pct 7005 / Rel. Year: 1984 (according to some commercial sites) or 1988 (according to other commercial sites) / Tracks: 10 / Note: Reissue of item #1 above. The photo of Lee is the same on both items, but the artwork is different. The jukebox backdrop is actually CBS' standard artwork for Best Of Times, the series to which the item belongs. (Another item from the series can be seen below, in section V, item #3.) Incidentally, I do own a copy of the above-seen cassette version, but I neither own nor have ever seen a copy of the companion LP version, whose existence is alleged by music catalogues and similar sources. At this point in time, I highly doubt that such vinyl edition was ever issued.
8. Title: Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman / Format: cassette / Label: Columbia Special Products / Cat. Num.: Bt 13584 / Tracks: 10 / Note & Rel. Year: Reissue of item #1 above. I should ponit out that 1990 is not the only release year given to this cassette in music guides and other sources. It is, though, the most frequently assigned year in such sources. 
Album Covers Shown:
9 & 10. Title: Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman / Format: CD / Label: CBS / Cat. Num.: Ck 7005 (0 7464 07005 2) / Tracks: 10 / Rel. Year: 1988 / Note: Two images showing the American CD version of the album under discussion. (A third image, presenting a CD reissue from the 1990s, will be featured next.) The first image reveals that the CD came in longbox packaging and was part of a series that CBS called "Collector's Choice." It was also sold as a stand alone, seen in the second image. For a long time, I was uncertain about the exact release date(s) of this CD. After checking a variety of American-based websites, I have found a wide variety of date claims -- 1984, 1990, 1992, 1995 and 1997. Fortunately, I eventually tracked down a review published in the winter 1988 issue on the magazine Show Music, which proved that the very first issue of this CD appeared around the time of that review. Further confirmation has come from a dedicated Goodman collector, who expressed full certainty about never seeing this compact disc in stores or advertisement before 1988. (On a related subject matter, Goodman discographical expert David Jessup has alerted me to the fact that USA copyright terms in the USA used to grant 28 years of protection, with the option of a renewal for another 28-year period. Since this album was probably first copyright in 1956 or 1957, Sony is likely to have applied for such a renewal in 1984. Hence the various websites that identify 1984 as the release year could be pointing to the album's copyright renewal.)
11 & 12. Title: Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman / Format: CD & CS / Label: Sony Music Special Products / Cat. Num.: A 13584 & Bt 13584 / Rel. Date: Various sources give an October 25, 1990 date to the CD editions; others assign it a June 15, 1992 date. My own CD copy bears a 1992 release year. Online commercial sites also give 1984 and 1997 release years to this CD. / Tracks: 10 / Note: One of two or three American CD editions of the album under discussion. Notice that the catalogue number is the same as the one used on various other items itemized in this section, including the next one.
13. Title: Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman / Format: cassette / Label: Columbia Special Products / Cat. Num.: Bt 13584 / Rel. Year: 1990 is the year most frequently given. / Tracks: 10 / Note: Reissue of item #1 above. Notice that the catalogue number is the same one assigned to various other items found in this section, such as the preceding one.
Album Covers Shown:
14 & 15. Title: We'll Meet Again; Peggy Lee With The Benny Goodman Orchestra / Format: LP / Label: Hallmark / Cat. Num.: (United Kingdom) Hm 503 & Shm 503 / Rel. Year: 1967 / Tracks: 10 / Note: British reissue of item #1 above, claiming release in both mono and electronically processed stereo formats. This is, incidentally, a licensed album. (During the CD era, Hallmark would eventually become a Public Domain label, but at this much earlier point it operated under licensing.) Also made available on CD during the 1990s, as shown in the next entry.
16. Title: Why Don't You Do Right;; Peggy Lee With The Benny Goodman Orchestra / Format: CD / Label: Hallmark - Carlton / Cat. Num.: (United Kingdom) 309542 / Rel. Year: 1998 / Tracks: 10 / Note: CD reissue of the preceding item. Contains the same tracks but sports a different title and a different front cover. Also issued in Japan by distributor Keep Co Ltd, as Jb 602.
Album Covers Shown:
17 & 18. Title: Why Don't You Do Right? / Format: CD / Label: Charly's Classic Jazz / Cat. Num.: (United Kingdom) Cdcd 1216 / Rel. Year: 1994; also 2006 & 2011 / Note: Reissues, probably unauthorized, of item #1 above. Since I do not own copies, my information about these two issues comes from commercial sources in the internet, where the given details are confusing and not fully reliable. Basically, Charly Records has digitally reissued the album under discussion twice, using the above-shown covers. The first cover definitely belongs to a CD with a 1994 date on its back. It seems to have been reissued in the MP3 format in 2006. Specifics about the second cover are harder to ascertain. It appears to have been the issue dating from 2011, though it can also be found listed with a 2006 date. There is clearly a MP3 edition using the above-seen artwork; less clear is whether there is also a CD counterpart.
19. Back cover of the same Cameo LP that was showcased on entry #3 above.
IV. PEGGY WITH BENNY & THE BENNY GOODMAN SEXTET WITH PEGGY LEE
Album Covers Shown:
1 & 2. Title: Peggy With Benny / Format: EP / Label: Philips / Cat. Num.: (United Kingdom) Bbe 12172 / Rel. Year: 1958 / Tracks: 4 / Note: Two copies of the same British issue are shown in the pictures above. 
Album Covers Shown:
3 & 4. Title: The Benny Goodman Sextet With Peggy Lee ("Hall of Fame" Series) / Format: EP / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: B 2556 / Rel. Year: 1958 / Tracks: 4
General Note:
The two EPs listed in this section contain the same tracks and were released within the same year. Presumably, the American LP was the earliest. Notice the shift of spotlight from one country to the other; it's on the clarinetist in the American EP, on the vocalist in the British EP.
V. MISS PEGGY LEE
Album Covers Shown:
1 & 2. Title: Miss Peggy Lee / Format: LP / Label: Harmony / Cat. Num.: H 30024 / Rel. Year: 1970 / Tracks: 9 / Note: This LP was apparently issued in two different-colored covers. The details given in this entry pertain to the pink cover issue, of which I own a copy. (I have caught sight of the green cover exclusively on the internet. As with many other items seen only in the net, I harbor doubts about its physical existence.) Miss Peggy Lee shares six of its nine tracks with the earlier ten-track Harmony LP Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman (section III above).
3. Title: Miss Peggy Lee ("The Best Of Times" Series) / Format: Cs / Label: CBS / Cat. Num.: Pct 30034 / Rel. Year: 1988 / Tracks: 9 / Note: Reissue of items #1 & #2.
VI. ROMANTIC MOOD
Album Covers Shown:
1 & 2. Title: Romantic Mood / Format: LP / Label: Columbia / Cat. Num.: (Japan) Pl 5046 / Rel. Year: unknown / Tracks: 16 / Note: All eight tracks on the B side feature Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman. Side A does not feature Lee.
VII. PEGGY LEE SINGS WITH BENNY GOODMAN {NIPPON COLUMBIA}
Artwork Shown:
1. Title: Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman / Format: LP / Label: CBS Nippon Columbia / Cat. Num.: (Japan) Xm-5-C / Rel. Year: 1966 / Tracks: 14
VIII. ELMER'S TUNE
Artwork Shown:
1 - 4. Title: Elmer's Tune / Format: LP / Label: CBS Sony / Cat. Num.: (Japan) Sopj 22-23 / Rel. Year: 1972 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 32 / Note: Double LP set with gatefold cover and booklet. Includes all but one of the numbers that Peggy Lee recorded as a canary with The Benny Goodman Orchestra. Uses the master takes, aside from a few exceptional cases in which an alternate take was picked instead. (The aforementioned, infelicitously edited master of "Full Moon" is the one included.) The front artwork that graces this cover had originally appeared in the 78-rpm album Benny Goodman And His Orchestra And Sextet; Vocals By Peggy Lee, whose picture is displayed above, in section I.
IX. A PORTRAIT OF PEGGY LEE, 1941-1942
Album Covers Shown:
1 & 2. Title: A Portrait Of Peggy Lee, 1941-1942 ("CBS Favourite Jazz 100" Series) / Format: LP / Label: CBS Sony / Rel. Year: 1979 / Cat. Num.: (Japan) 20Ap1486 / Tracks: 16 / Note: Both of these covers are said to belong to the LP version, rather than the CD versions. If so, the different obis would be evidence that the LP was issued twice, first in 1979 and then at a later time. Both obis identify themselves a belonging to the "CBS Favourite Jazz 100" series. 
Album Covers Shown:
3. Title: A Portrait Of Peggy Lee, 1941-1942 ("Enchantment Of Jazz Vocal" Series) / Format: CD / Label: CBS Sony / Rel. Year: 1986 / Cat. Num.: (Japan) 32Dp 563 / Tracks: 16 / Note: A digital reissue of item #1.
4. Title: A Portrait Of Peggy Lee, 1941-1942 / Format: CD / Label: Sony International / Rel. Year: 2002 / Cat. Num.: (Japan) Sicp 124 / Tracks: 24 / Note: An expanded reissue of the preceding item. The expansion consists of eight additional tracks.
Artwork Shown:
5 & 8. More extensive views of the LP discussed above (entries #1 & #2).
6 & 9. More extensive views of the 16-track CD discussed above (entry #3).
7 & 10. More extensive views of the 24-track CD discussed above (entry #4).
Artwork Shown:
11. This artwork was apparently created just to represent the audio contents of a streaming, lossless version of the compilation under scrutiny. Tidal, the European music subscription service, was responsible for making the files commercially available for stream. As is often the case with offers of this type, the files are no longer available. At the time of this addendum (October 2018), the only Goodman-Lee file being offered at the site was another one, represented by image #12. It is a "streamed reissue" of the CD to be discussed in the next section.
X. BENNY GOODMAN, FEATURING PEGGY LEE
Album Cover Shown:
1 & 2. Title: Benny Goodman Featuring Peggy Lee ("Best Of Big Bands" Series) / Format: CD / Label: COLUMBIA's Legacy / Cat. Num.: Ck 53422 / Rel. Year: 1993 / Tracks: 16 / Note: A chronological anthology, containing the first 16 numbers that Peggy Lee recorded with Benny Goodman.
XI. THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS, 1941-1947; PEGGY LEE & BENNY GOODMAN
Artwork Shown:
1. Title: The Complete Recordings, 1941-1947; Peggy Lee & Benny Goodman / Format: CD / Label: COLUMBIA's Legacy / Cat. Num.: C2k 65686 / Rel. Year: 1999 / Discs: 2 / Tracks: 38 / Note: This recommended 2CD set is the only official issue that includes Peggy Lee's entire trove of studio recordings with Goodman on not only Columbia/Okeh but also Capitol Records. (The one exception is "Eight, Nine And Ten," a performance recorded for Capitol Records on March 28, 1947. Never released nor documented until the early 1990s, it still could have been included in this 1999 issue. The issue's producers do not seem to have been aware of its existence.) This 2CD set was mastered directly from the original acetates or -- in cases when acetates had deteriorated -- from the earliest transfers. Various alternate takes are included as bonus tracks. (The particular copy of C2k 6586 seen in this image is a special markets item, manufactured by Columbia for BMG; hence it has its own additional catalogue number, D 231086.)
Artwork Shown:
2. An expansive view of the CD set discussed in entry #1.
3. Photo that served as the basis for the cover of the previously showcased CD (entries #1 & #2).
Artwork Shown:
5. Title: Where Or When / Format: CD / Label: Acrobat / Cat. Num.: (United Kingdom) Addcd 3047 / Rel. Year: 2008 / Discs: 2 / Tracks: 38 / Note: Last image below. The makers of this Public Domain CD set showed no compunction in grabbing the entire contents of the above-shown Columbia Legacy CD set (alternate takes included) and in passing it as their own work.
6. Title: Peggy Lee With The Benny Goodman Orchestra, 1941-47 / Format: CD / Label: Acrobat / Cat. Num.: (United Kingdom) Addcd 3216 / Rel. Year: 2017 / Discs: 2 / Tracks: 44 / Note: Expanded reissue of the preceding item. Its six additional tracks are performances taken from Benny Goodman radio remotes.
XII. PUBLIC DOMAIN & BUDGET RELEASES (MOST CREDITED TO PEGGY LEE BUT CONTAINING HER BENNY GOODMAN MATERIAL)
General Note:
The Peggy Lee CDs listed in this section share two common characteristics: they are Public Domain issues and their track listings consist exclusively of numbers recorded with Benny Goodman. The only qualifying PD CDs that I have left out are those already listed in the preceding sections. (As for "hybrid" Peggy Lee compilations that combine her Goodman-backed tracks with her solo recordings and her performances on radio, they can be found in this discography's Public Domain pictorial page.) 
Album Cover Shown:
1. Title: ... In The Beginning; The Legend Of Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Pearl's Flapper Pavilion / Cat. Num.: (United Kingdom) Past cd 7801 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Tracks: 22 
Album Covers Shown:
2. Title: The Best Of Peggy Lee & Benny Goodman / Format: CD / Label: Jazz Forever / Cat. Num.: Bd 67062 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Tracks: 18
3 & 4. 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: Released with at least two different front covers, as shown above. 
Album Covers Shown:
5. Title: Shady Lady Bird / Format: CDr & MP3 / Label: Mocking Bird / Cat. Num.: unknown / Rel. Year: 2011 / Tracks: 15
6 & 7. 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: 30 (10 by Lee) / Note: A budget (not Public Domain) issue, this 3CD set dedicates separate discs to each of the singers mentioned in the title. Licensed from Sony Music Entertainment (1976 sound-recording copyright date). 
Album Covers Shown:
8. 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
9. Title: Peggy Lee ("Best" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Lafayette Music Group / Cat. Num.: unknown / Rel. Year: 2000 / Tracks: 18
10. Title: Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: Amuse Media - Fine Disc Corporation / Cat. Num.: (Korea) Fo 118 / Rel. Year: unknown / Tracks: 14 / Note: All but two of the tracks are sides with Benny Goodman.
XIII. MISCELLANEOUS BENNY GOODMAN ISSUES, PART I: (MOSTLY) USA COLUMBIA ANTHOLOGIES, WITH ASSORTED PEGGY LEE TRACKS
In this section, I am chronologically listing official Benny Goodman albums which combine vocals by Peggy Lee with instrumentals from the band. The focus is on issues released or licensed by Columbia itself, although I have made exceptions for a few latter-day anthologies of potential interest (dated 1997 and 1998). For the first three decades covered (the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s) my aim has been completeness: I have tried to list every qualifying album that was issued within that period. From later decades, I have allowed for some flexibility, even while still remaining faithful to a principle of comprehensiveness as a goal.
(Absolute completeness may remain forever elusive. Starting in the 1970s, there was a significant proliferation of compilations, some concentrating on Goodman and others featuring various artists amidst which Goodman was one of many. A frequent releaser of compilation during such years was Time-Life Music, which favored multiple-LP boxes with byzantine track listings.) Furthermore, that decade ushered the steady appearance of numerous Goodman releases from various licensees. With the coming of the CD and MP3 era, an avalanche of Public Domain releases followed. As a result, there are many Goodman compilations out there which are obscure or hard to track down, as well as many more whose legitimacy is suspect or had to ascertain.)
Please note that my selective approach to post-1970 albums applies to this page only. Elsewhere in this discography --i.e., the main page dedicated to Goodman's sessions, and the miscellaneous pages for compilations and foreign issues-- I have listed every pertinent Goodman issue that is known to me.
1947
Album Parts Shown:
1a. Title: Benny's Best; All Time Favorites By Benny Goodman And His Orchestra / Format: 78-rpm album / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: (Canada) A-52 (discs #6322 to #6325) C 122 (#37243-#37246) / Discs: 4 / Rel. Year: 1947 / Tracks: 8 / Note: Shown above are four of this Canadian set's eight sides, in their Canadian edition. Peggy Lee is represented on just one side ("Why Don't You Do Right?), which is among those seen above. I assume that the discs came in an album with a designed front cover, but I have never seen it, nor do I have any corroboration of its existence. See also the next entry -- especially, its note.
1b. Title: Benny's Best / Format: 78-rpm album / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: C 122 (discs #37243 to #37246) / Discs: 4 / Rel. Year: 1947 / Tracks: 8 / Note: This is a release that Columbia scheduled for release but ended up canceling in the United States. As planned, half of the tracks would have featured Peggy Lee ("Why Don't You Do Right?," "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place," "That Did It, Marie," and "On The Sunny Side Of The Street") and the other half would have consisted of Benny Goodman instrumentals. As Goodman expert David Jessup has persuasively conjectured, Columbia might have abandoned release plans once Goodman decided to end his contract with the company, signing instead with rival label Capitol Records. Fortunately, Columbia's/Philips faced no such barriers when it came to the preparation and release of any counterparts abroad. Hence Benny's Best was actually issued in Canada, as evinced by the preceding entry. The Canadian edition shortened Peggy Lee's presence in the set, however, reducing her contributions from four tracks to just one. My thanks to Jack Kirschenbaum and to Dave Weiner for their kind assistance in tracking down the catalogue number of the USA project, and to David Jessup for the revelation that the album was left unissued in the USA.
1948-1950
Album Covers Shown:
1-4. Title: Benny Goodman, Volume 1 ("Dance Parade" Series) / Format: 10" LP / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: Cl 6048 / Rel. Year: 1949 / Note: On the first picture row above, the four images provide evidence of the existence of four pressings of Columbia 10" LP Cl 6048. The last one is a reissue. As for the other three items, I lack any information that could allow me to ascertain their chronological sequence. I am left to wonder if they could have been simultaneously released in 1948 (as part of a strategy to lure collectors and fans of Goodman). / Second Note: Columbia Cl 6048 features the two most popular numbers from Peggy Lee's tenure as Goodman's canary. One of them is their #1 hit "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place," the other her everlasting interpretation of "Why Don't You Do Right."
6 & 7. Title: Benny Goodman, Volume 2 ("Dance Parade" Series) / Format: 10" LP / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: Cl 6100 / Rel. Year: 1950 / Note: This second Goodman volume in the "Dance Parade" series contains just one Peggy Lee vocal, "How Long Has This Been Going On?" Once again, it appears that the original issue came out on at two variants, followed by a reissue years later (last image in the second picture row).
8. Canadian edition of Columbia 10" LP Cl 6100. Release year unknown.
9. Reissue of Columbia 10" LP Cl 6100. Release year unknown.
General Note: Columbia's "Dance Parade" 10" LP series appears to have been popular in its heyday. Among the other artists featured in the series were Count Basie, Harry James, Gene Krupa, and Kay Kyser. In the United States, those bandleaders' respective entries in the series mirrored the multiplicity of colorful variants and reissues that were just shown above, in my Benny Goodman Dance Parade showcase.
Album Cover Shown:
10a & 10b. Title: Bailemos / Format: EP / Label: Regal / Cat. Num.: (Spain) Seml 34.071 / Rel. Year: 1950 / Note: Official Spanish EP edition of American 10" LP Benny Goodman Dance Parade, Volume 2. The release date is tentative, and the catalogue number might not be fully correct. (The prefix could be Sfml instead of Seml, the digits 34.074 instead of 34.071.)
1953
Album Covers Shown:
11. Title: Benny Goodman Presents Arrangements By Eddie Sauter / Format: gatefold EP / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: G 4-19 [discs 7 1500, 7 1501, and 7 1502]; also B-356 [discs 5 1667, 5 1668, and 5-1669] / Number Of Discs: 3 / Rel. Year: 1953 [G 4-19]; unknown, perhaps 1955 [B-356] / Note: At the time of its release, this album's two Peggy Lee tracks ("That's The Way It Goes," "Not A Care In The World") were thoroughly new offerings: neither master had been previously out on 78-rpm single, 45-rpm single, or in any other disc configuration. (The same applied to five of the album's non-Lee tracks; they too were making their commercial debut.)
12. Title: Benny Goodman Presents Arrangements By Eddie Sauter / Format: LP / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: Gl 523; also Cl 523 / Rel. Year: 1953 [Gl 523]; unknown, perhaps 1955 [Cl 523] / Note: First issued as Gl 523, then as Cl 523. Moreover, Columbia pressed the Cl edition at least twice. For details and pictures, consult the chronologically arranged LP Index, under year 1953, entry for Benny Goodman Presents Arrangements By Eddie Sauter.
13. Title: Benny Goodman Presents Arrangements by Eddie Sauter / Format: LP / Label: CBS' Columbia Special Products / Cat. Num.: Jgl 523 / Rel. Year: 1975 / Note: Domestic reissue of item #7.
14. Title: Arrangements By Fletcher Henderson & Eddie Sauter / Format: CD / Label: Collectables / Cat. Num.: Col 6487 / Rel. Year: 2000 / Note: Image #8 shows a 2000 twofer CD, from the licensee label Collectables, which reissues both item #7 and its companion piece, Benny Goodman Presents Eddie Sauter Arrangements, also released originally in 1953. The Henderson side of the twofer does not feature Peggy Lee.
15. Title: Benny Goodman Presents Eddie Sauter Arrangements ("Big Band Landmark" Series) / Format: LP / Label: COLUMBIA's Philips / Cat. Num.: (United Kingdom) Phil 7043 / Rel. Year: 1955 / Note: British reissue of item #7.
16. Title: Benny Goodman Presents Eddie Sauter Arrangements ("Big Band Landmark" Series) / Format: LP / Label: COLUMBIA's Philips / Cat. Num.: (Netherlands) Phil B 07 010 L / Rel. Year: unknown; possibly 1955 / Note: Scandinavian reissue of item #7.
1955-1965
Album Covers Shown:
17. Title: Benny Goodman ("Hall of Fame" Series) / Format: EP / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: B 2587 / Rel. Year: unknown / Note: This Benny Goodman EP includes just one Peggy Lee vocal, an alternate take of "Why Don't You Do Right?"
18 & 19. Title: Let's Dance (aka Benny Goodman And His Orchestra; aka Benny Goodman Plays) / Format: EP / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: (Australia) Sego 7556 & Italy Sedq 568 & (United Kingdom) Seg 7556 / Rel. Year: 1955 / Note: The Australian and Italian editions of this EP are shown above. There is also a British edition, which I have yet to see. (A secondary source gives its title as Benny Goodman Plays.) All editions features the same four tracks, one of which is a Peggy Lee vocal: "How Long Has This Been Going On?"
20. Title: The King / Format: EP / Label: COLUMBIA's Coronet / Cat. Num.: (Australia) Ks 057 / Rel Year: unknown, though definitely after 1954, and probably no later than 1965 / Note: This Benny Goodman EP includes just one Peggy Lee vocal, "Elmer's Tune."
A Note On Non-existent EPs:
I have come upon some data that I believe to be wrong. The data pertains to various EPs whose existence I consider unlikely.
a) An EP with catalogue number 1-602 is listed by Goodman discographer Russ Connor. Most probably, he had not seen a physical copy of this item and was relying on misinformation. Instead of corresponding with an EP, catalogue number 1-602 belongs to a 7-inch LP single. (This two-song single includes Peggy Lee's vocal for "Blues In The Night.")
b) A second EP, bearing catalogue number 3 38821, is also listed by Connor, and does not seem to actually exist, either. As with the above-explained case, a 7-inch LP single seems to have led to confusion. It is a 7" single by The Benny Goodman Orchestra that bears catalogue number 1-642. This 7" single also happens to have a 78-rpm counterpart disc whose catalogue number is Co 38821. It would thus seem that Connor or his sources mistakenly assigned the number of the 78-rpm single (38821) to a non-existent EP. The Lee vocals that the mythical EP supposedly included were "Blues In The Night" and "Where Or When."
c) A third EP, with catalogue number Co B 406 and supposedly containing Lee's "Blues In The Night" vocal, is listed in another source. However, B 406 happens to be the catalogue number of an item whose existence is unquestionable: the EP Benny Goodman And His Orchestra And Sextet; Vocals By Peggy Lee, from the late 1940s (section I above). Since Columbia is not likely to have assigned the same catalogue number to two different EPs, Co B 406 must be an erroneous, non-existent entry as well.
1968-1975
Album Covers Shown:
21. Title: Clarinet A La King ("Encore" Series) / Format: LP Label: COLUMBIA's Epic / Cat. Num.: Ee 22025 / Rel. Year: 1968 / Note: At the time of its release, this was a worthwhile issue for Peggy Lee fans. It included five Lee vocals, of which only one had ever been on LP before. Lee sings "Let's Do It," "I Got It Bad," "How Deep Is The Ocean," "Shady Lady Bird" and "Ev'ything I Love." (The performance of "Let's Do It" was an alternate take, new to LP at the time.) Sporting the same front cover, this album was also issued in Australia (Epic Elp 3646) and reissued by CBS Special Products in the United States (P 18711, probably early 1980s). Seen ext entry, too. Additionally, a CD came out in 1990, under catalogue number Epic/Sony Esca 5051.
22 & 23. Title: Collectors' Gems, 1929-1945 & BG On The Record / Format: LP & Book Label: Phontastic's Nostalgia Records (in cooperation with Columbia Special Products) & Arlington Book Publishing / Cat. Num.: Csm 890-891 (Also Nost 890-891) & Isbn 9780870000591 / Rel. Year: 1969 / Note: Initially, the two-LP box seen in the first of these two images was sold only in conjunction with the item seen in the second image, a discographical text authored by Donald Russell Connor and Warren W. Hicks. The set contains one Peggy Lee vocal, "I See A Million People."
24. Title: Clarinet A La King ("Jazz On Epic" Series) / Format: LP / Label: COLUMBIA's Epic / Cat. Num.: (Netherlands & France) Epc 80056 / Rel. Year: 1973 / Note: European reissue of the preceding item.
25. Title: The Best Of Benny Goodman; 30 Years Of His Greatest Hits / Format: LP / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: Co alb P4m 5678 / Discs: 4 / Rel. Year: 1972 / Note: Among its 33-track total, this Best Of Benny Goodman anthology includes three of Peggy Lee's vocals ("How Deep Is The Ocean," "Why Don't You Do Right?," "Let's Do It"). No other professional vocalists are featured in this collection.
26. Title: All-Time Greatest Hits / Format: CS & LP / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: Gt/Kg 31547 (also CBS 67268 in Europe) / Discs: 2 / Rel. Year: 1972 / Note: Two Peggy Lee vocals (Why Don't You Do Right?," "Let's Do It") are included among the tracks in this anthology of Goodman's All-Time Greatest Hits.
Album Covers Shown:
27. Title: Solid Gold Instrumental Hits / Format: LP / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: Pg 33405 / Rel. Year: 1975 / Note: A double album that otherwise contains no vocals, Solid Gold Instrumental Hits curiously includes Peggy Lee's vocal of "My Little Cousin." A plausible rationale for the incorporation of "My Little Cousin" to an album of instrumentals is the undeniable catchiness of the song's melody. (That melody originally belonged to a Yiddish tune.)
28. Title: Solid Gold Instrumental Hits / Format: CD / Label: Collectables / Cat. Num.: Col Cd 7859 [also Sony A 702918] / Rel. Year: 2007 / Note: Licensed reissue of #the preceding item.
29. Title: Rare Big Band Gems, 1932-1947 / Format: LP / Label: Nostalgia Book Club & COLUMBIA Special Products / Cat. Num.: Nost 1004 (also: Co Alb P3 13618) / Discs: 3 / Rel. Year: 1976 / Note: Although this is officially a various-artists compilation (as opposed to a Benny Goodman release), I have included it here because it has special merit. Besides, in practice it is partially a Goodman release, because nearly the entire first LP is exclusively dedicated to recordings of his -- 14 performances, out of a 48 total. Among those are two in which Peggy Lee takes care of the vocal. One of them is an alternate issue of "How Deep Is the Ocean," which had never been issued at that point in time. (It remains a rarity, having made only two subsequent appearances, one of a rare LP and the other on a volume from the Chrono[lo]gical CD series that will be showcased in the next section.) The other Lee vocal is "There Won't Be A Shortage Of Love," the rarest of all Lee-Goodman numbers at the time, its master take having been previously issued only on a Japanese LP. Adding to the rarity, the take included in the set is not the master but an alternate. (At the present time, it is actually available in various CD sets, primarily du)e to one producer's misidentification of the alternate as the master.)
1978-1981
Album Covers Shown:
30. Title: Great Vocalists Of The Big Band Era / Format: LP / Label: Columbia House / Cat. Num.: P6 14538 / Rel. Year: 1978 / Discs: 5 / Note: This 5LP set contains 2 Goodman recordings that feature vocals by Peggy Lee. They are "Let's Do It" and "Why Don't You Do Right." The set is not actually a Benny Goodman item but a various-artists compilation, and thus an exception to this page inclusion of Goodman-Lee items only. The exception was made due to one unique track inclusion: according to discographer D. Russell Connor, this is the only issue known to contain the 9/25/1941 alternate take of "Let's Do It."
31. Title: Benny Goodman / Format: LP / Label: CBS Sony / Cat. Num.: Fcpa 618 / Rel. Year: 1981 / Note: The two Peggy Lee canary vocals were include in this LP are "On The Sunny side of The Street" and "The Way you Look Tonight."
32. Title: The Legendary Benny Goodman / Format: LP / Label: Columbia House / Cat. Num.: P5 15536 / Rel. Year: 1981 / Discs: 5 / Note: This 5LP set contains four Goodman recordings that feature vocals by Peggy Lee. They are "Winter Weather," "There Won't Be A Shortage Of Love," "You're Easy To Dance With" and "Let's Do It."
1985-1989
Album Covers Shown:
33. Title: Как Глубок Океан / Format: LP / Label: Мелодия / Cat. Num.: (USSR) С60 24691 004 / Rel. Year: 1986; also 1987 / Note: Released by the Russian label Melodiya, the title of this album translates into How Deep Is The Ocean. That titular track is the Peggy Lee performance featured in the album.
34. Title: Что Может Сделать Лунный Свет / Format: LP / Label: Мелодия / Cat. Num.: (USSR) М60 47507 006 / Rel. Year: 1987 / Note: This Benny Goodman album includes two Peggy Lee vocals, "Why Don't You Do Right?" and "Let's Do It." Its title translates into What A Little Moonlight Can Do. The label was the only one officially active in the Soviet Union from 1964 until that national conglomerate's collapse.
35. Title: The Best Of Benny Goodman And His Orchestra / Format: CS & CD / Label: CBS Special Products / Cat. Num.: 21333 & A 21333 / Rel. Year: 1989 / Note: contains two Peggy Lee vocals, "Why Don't You Do Right?" and "How Deep Is The Ocean."
36. Title: Clarinet Ala King ("Benny Goodman" Sub-Series, Volume II; "Jazz Masterpieces" Series) / Format: CS & LP & CD / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: Cs 40834 & Cj 40834 & Ck 40834 / Rel. Year: 1987 / Note: contains one Peggy Lee vocal, an alternate take of "How Deep Is The Ocean."
37. Title: All The Cats Join In ("Benny Goodman" Sub-Series, Volume III; "Jazz Masterpieces" Series) / Format: CS & LP & CD / Label: CBS / Cat. Num.: Cs 44158 & Cj 44158 & Ck 44158 / Rel. Year: 1988 / Note: contains three Peggy Lee vocals ("Not Mine," "You're Easy To Dance With," and "Why Don't You Do Right?"), some of them never before on CD or on domestic LP.
38. Title: Small Groups, 1941-1945 ("Jazz Masterpieces" Series) / Format: CS & LP & CD / Label: CBS Cat. Num.: Cjt 44437 & Cj 44437 & Ck 44437 / Rel. Year: 1989 / Note: contains each of the four vocals that Peggy Lee recorded with Goodman's sextet ("Blues In The Night," "On The Sunny Side Of The Street," "Where Or When," and "The Way You Look Tonight").
1990 - 2000
(Columbia Series)
Album Covers Shown:
39. Title: Benny Goodman ("Best Of Big Bands" Series) / Format: CS & LP & CD / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: Cs 45338 & Ck 45338 / Rel. Year: 1990 / Note: contains three Peggy Lee vocals, "Elmer's Tune," "How Long Has This Been Going On?," and "Why Don't You Do Right?" Some sources list a LP edition as well (Cj 45338), but, so far, no collector or fan has ever reported owning or seeing such item.
40. Title: Benny Goodman ("16 Most Requested Songs" Series) / Format: CS & CD / Label: COLUMBIA / Cat. Num.: Ct 53774 & Ck 53774 / Rel. Year: 1993 / Note: contains one Peggy Lee vocal, "Why Don't You Do Right?".
41. Title: Benny Goodman And His Great Vocalists ("Best Of The Big Bands" Series) / Format: CS & CD / Label: COLUMBIA's Legacy / Cat. Num.: Cs 66198 & Ck 66198 / Rel. Year: 1995 / Note: contains two Peggy Lee vocals, "I Got It Bad" and "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place."
42. Title: The Definitive Benny Goodman ("Ken Burns Jazz" Series) / Format: CD / Label: COLUMBIA Legacy / Cat. Num.: Ck 61445 / Rel. Year: 200 / Note: contains one Peggy Lee vocal, "Why Don't You Do Right?".
1993-2004
(Columbia & Non-Columbia Items)
Album Covers Shown:
43. Title: The Complete Capitol Small Group Recordings Of Benny Goodman, 1944-1955 / Format: LP & CD / Label: Mosaic / Cat. Num.: Mq6 148 & Md4 148 / Rel. Year: 1993 / Volumes: 4 / Note: contains two rare Peggy Lee vocals. One of them, "Keep Me In Mind," had previously appeared only in a special, non-official LP prepared for Benny Goodman collectors. The other vocal, "Eight, Nine And Ten" had never been issued, in any shape or form.
44. Title: Benny Goodman ("Jazz & Dintorni"Series, 16) / Format: CD / Label: Fratelli Fabbri Editori / Cat. Num.: (Italy) J16 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Note: Includes Peggy Lee's recording of "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" with The Benny Goodman Sextet. Licensed from Sony and released as a promotional item. One of a series of jazz CDs that accompanied issues of the magazine Jazz & Dintorni.
45. Title: Rarities, 1940-1942 / Format: CD / Label: Sony Special Products / Cat. Num.: 28427 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Note: contains two numbers that feature Peggy Lee, "If You Build A Better Mousetrap" and "When The Roses Bloom Again."
46. Title: Benny Goodman Plays Mel Powell / Format: CD / Label: Hep / Cat. Num.: (United Kingdom) Hprc 1055 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Note: This Public Domain anthology from the noteworthy collectors' label Hep seems to contain the alternate, v-disc take of "Why Don't You Do Right?" (I do not own a copy, but I have listened to online samples.)
47. Title: Benny Goodman ("V Disc" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Collectors' Choice / Cat. Num.: 3592 / Rel. Year: 1998 / Volumes: 4 / Note: This issue contains Peggy Lee and Benny Goodman's "Why Don't You Do Right?" in its v-disc version. That version is not the master take commonly found most everywhere but an alternate take which has been released in a few LPs, but never on domestic CD. While that fact might make it a desirable item to some fans, an assessment of this v-disc CD series' sound quality could dissuade demanding listeners: the sound is atrocious. (This assessment is based, however, on word of mouth and on the two other volumes from the series which I own. I have not listened to a physical copy of the Benny Goodman item; online samples suggest that the sound of its "Why Don't You Right>" is actually fine.)
48. Title: The Best Of Benny Goodman / Format: CD / Label: EMI-Capitol Special Markets / Cat. Num.: 72434 99515 2 5 / Rel. Year: 1999 / Note: Compilation of Capitol masters. Includes the Goodman-Lee hit number "For Every Man There's A Woman."
49. Title: Rarities, 1940-1942 / Format: CD / Label: Collectables / Cat. Num.: Col 9558 / Rel. Year: 2004 / Note: Licensed reissue of the aforementioned 1997 CD on Sony Special Products.
50. Title: The Collection; Selected Tracks From The Capitol Years / Format: CD / Label: Emi Gold / Cat. Num.: (United Kingdom) 7243 8 74470 2 8 / Rel. Year: 2004 / Note: Includes one of the Goodman-Lee renditions of "Let's Do It."
XIV. MISCELLANEOUS BENNY GOODMAN ISSUES, PART II: NON-COLUMBIA SERIES
Shown herein are various series which were dedicated to releasing either the complete recordings of Benny Goodman or alternate takes and rarities from his catalogue.
Life-Time Records: Giants Of Jazz And Big Band Series
General Note:
Tracks by Peggy Lee with or without Benny Goodman have appeared in many Time-Life Music releases, but, when it comes to all-Benny Time-Life issues, these two are the only ones which I know to include her canary vocals. (However, and given Time-Life's prolific mail order catalogue, there could be others of which I have yet to become aware.)
Album Covers Shown:
1. Title: Benny Goodman ("Giants of Jazz" Series, Volume 5) / Format: LP / Cat. Num.: Stl j05 P3 14790 / Rel. Year: 1979 / Volumes: 5 / Note: Includes "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" and "Why Don't You Do Right?"
2 & 3. Title: King Of Swing ("Big Bands" Series) / Format: LP & CD / Cat. Num.: Stbb 23 [ also R960 19] & Tcd 0017 [ also R960 17] / Rel. Year: 1986 [CD released in 1993] / Note: The second image shows the box that houses the LP, the third the CD. Both editions contain the Lee vocals "Elmer's Tune," "Not Mine," and "Why Don't You Do Right?"
Blu-Disc Records By The Meritt Record Society: The Unheard Benny Goodman
General Note:
Blu-Disc was a small operation that concentrated on the release of alternate and previously unissued takes from Goodman's catalogue. Company details, as found in the back covers of the LPs, are vague, and suggestive of concerns about the legality of releasing the material in the United States: "Blu-Disc Records are produced by The Meritt Record Society for enjoyment of its members. Blu-Disc Records are not sold in stores in the United States. Import. This record has been pressed outside of the United States." Below are the issues in which Peggy Lee's vocals are included.
Album Covers Shown:
4. Title: The Small Groups, Volume 1 / Format: LP / Cat. Num.: T 1002 / Rel. Year: 1981 / Note: Includes alternate takes of "Where Or When" and "On The Sunny Side Of The Street." As can be seen above, both this item and the next one (#5) came in plain covers which, aside from a few printed words, were blank. Also on display in Image #4 is the typographed sheet of paper that could be found, along with the LPs themselves, inside the cardboard covers of some Blu-Disc albums. (Those sheets contain discographical information about the tracks. Other Blu-Disc albums include the discographical information in the back covers, instead, and thus skip sheets.)
5. Title: The Big Band; The Small Groups, Volume 2 / Format: LP / Cat. Num.: T 1004 / Rel. Year: 1981 / / Note: Includes alternate takes of "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" and "There Won't Be a Shortage Of Love."
6. Title: Volume 7; 1941-1942 / Format: LP / Cat. Num.: T 1014 / Rel. Year: 1985 / Note: Includes alternate takes of "Why Don't You Do Right?," "My Old Flame," "You're Easy To Dance With," and "How Deep Is The Ocean?".
7. Title: Volume 8; 1936-1955 / Format: LP / Cat. Num.: T 1015 / Rel. Year: 1986 / Note: Includes alternate takes of "Why Don't you Do Right?" and "How Deep Is The Ocean."
8. Title: Volume 9; 1947-1955 / Format: LP / Cat. Num.: T 1016 / Rel. Year: 1986 / Note: Includes the Capitol master "Keep Me In Mind."
Phontastic Nostalgia Records [First Of Three Series]: The Alternate Goodman
General Note
This series was issued by the Swedish label Phontastic. A large portion of the label's output was dedicated to Benny Goodman's catalogue, and more specifically to alternate takes and other rarities. Pictured above are the Alternate Goodman albums in which Lee's vocals are featured; details can be found below. Besides this commercially issued Alternate series, Phontastic also put together privately distributed Benny Goodman albums, usually pressed in runs of 50 or otherwise 25 copies.
Album Covers Shown:
9. Title: Volume V; The Earl / Format: LP / Cat. Num.: (Sweden) Nost 7616 / Rel. Year: 1980 / Note: This issue includes alternate takes of the Peggy Lee vocals "Elmer's Tune," "My Old Flame," and "How Deep Is The Ocean."
10. Title: Volume VI; Clarinet A La King / Format: LP / Cat. Num.: (Sweden) Nost 7617 / Rel. Year: 1980 / Note: This issue includes alternate takes of the Peggy Lee vocals "That's The Way It Goes," "Shady Lady Bird," "Let's Do It," "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place," "Somebody Nobody Loves," "How Long Has This Been Going On?," "That Did It, Marie", and "Winter Weather." Also among the tracks is a breakdown which took place during the recording of "That Did It, Marie."
11. Title: Volume VII; Royal Flush / Format: LP / Cat. Num.: (Sweden) Nost 7620 / Rel. Year: 1982 / Note: This issue includes alternate takes of the Peggy Lee vocals "Ev'rything I Love," "Not Mine," "Not A Care In The World," "Where Or When," "On The Sunny Side Of The Street," and "My Little Cousin."
12. Title: Volume VIII; St. Louis Blues / Format: LP / Cat. Num.: (Sweden) Nost 7644 / Rel. Year: 1983 / Note: This issue includes alternate takes of the Peggy Lee vocals "I Threw A Kiss In The Ocean," "We'll Meet Again," "Full Moon," "There Won't Be A Shortage Of Love," "All I Need Is You ," All I Need Is You" (second of two alternate takes), and "You're Easy To Dance With."
13. Title: Volume IX; After You've Gone / Format: LP / Cat. Num.: (Sweden) Nost 7648 / Rel. Year: 1983 / Note: This issue includes an alternate take of the Peggy Lee vocal "Let's Say A Prayer."
Phontastic Nostalgia Records [Second Series]: The Different Version
General Note:
Essentially, this is Nostalgia's CD counterpart to its aforementioned LP series, though updated to contain some additional tracks aond other modifications.
Album Covers Shown:
14. Shown herein are all five issues from this Phontastic Nostalgia series. Each one is a 2CD set, and each one is subtitled "40 Alternate Takes Of Recordings." Only three of the issues include Peggy Lee vocals.
15. Title: Volume II, 1 & 2 / Format: CD / Cat. Num.: (Sweden) Phon Ncd 8822 / Rel. Year: 1994 [re-pressed 1999?] / Volumes: 2 / Note: Contains alternate takes of "Elmer's Tune," "My Old Flame," and "How Deep Is The Ocean?".
16. Title: Volume III, 1 & 2 / Format: CD / Cat. Num.: (Sweden) Phon Ncd 8823 / Rel. Year: 1994 [re-pressed 1999?] / Volumes: 2 / Note: Contains a veritable bonanza of alternate takes that feature Peggy Lee. Specifically, following 17 (out of 40 tracks): "That's The Way It Goes," "Shady Lady Bird," "Let's Do It," "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place," "Somebody Nobody Loves," "How Long Has This Been Going On?," "That Did It, Marie," "Winter Weather," "Ev'rything I Love," "Not Mine," "Not A Care In The World," "Where Or When," "On The Sunny Side Of The Street," "My Little Cousin," "I Threw A Kiss In The Ocean," "We'll Meet Again," and "Full Moon."
17. Title: Volume IV, 1 & 2 / Format: CD / Cat. Num.: (Sweden) Phon Ncd 8824 / Rel. Year: 1994 [re-pressed 1999?] / Volumes: 2 / Note: Contains alternate takes of "There Won't Be A Shortage Of Love," "You're Easy To Dance With," "All I Need Is You" (two alternate takes), "Why Don't You Do Right?," and "Let's Say A Prayer."
Phontastic Nostalgia Records [Third And Final Series]: The Permanent Goodman
Album Covers Shown:
18. Title: A Portrait In Music Of The King of Swing, 1926-1945 / Format: LP / Cat. Num.: (Sweden) Nost 7659-61 / Rel. Year: 1986 / Volumes: 3 / Note: This is a 3LP boxed set. The Lee vocals featured on this CD are "On The Sunny Side Of The Street," "Not A Care In The World," and "Why Don't You Do Right?"
19. Title: A Portrait In Music Of The King of Swing; Volume 2, 1939-1945 / Format: CD / Cat. Num.: (Sweden) Phon Ncd 7660 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Note: I do not own a copy of this item. Nor do I own a copy of its companion, A Portrait In Music Of The King of Swing; Volume 2. I believe that the two volumes essentially reissue the contents of the 3LP box discussed in the preceding (#18), though making additions and perhaps a few exclusions. Online data from music stores list "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" and "Why Don't You Do Right?" as Peggy Lee vocals in Volume 2, both found in the 3LP set. But there is no mention of a third vocal found in item #18, "Not A Care In The World." (As for the companion CD volume, released one year earlier and numbered 7659, it does not seem to feature Lee.)
Jazum Records: Benny Goodman And His Orchestra
Album Covers Shown:
20. Title: Benny Goodman And His Orchestra / Format: LP / Label: Jazum / Cat. Num.: Jaz 51 / Rel. Year: unknown / Note: This item, containing a Peggy Lee vocal of "How Long Has This Been Going On?," might or might not permanently remain in this page. There are questions as to whether the vocal is an alternate take recorded on November 13, 1941 or a performance from a concert that was simulcast over the CBS radio network on December 2, 1941. If the latter, then Jazum LP Jaz 51 would not qualify for inclusion in the present page. Bear in mind, however, that the other Jazum LPs shown herein seem to consist entirely of studio sessions, not performances from radio broadcasts. Therefore, if this is a radio performance, the label might have made an unorthodox exception, or a plain mistake.
21. Title: Benny Goodman And His Orchestra / Format: LP / Label: Jazum / Cat. Num.: Jaz 67 / Rel. Year: unknown / Note: Ten of this album's 14 tracks are Peggy Lee vocals: "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place," "Somebody Nobody Loves," "Winter Weather ," "Not Mine," "Blues In The Night," "Where Or When," "On The Sunny Side Of The Street," "If You Build A Better Mousetrap," and "The Lamp Of Memory." An 11th track, "When The Roses Bloom" is another number that Lee recorded with Goodman (on January 15, 1942), but according to bio-discographer D. Russell Connor, the recording of "When The Roses Bloom" in this LP is the alternate one that Goodman recorded with a vocal by Art Lund on January 23, 1942. Judging from some webpages in which this album has been auctioned (I do not own a copy), its track listing might misidentify the title of the song "Somebody Nobody Loves," calling it instead "Somebody Loves Me."
22. Title: Benny Goodman And His Orchestra / Format: LP / Label: Jazum / Cat. Num.: Jaz 68 / Rel Year: unknown / Note: Contains the studio master of "My Little Cousin."
French Classics Records: The Chrono[lo]gical Series
General note
From this extensive CD series, I have pictured above and listed below all the volumes which feature Peggy Lee. (Incidentally, Lee also appears in two other "Chrono[lo]gical" series: Barney Bigard's and Red Norvo's. Both series include two tracks which feature Lee.)
Album Covers Shown:
23. Title: 1941, Volume 3 / Format: CD / Cat. Num.: (France) 1271 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Note: Includes Peggy singing vocals on "Elmer's Tune," "My Old Flame," "I See A Million People," "How Deep Is The Ocean?," "That's The Way It Goes," "Let's Do It," "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good," "My Old Flame," "How Deep Is The Ocean?" (one of two alternate takes of this song included in this CD), and "Shady Lady Bird," for a total of 10 tracks.
24. Title: 1941-1942 / Format: CD / Cat. Num.: (France) 1303 / Rel. Year: 2003 / Note: Includes Peggy singing vocals on "Shady Lady Bird," "Let's Do It," "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place," "Somebody Nobody Loves," "How Long Has This Been Going On?," "That Did It, Marie," "Winter Weather," "Ev'rything I Love," "Not Mine," "Not A Care In The World ," "Blues In The Night," "Where Or When," "On The Sunny Side Of The Street," and "The Lamp Of Memory," for a total of 14 tracks.
25. Title: 1942 / Format: CD / Cat. Num.: (France) 1324 / Rel. Year: 2003 / Note: Includes Peggy singing vocals on "If You Build A Better Mousetrap," "When The Roses Bloom Again," "My Little Cousin," "The Way You Look Tonight," "I Threw A Kiss In The Ocean," "We'll Meet Again," "Full Moon," "There Won't Be A Shortage Of Love," "You're Easy To Dance With," and "All I Need Is You," for a total of 10 tracks.
26. Title: 1942-1944 / Format: CD / Cat. Num.: (France) 1335 / Rel. Year: 2004 / Note: Includes Peggy singing vocals on "Why Don't You Do Right?," "Let's Say A Prayer," and "All I Need Is You."
27. Title: 1946-1947 / Format: CD / Cat. Num.: (France) 1385 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Note: Includes one Peggy vocal, "Eight, Nine And Ten."
28. Title: 1947, Volume 2 / Format: CD / Cat. Num.: (France) 1407 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Note: Includes one vocal featuring Peggy Lee, "The Freedom Train."
29. Title: 1947-1948 / Format: CD / Cat. Num.: (France) 1418 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Note: Includes the Peggy vocals "Keep Me In Mind" and "For Every Man There Is A Woman."
Index
The following alphabetical list includes every album whose image is displayed in this page. To find the section on which a given album is located, use as your guideline the Roman numeral that follows each title.
All The Cats Join In ("Columbia Jazz Masterpieces" Series; Benny Goodman, Volume III): XIII
All-Time Greatest Hits: XIII
Alternate Goodman, The: XIV
Arrangements By Fletcher Henderson & Eddie Sauter: XIII
Bailemos: XIII
Benny Goodman (CBS Sony): XIII
Benny Goodman ("16 Most Requested Songs" Series): XIII
Benny Goodman ("Best Of Big Bands" Series): XIII
Benny Goodman ("Giants of Jazz" Series, Volume 5): XIII
Benny Goodman ("Hall of Fame" Series): XIII
Benny Goodman ("Jazz & Dintorni"Series, 16) : XIII
Benny Goodman ("V Disc" Series): XIII
Benny Goodman And His Great Vocalists ("Best Of The Big Bands" Series): XIII
Benny Goodman And His Orchestra (Jazum): XIV
Benny Goodman And His Orchestra And Sextet; Vocals By Peggy Lee: I
Benny Goodman And His Orchestra With Peggy Lee: I
Benny Goodman Featuring Peggy Lee ("Best Of Big Bands" Series): X
Benny Goodman Plays: XIII
Benny Goodman Plays Mel Powell: XIII
Benny Goodman Presents Arrangements By Eddie Sauter: XIII
Benny Goodman Presents Peggy Lee : II
Benny Goodman Sextet With Peggy Lee, The ("Hall of Fame" Series): IV
Benny Goodman, Volume 1 ("Dance Parade" Series): XIII
Benny Goodman, Volume 2 ("Dance Parade" Series): XIII
Benny Goodman With Peggy Lee [Philips]: I
Benny's Best; All Time Favorites: XIII
Best Of Benny Goodman, The; 30 Years Of His Greatest Hits: XIII
Best Of Benny Goodman And His Orchestra, The (CBS Special Products): XIII
Best Of Peggy Lee & Benny Goodman, The ("Jazz Forever" Series): XII
Chronogical [sic], The: XIV
Clarinet Ala King ("Columbia Jazz Masterpieces" Series; Benny Goodman, Volume II): XIII
Clarinet Ala King ("Encore" Series): XIII
Collection, The; Selected Tracks From The Capitol Years: XIII
Complete Capitol Small Group Recordings Of Benny Goodman, 1944-1955, The: XIII
Complete Recordings, 1941-1947, The; Peggy Lee & Benny Goodman: XI
Different Version, The: XIV
Elmer's Tune: VIII
Great Vocalists Of The Big Band Era: XIII
... In The Beginning; The Legend Of Peggy Lee: XII
King, The (Coronet Records): XIII
King Of Swing ("Big Bands" Series): XIII
Ladies Serenade: XII
Legendary Benny Goodman, The: XIII
Let's Dance: XIII
Miss Peggy Lee: V
Peggy Lee ("Best" Series): XII
Peggy Lee [Korean CD]: XII
Peggy Lee & Benny Goodman; The Complete Recordings, 1941-1947: XI
Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman [Japan's CBS Nippon Columbia]: VII
Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman [Sony Columbia Special Products]: III
Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman [Harmony]: III
Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman ("WWW Collectors Edition Biz"): XII
Peggy With Benny [Philips]: IV
Permanent Goodman, The: XIV
Portrait Of Peggy Lee 1941-1942, A ("Enchantment Of Jazz Vocal" Series): IX
Rare Big Band Gems, 1932-1947: XIII
Rarities, 1940-1942: XIII
Romantic Mood: VI
Shady Lady Bird: XII
Small Groups, 1941-1945 ("Columbia Jazz Masterpieces" Series; Benny Goodman): XIII
Solid Gold Instrumental Hits: XIII
Unheard Benny Goodman, The: XIV
We'll Meet Again; Peggy Lee With The Benny Goodman Orchestra: III
Where Or When: XI
Why Don't You Do Right ("A Jazz Hour With" Series): XII
Why Don't You Do Right? [Charly Records]: III
Why Don't You Do Right [Hallmark Records]: III
Как Глубок Океан: XIII
Что Может Сделать Лунный Свет: XIII
Cross-references: Further Information
For more detailed information about any particular album (e.g., its track listing), you may use the album's release year to locate it in this discography's chronological LP Index (or, if it is a compact disc, in the CD Index).
Scope And Completeness
The albums pictured in this page contain vocals recorded by Peggy Lee during her days as a big band singer with The Benny Goodman Orchestra (1941-1943).
The emphasis is on issues fully dedicated to Lee's "canary" work -- not on albums that mingle her vocals with the band's instrumentals, nor on "hybrid" issues which mix Lee's big band performances with her output as a solo artist. However, a select few vocal/instrumental hybrids can still be found above, in a couple of miscellaneous sections (XII and XIII). My reason to make exceptions in those sections: the hybrids listed therein are of potential interest to the dedicated fan of Lee's canary work. Some are among the earliest Columbia albums in which a given vocal of hers appeared, others were issued as part of critically approved Columbia/CBS/Sony series, and still others include alternate takes or masters conveniently organized chronologically. (As for the vocal/instrumental "hybrids" that were excluded from the present page, please notice that all of them are accounted for elsewhere in this bio-discography -- specifically, in the Goodman Years sessionography and in miscellaneous pages dedicated to British and Foreign issues.)
It should further be noted that this page concerns itself only with albums of studio material. If you are searching instead for issues which contain radio and television performances by Goodman's canary, consult the separate pages for such media material -- specifically, the Goodman pictorial and sessionographical radio pages.