Peggy Lee's Bio-Discography:
The Capitol Years, Part III (1948-1952)

Date: December 14, 1948
Location: Los Angeles
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1104-B

Peggy Lee (ldr), Lee Gillette (pdr), Unknown (acc), Peggy Lee, Dean Martin (v)

Photos

From 1949 magazines issues, promotional material on behalf of this session's masters, and the resulting Capitol single.


The 1948 Recording Ban: Peggy Lee's Stance

Almost a year had elapsed between this record session and Peggy Lee's previous one, held on December 26, 1947. The reason for the lapse was a recording ban that the American Federation Of Musicians had imposed on its members. Vocalists were not part of AFM's membership, and were thus free to continue working for record companies. Out of solidarity with the musicians, Peggy Lee abstained from any recording activity, however. Once the ban was officially over, she immediately came back to the studio.


Sessions And Masters

1. Pre-Recorded Band Tracks
2. A Shared Session
3. The Starlighters
During the eleven and a half months that the musicians' ban remained in effect, many Capitol sessions used pre-recorded band tracks. This practice carried over to sessions that were held immediately after the ban was lifted, such as this one.

Session #1104 actually consists of various dates that Capitol grouped together because they feature pre-recorded backing by the same instrumental band. Here are some further details found in The Capitol Label Discography, compiled by Michel Ruppli, Bill Daniels and Ed Novitsky (with assistance from Michael Cuscuna):

Session #1104
[No date given.]
Band tracks by unidentified orchestra.

Session #1104-A
LA, November 26, 1948
The Starlighters, overdubbed on band tracks from session #1104.
master #3564 - I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
master #3565 - More Beer!

Session #1104-B
LA, December 14,1948
Peggy Lee, overdubbed on band track from session #1104.
master #3566 - Someone Like You
Peggy Lee & Dean Martin, overdubbed on band track from session #1104.
master #3587 - You Was


Arrangements

The arrangements for this session's two performances are extant in Capitol's library of music scores, which is my source for
the above-entered credits to Heinie Beau and Sonny Burke.


Personnel

1. Dean Martin
"You Was" is a vocal duet featuring Peggy Lee and Dean Martin. The male act does not participate in the session's other Lee master, "Someone Like You."


Songs

1. Jukebox Airplay
Although neither reached the national charts, both numbers from this session are known to have received regional airplay. For the week ending April 2, 1949, Cash Box's Juke Box Regional Record Report indicates that "You Was" ranks #8 in Detroit, Michigan, while "Someone Like You" is placing at #6 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Date: December 29, 1948
Location: Los Angeles
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1123

Peggy Lee (ldr), Lee Gillette (pdr), Peggy Lee and Her Dixieland Band (acc), Unknown (t, tb, b, p, d), Dave Barbour (g), Peggy Lee (v)

Photos

Two of several pieces of advertisement published by Capitol on behalf of Peggy Lee's "Blum Blum." The photo shows the singer in full regalia, depicting the various identities which the song's rather dadaist amnesiac adopts for herself. The. accompanying article makes evident that Capitol perceived "Blum Blum" as a potential hit sequel to "Mañana."

Songwriters

1. "Please, Love Me Tonight"
2. Watt Watkins
3. Woody Herman
The label of 78-rpm single #57-608 identifies a Watt Watkins as the songwriter who authored "Please, Love Me Tonight." For a long time, I counted with few biographical details about Mr. Watkins: just his year of birth (1908), his year of death (1983), and the list of song credited to him at BMI.


Songs

1. "Please Love Me Tonight" In The Regional Music Charts
Although "Please Love Me Tonight" did not become a national hit, Peggy Lee's version of that number belatedly broke into at least one regional airplay chart. According to Cash Box's Disc Jockey's Regional Record Reports, Lee's recording enjoyed the #6 position in San Francisco's KYA during the week ending November 26, 1949. Airplay and interest probably stemmed from the fact that it was the flip side of her major hit "Ghost) Riders In The Sky."

2. "Blum Blum" In The Music Charts
Peggy Lee's "Blum Blum" entered the Billboard charts during the week ending July 3, 1949 and peaked at #27. (This date and chart peak were found in Joel Whitburn's book Pop Memories, 1890-1954. Ditto for most other Billboard-based chart numbers mentioned in other sessions' notes below.) "Blum Blum" was Lee's 20th solo hit or, if the singer's work with The Benny Goodman Orchestra is taken into account, her 30th.

Of the compositions by the team of Barbour and Lee team which became Billboard hits, "Blum Blum" was the sixth and final one. (It was not, however, the last hit that Lee, sans Barbour, self-penned. For details about the next compositions of hers to enter the charts, see Decca session dated February 18, 1953.)

Cash Box does not identify "Blum Blum" as a nationally charting hit, but it does provide evidence of radio airplay at the regional level. For the week ending April 2, 1949, the Disc Jockey's Regional Record Reports show "Blum Blum" with a #4 rank at WJHP (Jacksonville, Fla.) and #9 at KOLN (Lincoln, Nebraska). Other issues provide additional entries at the regional level (for instance, the April 9 issue, where the Juke Box Regional Record Report includes a #9 ranking for "Blum Blum" in Galveston, Texas.)


Personnel

1. Musicians From Woody Herman's Band?
"Peggy Lee And Her Dixieland Band" is the name that this session's personnel receives in Capitol's session files. Other sources offer different appellations. In Capitol 78-rpm single #15371, "Dave Barbour And His Pixieland Band" is credited as the accompaniment on one side ("Blum Blum," which is a novelty tune with an absurdist bent). "Dave Barbour And His Orchestra" is the credit found on the other side ("If You Could See Me Now," which at the time was a relatively new jazz standard-to-be).

Aside from David Barbour, the identities of the so-called dixie or pixieland musicians remains unclear. Various secondary sources state that they are actually members of Woody Herman's Second Herd, aka The Four Brothers band. (Such secondary sources may be quoting in turn from Downbeat and Metronome reviews of Capitol #15371. I have not been able to track down the reviews.)

The participation of the Woody Herman band in this Peggy Lee session is indeed quite possible. From December 1948 to July 1949, Herman and his Second Herd (Al Cohn, Stan Getz, Lou Levy, Shorty Rogers, Zoot Sims, etc.) were recording for Capitol. In fact, their very first own Capitol date as a band took place the day after this session, a detail which opens the road to speculate about the band's possible coming into the studio over consecutive days. More tellingly, Barbour, Herman, and Lee also shared the same manager, Carlos Gastel. Still further, Woody Herman, Dave Barbour, and Peggy Lee had previously worked together for an extended period of time. During the summer of 1947, Herman and Lee had co-hosted a radio series whose musical backing was provided by Barbour and, presumably, by members of Herman's band. (For yet one additional point of interest, see comments below about the songwriter of "Please, Love Me Tonight.")

As already mentioned, The Woody Herman Orchestra did its first Capitol studio date on December 30, 1948. According to the The Capitol Label Discography, the personnel for session #1124 was

Ernie Royal, Bernie Glow, Stan Fishelson, Red Rodney (tp)
Shorty Rogers (tp, arr, vo)
Earl Swope, Bill Harris, Ollie Wilson (tb)
Bob Swift (bass tb)
Woody Herman (cl, as, vo)
Sam Marowitz (as)
Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Stan Getz (ts)
Serge Chaloff (bs)
Terry Gibbs (vb, vo)
Lou Levy (p)
Chubby Jackson (b,vo)
Don Lamond (dm)

It should be no surprise, then, that I once questioned if "Herman Watkins" could be a pseudonym for Woody Herman. I considered such a possibility because the two men share the name "Herman," and because -- as previously mentioned -- Woody Herman might have been among the musicians who played during this session. The fact that one man's initials were W. H. and the other man's H. W. struck me as a bit suspicious, too.

Further adding to my suspicions was the uncertainty that surrounded Watkins' first name: not all sources referred to him as Herman. Some called him Watt, others Matt. Belatedly, I located yet a few more sources showing a fourth variant, H. L. Watkins. These last sources reinforced the claim that Watkins' first name was "Herman."

In September of 2010, I was fortunate to receive a message from Linda Shafer, who kindly corroborated the existence of Mr. Watkins. Linda described him as a family friend whom she recalled from her childhood days, in the 1960s. She remembered him as a gracious man and talented musician who lived in the San Francisco area with his wife Neysa, and who indeed went by the nickname of Watt. ("Matt" was most likely the result of a typo, or some other basic error.)

Naturally, Shafer's message led me to discard my theory about Woody Herman's penning of "Please, Love Me Tonight" under a pseudonym . I now realize that the details which arose my suspicion were merely coincidental or circumstantial.

4. Ruth Oma Wilkinson
5. Roma
At BMI's website, many of Herman L. Watkins' songs are co-credited to Ruth Oma MackIntosh Wilkinson. "Please, Love Me Tonight" is one of them. However (and as already mentioned above), sole songwriting credit is given to Watt Watkins in the label of the Capitol single (#57-608). Which source is erroneous?

The American single committed an error of omission. Credit is given to both "Roma" and Watkins in other sources. "Roma" apparently was a nickname used by Wilkinson -- a contraction of her full name, "Ruth Oma."

Among the sources that credit "Roma," a particularly compelling one is Capitol 78-rpm C 57-608, the Swedish counterpart of the American single. (My thanks to Adrian Daff for directing me to a photo of that Swedish item.) There is also the sheet music, which credits "Watt Watkins" for the lyrics and "Roma" for the music.

6. Tadd Dameron
In a December 1986 televised interview for KOLN/KGIN, Peggy Lee is asked if she remembers any songs that pianist-songwriter Tadd Dameron wrote for her. Not surprisingly, she does not remember any (he is not known to have ever done any songwriting specifically for Lee), but she does speak about him with admiration. "A name out of the past," Lee remarks, before pointing out that Dameron played for her. She enthusiastically calls him "marvelous" and "a wonderful composer."


Arrangements

1. Source
The arrangements for this session's three performances are extant in Capitol's library of music scores. The library is the source for the arranger credits indicated above. In the case of "If You Could See Me Now," the library arrangement does not have an author credit.


Masters

1. Take Numbers
In the Capitol Label Discography, all three released masters from this date are identified as #2 takes. That identification conflicts with information that was communicated to me: in Capitol's inventories, "If You Could See Me Now" and "Blum Blum" are listed as #3 takes.

Date: February 8, 1949
Location: Los Angeles
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1185

Dave Barbour (ldr), Lee Gillette (pdr), Dave Barbour's Afro-Cubans (acc), Henry J. "Heinie" Beau (cl, ts), Ray Linn (t), Dave Barbour, George Van Eps (g), Phil Stevens (b), Nick Fatool, Iván López, Jackie Mills, Tommy Romersa (d), Peggy Lee (v)

The Similau Story

Featured on a 2017 commercial (for Samsung's latest mobile phone model, the Galaxy Note8), Peggy Lee's 1949 interpretation of the song "Similau" is enjoying a second round of popularity in the twenty-first century. Many modern-day listeners find the lyrics intriguing, and Lee's interpretation entrancing.

In an attempt at satisfying general curiosity (my own and everybody else's), I have conducted a fair amount of research on the song and its background. The results of my research are shared below. Included among the main topics (whose titles I have typed in bold font): the song's supernatural background, interpretations of the lyrics, basic details about its songwriters, and a listing of other artists who have recorded it. I have also provided photos with which I hope to illustrate and better convey the points to be made.

(A note to bloggers, YouTube users and other viewers: you are welcome to quote from my work, provided that you have the courtesy of mentioning this discography as your source. It is irritating to come across individuals on the web who use one's research and words as if they were their own.)

(A note for visitors in search of CDs and LPs containing Peggy Lee's version of "Similau": a chronological list of such releases can be found above, preceding the photos. It naturally starts with the original release, a 78-rpm single. You might currently be seeing only three items on the list. There are more, invisible to the naked eye. The full list will "magically" appear if you click on the blue arrowhead next to the third item.)


The Essence Of Similau

As a pop-jazz song, "Similau" stands out for its unusual subject matter. It is, in essence, an invocation to a pagan spiritual entity. The song's words can also be understood as a spell, cast by either a priest(ess) or a lover.

Instrumentally, this version by Dave Barbour's Afro-Cubans has as its most distinctive trait the prominence of percussion, supplied by a combo of four drummers (named above, as part of the personnel listed at the top of this entry). The tune provides more evidence of the enthusiastic delight with which both Peggy Lee and Dave Barbour approached Latin rhythms. (While their particular approach is decisively latinesque and Afro-rhythmic, the song itself has become more commonly characterized as a piece of exotica. That post-1949 characterization stems from the fair number of lounge and Tiki-oriented artists who have covered the song in later years.)

Peggy Lee's interpretation of "Similau" outshines most of its competition because she smartly reinforces the incantational quality of the song's message. (So do the musicians behind her.) Most notably, the songstress goes into a trance-like wail. Suggestive of ritualistic possession, Lee's trance is mirrored by the intense beating of the drums. (The beating and wailing can be timed from around 2:23 onwards.)


Photos

Peggy Lee's version of the song "Similau" was originally released on a 1949 Capitol 78-rpm single. It is shown first above. Also pictured above: the spellbinding Peggy Lee, next to bongos and conga, around 1951.

Second row of pictures above: snapshots from a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 commercial, whose soundtrack uses Peggy Lee's version of the song "Similau." From September of 2017 onwards, the commercial was extensively featured on television, and amply streamed as well.

Photos below: Peggy Lee was a fan of Latin rhythms. "Similau" is just one of many examples attesting to her affinity for that widely varied music terrain. Percussion instruments often enjoy the spotlight on Afro-Latin music, and these three images happen to depict Lee in the company of several such instruments. The third photo is from a 1947 record session for which she actually played drums and cymbals. The second photograph is a publicity shot for a 1951 TV show that she happened to co-host with an actual singer-drummer, Mel Tormé. The first photo is believed to be from one of the 1959 record sessions that resulted in her best-selling LP Latin Ala Lee!. In the picture, a harp is in the forefront and a drum is among the instruments on the back. Such a state of affairs does not quite apply to the album: in Latin Ala Lee!, percussion is front and center throughout.





Songwriters

1. Two Or Three Songwriters?

In most of the sources that I have inspected (including Peggy Lee's above-pictured 78-rpm single), the song "Similau" is credited to two writers (Clar and Coleman). ASCAP and the present discography are among the few other sources that mention a third songwriter, by the last name of González. (BMI, on the other hand, lists only Arden and Coleman. Rights to this particular song are apparently shared by BMI and ASCAP on a 50/50% basis.) From my perspective, the credit on ASCAP giving credibility and validity to the claim that González should be listed as one of the songwriters.

It is my belief that this third writer, Leopoldo González (his last name sometimes misspelled as "Gonzales"), was responsible for a Spanish version of the song. Such a version would have been the original lyric. The lyrical work by the other two writers, Clar and Coleman, would have essentially consisted of translating the Spanish text, perhaps making a few alterations in the process.

Partial corroboration for my belief comes from an inspection of the OCLC catalogue. My inspection has retrieved basic data about a so-called music score titled Similau, for which González is listed as one of the writers, along with Clar and Coleman. (Another OCLC entry credits only songwriter Clar and Coleman under "author," but adds the credit to González at the end of the entry.)

Specifically, the creative labor is credited by OCLC as follows: "words by Harry Coleman; music by Arden Clar; Spanish lyric by Leopoldo Gonzalez; arr. by Sy Oliver." The score is described as having been arranged for voice and instrument. (To be ore specific, Oliver used violins, saxophones, trumpets, trombones, bass, and drums.) This score was published in New York, and the copyright date is given as 1948, the year before the earliest recordings of the song were released.

2. Leopoldo González

In addition to being a songwriter and journalist, Leopoldo González (1890-1980) wrote for the musical theater. The Encyclopedia of Latino Culture refers to him as being "most likely of Spanish origin," though living in Cuba for an unspecified amount of time. Elsewhere on the web, an online blogger deems him "Puerto Rican by adoption," and a few secondary sources call him (misguidedly or otherwise) a Puerto Rican, thereby creating the impression that he might have also lived in Puerto Rico, or alternatively in Spanish Harlem. The titles of some of González' songs show that he paid ample homage to the main Caribbean islands ("Cuba y Puerto Rico," "Morro de San Juan," "Borinquén tiene bandera," "El patriota,""Puerto Rico," "Saludo a Quisqueya").

The matter of González' birthplace might have to stay unsolved, but his whereabouts as a young man are reasonably well known. By the late 1920s, he had migrated to the United States. First González came to Tampa (Florida) where several of his plays were staged, and then moved to New York City, where additional plays were also staged. One of them, a lyric[al] play from 1937, was called Similau, according to The Encyclopedia of Latino Culture. Unfortunately, I have not found any further details about it. (I should also point out that the encyclopedia's list of González plays suffers from several mistakes. One of the other listed titles, Migaja, is misspelled as Miaja. Similau itself is incorrectly translated into "assimilated." Such mistakes may call into question the overall accuracy of the encyclopedia's data about González.)

3. Harry Coleman

I have being unable to locate any information about Coleman, aside from a few songwriting credits. He might have also written under the name Harry Collman. (A look into ASCAP suggests that such was probably the case. Nevertheless, it is always possible that the ASCAP database is erroneous; Coleman and Collman could still be two different writers, mistakenly identified as one.)

4. Arden Clar

Songwriters Harry Coleman and Arden Clar are both presumed to have been Americans. In the case of Clar, his Jewish heritage is known thanks to anecdotal online commentary from a family member, who also reported that Mr. Clar never traveled outside of the United States -- at least, not before the 1950s. (I mention the matter of heritage because it bears relevance for an ensuing discussion about the song's Afro-Caribbean background, to which González would have thus seemed closer than Clar.)

A conductor, pianist and violinist, Clar is known to have spent years in Miami, performing at the Shoreham Hotel. His exact years of residence are not known to me, unfortunately. It could have been there that he first became acquainted with the song "Similau," or even with Leopoldo González.

Clar's personal interest in exotica and Afro-Caribbean music is suggested by two additional factoids. One: he co-composed and co-arranged most of Richard Hayman's 1959 Mercury album Voodoo!. Two: he was a member of a music group which most likely specialized in Caribbean rhythms, and which will be discussed next.

5. King Samson And The Calypso Three

Precious little is known about this group, which was active at least in late 1948 and early 1949. "Similau" was written by two of its members, Arden Clar and Harry Coleman. There is no knowledge as to the identity of the trio's third member, either. Nor is it clear who "King Samson" was.

When asked about the meaning of the song "Similau," Arden Clar consistently declared that he understood it to be an invocation to the god of fertility. His understanding of the tune echoes a comment printed on the March 19, 1949 issue of Billboard magazine. The magazine's comment is in turn likely to have echoed the spinning that the song's publisher wanted to give to the number: "[i]t is a chant to the West Indian god of fertility ..." While not wrong per se, this publisher-ready explanation of the song's meaning was a simple condensation of the song's complex background.





Photos

The photographic mosaic above provides visual representation of the Afro-Caribbean religions (santería, regal de ocha, voodoo, etc.) that will be discussed in some of the sections below.

The top row spotlights various religious practitioners. Those in the first photo are at a celebratory ritual commemorating the abolishment of slavery, in Cuba. The other images capture two santeros, both of them in the middle of "consultas" at their respective homes. (Probably due to the color's association with purity, santeros typically wear white while practicing. I should point out, however, that a white attire is by no means automatic evidence of priesthood or even religiosity. Through the Caribbean, traditional or folkloric clothes are often white, too. And of course, any individual in the Caribbean might choose to dress in all-white clothing out of personal preference.)

The second row of images concentrates on altars -- three of them, each belonging to a different practitioner of santerismo. The most prevalent objects are figurines and offerings (comestibles, flowers). These altars also happen to be representative of the traditions behind the Caribbean religions to be discussed: African, indigenous (Taíno, jíbaro), and Christian.


Songs

1. The Supernatural Background Of "Similau"

This exotic-sounding tune is an invocation to a supernatural entity from the realm of Afro-Caribbean folklore. The song's lyrics refer to the entity as a "spirit in the wood" named "Similau." That name is probably an anglicization of "Similó," one of the spiritual beings who once populated the nether regions of the religion known as santería.

Once practiced somewhat secretively in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, santería had as its core the worship and invocation of preternatural beings. Those beings were deemed to be extremely powerful and influential in all matters of life and death, though they still answered to a supreme entity. They could also variously serve as protectors or harmers of human beings.

The religion's rich pantheon embraced entities from three different traditions. There were the spirits first brought into the Caribbean by African slaves (mostly, the Yoruba ethnic group, from Nigeria). Then there were indigenous supernatural beings (chiefly from the Taíno culture) and, finally, saints as well as angels from the Roman Catholic tradition. The degree to which those three supernatural rosters co-existed or were syncretized varied from one Caribbean island to another.

Santería's practices included several ceremonial or communal activities, such as initiation and funerary rites, primarily conducted at a residence, or otherwise in open air. (Temples or churches were not part of this religion, except during its very early days, when slaves gathered in designated spaces known as cabildos.) Drum music played a prominent role. From one location to another, animal sacrifice (primarily, chickens, pigeons, goats) and mood-altering substances (rum, cigars) might have also prevailed at the ceremonies.

Santería's most characteristic practice was a private consultation, however. It was patterned in the same manner as a visit to a doctor, a psychiatrist, or a therapist would be today -- appointment and visiting hours included. In other words, a "consulta" amounted to a prescriptive interaction between a priest ("santero") and a visiting client. The santero would seek to fulfill/assuage the client's requests/concerns through ritual divination, herbal remedies, and spiritual invocations.

A centuries-old Christo-pagan religion (going back to at least the 18th century, and arguably even earlier), santería has naturally evolved over time. A crucial transitional period took place during the second half of the twentieth century, when sizable waves of Dominicans, Cubans and Haitians migrated to Puerto Rico, Florida, and New York's Spanish Harlem. A geographical expansion to South America might have also taken place The mixture of religious traditions from all those regions (and the additional allure exerted by some incoming non-Caribbean doctrines, such as Spiritualism) led to the evolvement of santería into more complex religious strands, such as santerismo and sanse. For that reason, today the word "santería" is perhaps best used as an umbrella term, covering not only santerismo and sanse but also Cuba's Regla de Ocha, Santo Domingo's 21 Divisiones, several South American religious traditions, and maybe even two separate yet closely related Afro-American religions, one originally Brazilian (candomblé), the other Caribbean French ("voodoo," more properly called vodou in Haiti, vudú in Santo Domingo and other Spanish-speaking countries).

Hence, strictly speaking, the manner in which santería was practiced up to the first half of the twentieth century survives only insofar as it has been preserved within a tangled yarn of religious traditions. (In Regla de Ocha alone, it has been estimated that the pantheon counts with about 400 spirits. Naturally, those who are widely known and worshipped amount to a tiny fraction.) Some of the entities who were once invoked by the santeros might have not survived the transition, and might now be lost to time. Other entities must have been fused with those from incoming religious strands.

I believe such to be the reason why I have found next to no details about Similó, yet plenty about entities bearing similar or longer names. For instance, Puerto Rican sanse counts with Anaisa Similó, a motherly entity associated with the mourning of relatives lost to violent death. There is also Yan Bakeo Similo Pie, a guardian spirit with whom Santo Domingo's practitioners of 21 Divisiones seem to be more familiar. Yet two other spirits meriting mention herein are Mama Chimbi and, especially, Papa Chimbi (also known as Pai Simbi or Ochu del Mar).

Papa Chimbi was associated with sorcery and transformation. Since some accounts refer to him as a rainbow serpent, he was probably believed to take such form. After his syncretization, Papa Chimbi physically manifested himself in the shape of Moses' staff. (Although I will not belabor the point herein, Papa Chimbi or Pai Simbi strikes me as one of the likeliest models for the spirit invoked in the song "Similau." Another plausible model, Simbi D'Lo, will be discussed below.)

From one Caribbean religious strand to another, additional variations of the spirit under discussion can be found. In Haitian's vodou, a whole set of spiritual entities goes by the collective name of Simbi Lwa. (The second word, "lwa" or "loa," means "spirit.") The etymology of their first name (simbi) points to provenance from Africa's Kongo group (rather than the previously mentioned Yoruba group). This roster of spirits seem to be very old in origin.

The Simbi or Sim'bi manifest themselves in the shape of water serpents, and are often depicted as such. However, the acclimation of these African beings to a Caribbean environment has led to their association with not only water but also land. At any rate, it is a prolific family of spirits. Among them: Simbi Ganga, Simbi Andezo, Simbi Makaya, Simba (the only female), Simbi Anpaka, Simbi La Flambeau, Simbi D'Lo ...

Simbi D'Lo is another entity of special interest to this discussion. He is variously known as a river protector, a direct messenger to God, and a carrier of souls. (An Afro-Creole invocation to him was recorded by Elizabeth McAlister in the 1990s, and transcribed in the 2011 book Geographies Of The Diaspora, page 212.) He has been syncretized with Christianity's Archangel Raphael and, outside of the Afro-French world of vodou, with Yucajú, the mountain-dwelling deity of fertility and agriculture among the indigenous Taíno inhabitants of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other islands of the Caribbean.

I strongly suspect that, in its early days, santería absorbed Simbi Lwa (and/or Simbi D'lo) into its pantheon, adapting his French or Haitian Creole name into the more Spanish-sounding "Similó." The similarity between those names is too close to be merely coincidental. Suspicions and speculation is all I can offer on this matter, however. The exact manner in which santeros would have characterized and invoked Similó is unknown to me, and knowledge on the matter might sadly be lost to time. (Even back in the first half of the twentieth century, when the religion was still in full currency, santería cryptic nature would have posed a challenge to the uninitiated in search of specific data.)

If we were to take for granted that the lyrics are faithful to the beliefs of santería, then the reference to Similó as a "spirit in the wood" would mean that santeros did not think of him as an entity confined to water. Furthermore, other lines from the song could be taken to indicate that his power actually extended over both land and water ("fling the mountain up into the sky / fill the river with the sea").

As for his shape or physical appearance, no concrete details can be gathered from the song. I sense a possible metaphor, however, behind the image of a hollow cane, with which the song opens, and which is reinforced later in the lyric. (By the way, I am taking for granted that the songwriters were referring to the grass plant of that name, rather than to a staff for human support. However, the notion of a staff would link the song's spirit with the aforementioned manifestation of Papi Chimbi as the staff of Moses.)

Old African cultures might have associated this type of grass with shallow rivers, on which both bamboo and cane grew aplenty. Various serpent species are known to dwell --or, at least, visit-- such river grass. Meanwhile, among Caribbean people, the word "cane" is likelier to evoke imagery of sugar cane plantations. I imagine that, in the heyday of plantations, serpents were among the animals sometimes sighted in sugarcane land ... In case that it is not clear, I am musing about the likelihood of an association between canes and ophidians, which would lead us back to Simbi Lwa's manifestation in serpent shape, and to the possibility that santería's Similó also manifested himself in such a shape.

Photos below: two visual representations of Simbi Loa. These particular manifestations of the Afro-Caribbean spirit present him after he had undergone the process of being syncretized with Christian figures. From the world of Haitian vodou, the first image is a chromo. It depicts Similó in the shape of the Archangel Michael. From the world of Puerto Rican and Dominican sanse, the second picture shows how Simbi Loa's ancestral link to rivers has led to his syncretization with a divinity famous for being baptized on river water (Christ). The third image shows a female spirit alternately known as both Mami Simbi or Mamá Chimbi, from Puerto Rican santerismo. Sometimes syncretized with yet another Christian saint (Santa Marta la Dominadora), Mamá Chimbi appears to have inherited the distinctive qualities of the Simbi family of spirits. (In other religious strands, Santa Marta seems to stand for a similarly aqua-ophidian female spirit, the rather popular Mami Wata, or Water Mama.)





2. The Song's Meaning: Interpretations

We have already established that "Similau" is an invocation to a spirit. Loose or superficial readings of the lyrics can convincingly lead to the conclusion that Similó is being variously asked to supply health ("take away the pain"), everlasting youth ("make the beauty last"), and reciprocal love ("when my lover comes upon the scene ... ).

A more sinister reading could lead to propose a case of necrophilia. We would be about to witness a black-magic resurrection (or the rising of a zombie) perpetrated by a former lover of the deceased ("make the body ripe and alive again ... when my lover comes upon the scene"). This is not an interpretation to which I personally subscribe, however. To my way of thinking, the lyrics do not provide enough support for such a reading. (In passing, I should also note that an etymological connection between "zombie" and Sambi -- the aforementioned family of vodou spirits which might be the ancestors or santería's Similó -- has been proposed, though generally dismissed.)

My own interpretation of the lyric dwells in the realm of sexuality. I believe that I am reading about a virility ritual. Similó is being asked to inject physical and sexual strength into the body of an aged, possibly impotent male ("... make the blood flow fast / ... / keep the hope alive when the youth go past"). The lyric's "hollow cane" would stand as a symbolic representation of a male sexual organ (deemed "hollow" because it is no longer able to perform sexual functions), and so would the term "muscle" ("spirit in the wood, make the muscle last"). Other lines would express the desire for not merely intercourse but also orgasm (e.g., "fill the river with the sea").

I would also like to tie this interpretation of mine with the religious context that I described in earlier paragraphs: santería. From my point of view, the persona uttering these lyrics is a santero -- or, when the lyrics are voiced by a female such a Peggy Lee, a santera. The person who has come for a consulta is also a female, who hopes that the santera will cure her partner from impotence. As for the rationale behind the santera's use of the first person in one of the lines ("when my lover comes upon the scene"), it merely indicates that she has taken on the voice, spirit or essence of the consultante.

A modicum of support for my sexually-oriented interpretation can be drawn from comments made by one of the songwriters, Arden Clar, in the early 1970s. According to one of Arden's daughters and sons, "[w]e had a discussion once on how in his day you had to disguise the meaning of lyrics that referred to sex or lovemaking and that today ... you could come right out and say it."

Leaving aside personal, individualized readings such as mine, we can still safely and collectively conclude that the song "Similau" drew its inspiration from an Afro-Caribbean tradition of belief in the existence of spirits, and their power to fulfill human wishes.

Photos below: Two artistic representations of another spirit from voodoo's Simbi family (Simbi Damballah), plus a shoot of a serpent slithering amidst bamboo and grass. Although my source identify the spirit in the second drawn as Simbi Damballah, the presence of a rainbow suggest that this is instead the "rainbow-serpent" spirit, Papa Chimbi (aka Pai Simbi). I have speculated above that Pai Simbi might be the entity that inspired the song "Similau."





3. Correction To Transcriptions Of The Song's Lyrics

On the web, English-language engines incorrectly translate the opening words of this song as "I Similau." Granted that the rest of the song is in English, the first word will be easily recognizable to any hispanic speaker as Spanish. The non-English word is "ay," which hispanic speakers use with frequency as an interjection or exclamation. Since this term is employed in diverse situations and can thus carry many meanings, it is probably best to avoid the search for an exact translation. ("Ay" is frequently but not exclusively used to express physical pain. It can just as well be used to convey longing, sexual pleasure, regret, awe, adoration or worship, and plenty more. Generally, context determines the speaker's meaning.) If the need to translate the term arises, perhaps "ay" could be translated as "aye," provided that such an archaic English variant of "yes" is understood as having an emotional, passionate connotation in this particular song. Essentially, the interjection "ay" is used in "Similau" by lee and the Afro-Cubans to heighten the depth of emotion inherent to her calls to the spirit.)

4. Alterations Of The Original Lyric

Peggy Lee's version of "Similau" features a substitution of one particular word from the original lyric. In the second chorus, she sings "beauty" instead of "muscle." We do not count with any documentation explaining her reasoning behind the substitution, but we can certainly speculate about her motives. Being a careful reader of lyrics, Lee might have sensed a potentially sexual, x-rated connotation in the reference to an unspecified "muscle" (especially when the reference is combined with an allusion to fast-flowing blood, along with the expression of a desire for the so-called muscle to "last" in such a state or condition).

5. Earliest And Later Versions Of The Song

According to a Billboard magazine issue for the week of March 19, 1949, "Commodore Records this week purchased the King Samson and his Calypso Three master of Similau from [publisher] Nick Campbell. The waxing was the first of the tune, which has since been cut by Ray McKinley for Victor, Edmondo Ros for London, and Gene Krupa for Columbia, with another [waxing scheduled] by Peggy Lee for Capitol." In other words, King Samson and his Calypso Three were the very first to perform and commit the tune to [demo] record, even if their version did not come out until about two months after those on Columbia, London, and Victor. (As already mentioned above, two of the members of this so-called Calypso Tree were Arden Clar and Harry Coleman, the men who co-wrote "Similau.")

The Krupa, McKinney, and Ros versions of the song came out around the same time, as did Lee's Capitol recording. The fact that Krupa's version came slightly earlier than the others is of little relevance; it only means that Columbia was able to rush the process of releasing and recording this plug tune, offered by publisher Nick Campbell to all the major labels. Only one of these early versions found significant success: Peggy Lee and the Dave Barbour Afro-Cubans made the tune a medium-size chart hit, thereby putting "Similau" on the musical firmament for posterity. (Chart details down below.)

Numerous versions -- both vocals and instrumentals -- have followed. Many of them fall within the realm of exotica, while a few have also adapted the tune to sub-genres such as beach music, jazz, and rock 'n' roll. Listed in alphabetical order, here are most of the name artists who have recorded "Similau" after the original versions by Peggy Lee, Krupa, McKinney, and Ros: Ray Anthony, Pepito Arvelo (1949), Sallie Blair (a particularly effective take, i.m.o.), Clarence Cooper, Bobby Darin (an uncharacteristically misguided bastardization from this great singer), Martin Denny, Jimmy Dorsey, The Eloise Trio, Esquivel (creepily alluring), Richard Hayman, Jonah Jones, Bert Kaempfert, Kendra Lou (directly inspired by Lee), Arthur Lyman, Enric Madriguera, The Frank Newman Quartet, Quantic with Alice Russell (2012; substantial alteration of the original lyric), Nathan Russell, Eddie Shaw, Artie Shaw, The Surfaris, Cal Tjader, Jim Tyler And His Orchestra, Caterina Valente, and even Meredith Willson (with a chant by "The Singing People").

Deserving of separate mention is Desi Arnaz. Best known for his marriage to Lucille Ball and for his work in tandem with her on television, Arnaz recorded two versions of "Similau" for Decca Records, both of them on July 22, 1949. One version is in Spanish. (I have also seen online references to a 1951 Arnaz version on RCA. So far, such references appear to be completely wrong.) The Cuban-American performer also sang the number on TV (I Love Lucy, episode aired on April 21 1952) and radio (Club 88 Starring Peggy Lee, episode broadcast on June 10, 1952). That radio version was prefaced with an scripted commentary uttered by Lee (though presumably penned by the show's scriptwriter), during which she alludes to the number as a "native Cuban folk song."

Many fans of the hugely popular show I Love Lucy became acquainted with "Similau" through Arnaz' aforementioned tube version, and they remain very enthusiastic about it. He prefaced that televised version as follows: "on the night of the high moon the high priest goes to a jungle clearing and sings a song of love. And then follows a courtship dance, in which the bridegroom tries to impress his bride-to-be with his fierceness and strength." This scripted, Disneyfied explanation of the song's meaning is a made-up scenario which bears only a loose connection with the lyric's actual background. Presumably, the explanation was a scriptwriter's and/or a censor's pre-emptive attempt at sanitizing the lyric for the benefit of the show's family-oriented, 1950s TV audience.

(Musically as well as semantically, Arnaz' interpretation strikes me as an exercise in sanitation. His approach dilutes the ritualistic milieu and erases the percussive frenzy that are both inherent to the number. It is, admittedly, a pleasantly mellow approach. But any truly innocent song of romantic love would have been more suitable to such an approach. There is also something to be said about the lack of originality in the approach -- not because it is a deplorable approach by any means, but rather because it has been wrongly praised as novel. Viewers acquainted with traditional music of the Caribbean, such as the bolero, the habanera, and some strands of peasant music might recognize Arnaz' mellow presentation as commonplace in such genres. It is easy to fit such a presentation to many a lyric, and "Similau" is no exception. However, this song, with its intriguing lyric and drum-heavy music, deserves to be approached in a more afro-rhythmic manner, rather than as a run-of-the-mill tale of romance.)

6. Peggy Lee's "Similau" In The Music Charts

According to Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954, "Similau" entered the Billboard charts during the week ending April 23, 1949 and peaked at #17. It became Peggy Lee's 21st solo hit.

In Cash Box's main chart (Disc-Hits Box Score), the song spent three weeks within the top 40, attaining a #27 peak for the week ending July 9, 1949, and staying 15 weeks in the top 40. (As customary with all entries outside of its top 20, the Cash Box chart lists no performing artist next to "Similau." In addition to the Dave Barbour-Peggy Lee rendition, at least four other competing recordings of "Similau" were commercially available at the time.)

It is fairly apparent, however, that the team of Peggy Lee and Dave Barbour had the hit version, and thus account for the #27 peak position at Cash Box (as well as the #17 position at The Billboard). Evidence of airplay for the Barbour-Lee recording can actually be found in Cash Box's more localized charts: the so-called Disc Jockey's Regional Records Reports. In the magazine's April 9 issue, Lee's version of "Similau" ranked #6 at radio station WHAM, in Rochester, NY. The May 7, 1949 issue shows Lee's "Similau" with a #10 rank in the list of most played tunes at WKXL (Concord, New Hampshire). No other version of "Similau" is listed in the countdowns of the other reporting stations. (I inspected only those two issues. My browsing of other issues did not retrieve additional regional entries, but I did not make a thorough search through them.)

But there is more. Thanks to the Samsung commercial's revival of the number, Peggy Lee's interpretation of "Similau" re-entered Billboard's chart territory during the week starting on April 14, 2017. This time around, it peaked at #2 in the Jazz Digital Songs Sales chart.





Personnel, Photos, And Masters

1. Dave Barbour
Note that this is a Dave Barbour session, featuring Peggy Lee on only one of the three resulting masters.

2. Non-Lee Masters
The following instrumentals were also recorded at this session:
#3938 - Ensenada
#3939 - Little Boy Bop, Go Blow Your Top

3. Background Vocals
The chanters that back priestess Peggy through her invocation to "Similau" are presumed to be the date's musicians.

4. The Afro-Cubans
There is no indication that the Afro-Cubans was a regular, established music group. Instead, they were an ensemble of individuals gathered together for the purposes of this particular date. Nowhere else have I found additional credits for this particular set of "The Afro-Cubans." (There was a group called The Afro-Cubans which operated from the 1940s onwards. But that group, also known as Machito And The Afro-Cubans, was different from the one under discussion, Dave Barbour's Afro-Cubans.)

5. Photos Above
Like his wife Peggy Lee, Dave Barbour was a fan of Latin rhythms. His 1954 EP Mambo was a compilation of his more Latin-oriented 1950 singles, including the hit "Mambo Jambo."

As for the photographs, they spotlight two of the four percussionists heard throughout "Similau." The first is Jackie Mills, whose extensive music career found him transitioning from playing for the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Barnet, and Tommy Dorsey to becoming a songwriter, co-owning Choreo-Ava Records, and producing sessions for artists such as Irene Kral and Janis Joplin. Mills is known to have served as Barbour and Lee's drummer at some of their 1948 concerts.

The second photo features Nick Fatool, a widely experienced big band drummer (with the orchestras of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Claude Thornhill, etc.) and a stalwart session musician at Capitol Records, who can be safely called Peggy Lee's principal drummer during her first period (1942-1952) at that label.

Not pictured above, Tommy Romersa and Iván López were the session's two other drummers. Romersa was another regular session musician at Capitol Records, where he played at country-oriented dates in 1946, moving on to Benny Goodman's orchestra from 1947 onwards. Romersa and Lee recorded together quite a few times -- about 20 dates.

Iván López was a bongocero who might have been a member of one of Woody Herman's bands, was hired for a 1950 Stan Kenton date, and played regularly with Billy May during the first half of the 1950s. Given his name, López could have been of Cuban or Puerto Rican heritage, and could have thus had special, knowledgeable input to offer during the making of "Similau."


Arrangements

1. Source

The arrangement for this session's performance of "Similau" is extant in Capitol's library of music scores. As already indicated in the data entered above, it is credited to Heinie Beau.

Date: March 11, 1949
Location: Los Angeles
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1223

Peggy Lee (ldr), Lee Gillette (pdr), Dave Barbour And His Orchestra (acc), Peggy Lee (v), Other Individuals Unknown (unk)

Issues (Collectors' Corner And Cross-references)

1. Songs From Rodgers And Hammerstein's South Pacific

Tracks
The songs found in this album are listed below, along with their interpreters. Peggy Lee interpreted two of them, and one ("Bali Ha'i") is part of the present session. For details about the other Peggy Lee performance included in this album ("I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair"), see session dated April 18, 1949.

(I'm In Love With) A Wonderful Guy - Margaret Whiting
Bali Ha'i - Peggy Lee
Younger Than Springtime - Gordon MacRae
Happy Talk / Honey Bun - Frank DeVol And His Orchestra
There Is Nothin' Like A Dame - Dave Barbour And His Orchestra
A Cock-eyed Optimist - Margaret Whiting
I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair - Peggy Lee
Some Enchanted Evening - Gordon MacRae

Configurations
As made evident by the images seen above, the popular album under discussion has come out in various formats or configurations, including an official, licensed CD version (sixth image above). Besides compact disc, the other formats are:

(a) A 78-rpm album titled Songs From Rodgers And Hammerstein's South Pacific (catalogue number Cd-162; first and fourth images above). This album contains four 78-rpm discs. "Bali Ha'i" can be found in the disc numbered 57-597. (n.b.: Capitol's Peggy Lee session file erroneously lists the disc that contains "Bali Ha'i" as 54-597 (alb. Cdf-162). There are actually two errors in that file entry: the 4 should be a 7, and there should not be a F in the album's prefix. These mistakes do not appear in the other Capitol documents of which I am aware.)

(b) A 10" LP titled Songs From South Pacific (H-163). To my knowledge, no 12" LP version was ever issued. However, the 10" LP
configuration more than makes up for such an omission, due to its reissue history: at least three different 10" LP (re)issues were released (see second and third images above, plus first image below). My information on them is limited; I do not know if all three are American.

(c) A 45-rpm album titled Songs From Rodgers And Hammerstein's South Pacific (catalogue number Cdf-163; fifth image above). This album contains four 45-rpm discs. "Bali Ha'i" can be found in the disc numbered 54 601.

I should add here a side note about configurations (a) and (c). Sellers of used records oftentimes offer those discs individually, thereby giving the impression that they were singles. Not so: originally they were components of the albums, not sold separately.

In some online sites, I have also come across listings for a 4th original issue of "Bali Ha'i," with catalogue number Ebf-162. However, I have yet to find evidence of that issue's existence, and have thus abstained from entering it in this discography's database. (If it does exist,
Ebf-162 should be a 45-rpm album, just like item #2 above. Both Ebf-162 and Cdf-162 should include a total of eight tracks. The prefix Ebf indicates that the hypothetical album distributed its eight tracks on two 45-rpm discs. The prefix Cdf correctly points to the distribution of the eight tracks on four 45-rpm discs.)

Release Dates
The songs found in the Capitol album Songs From Rodgers And Hammerstein's South Pacific were originally issued on singles that came out during the first quarter of 1949. The 78-rpm album was released in mid-1949. The release date of the earliest 10" LP is not unknown to me; the year 1950 is the likeliest candidate. Also unknown to me is the release date of 45-rpm album Cdf-163, although I am inclined to think that it took place between 1952 (when the earliest EPs made their appearance in the market) and 1954. (I have come across an online auction in which the 45-rpm album is dated 1954, but I do not know the seller's source for or reasoning behind this dating.)

Foreign Versions Of Note
in Australia, EMI produced a so-called Encore LP Series that incorporated the album under discussion. The title of that Encore Series LP is Rodgers And Hammerstein's South Pacific And The King And I (EMI Enc 9042; see second photo above). Its release year is unknown to me. The front cover prominently features three names: Gordon McRae, Peggy Lee, and Margaret Whiting.






2. "Bali Ha'i" [45]
Capitol's own documentation lists two releases of "Bali Ha'i" on 45-rpm single: #54-547 and #F547. This is actually the earliest Peggy Lee single to be listed with the F prefix, which Capitol started using in 1949, as a special designation for 45-rpm releases only. I do not know, however, if the prefix was ever printed in any physical copies of Capitol single #547; so far, all inspected copies of the single have identified themselves as 54-547, without prefix. See, for instance, the last picture above. (Also listed in the files with and without the prefix are a couple of Lee's ensuing 45-rpm singles. In any case, this apparent duplication, at least on paper, was a temporary situation. By early 1950, the numerical prefix "54" had been discontinued on the physical items -- and on the consulted company files as well. The earliest Lee single on whose physical label I have seen the letter prefix is F 791, "The Old Master Painter / Bless You," released near the end of this year. From then onwards, all her 45-rpm singles carry the letter.)


Songs

1. "Bali Ha'i" In The Music Charts
Peggy Lee's 22nd hit for Capitol Records entered Billboard's charts during the week of May 14, 1949 and peaked at #13. Fierce competition came from RCA Victor's Perry Como (#5), Capitol's own Paul Weston (#10; an instrumental version), Decca's Bing Crosby (#12), and Columbia's Frank Sinatra (#18).

At The Cash Box, the song "Bali Ha'i" hit both of the main charts. It entered the magazine's Poll Of The Nation's Top 10 Juke Box Tunes on the week ending June 4, 1949, and remained in its #6 peak position for three weeks, beginning with the week ending July 23. The song's debut in Disc-Hits Box Score happened earlier (week ending May 14) but its peak position turned out to be the same, for one week (ending July 16).

The aforementioned Cash Box charts were song countdowns, not tabulations of individual recordings. In other words, the magazine does not specify which recordings of "Bali Hai" accounted for the song's popularity or ranking. There were quite a few -- from Bing Crosby's and Frank Sinatra's to Paul Weston's and Perry Como's. Evidence that Peggy Lee's recording was one of them comes from elsewhere in the magazine. Its Disc Jockey's Regional Record Reports show that Peggy Lee's interpretation of this song was in the top ten of various radio stations (e.g., #6 in WHJP, Jacksonville, Florida. during the week ending May 14).

In more recent times, Peggy Lee's version of "Bali Ha'i" has managed to reign over those of her competitors, thanks to its memorable inclusion in the popular, Alan Ball-written 1999 movie American Beauty.


Arrangements

1. Source
The arrangement for this session's performance of "Bali Ha'i" is extant in Capitol's library of music scores. As I have indicated above, the library credits it to Heinie Beau.


Masters

1. Non-Lee Masters
Also recorded during this session was "There Is Nothin' Like A Dame" (master #4096), which is an instrumental by Dave Barbour And His Orchestra.

Date: April 18, 1949
Location: Los Angeles
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1265

Peggy Lee (ldr), Lee Gillette (pdr), Dave Barbour All-Stars (acc), Peggy Lee (v), The Jud Conlon Singers (bkv), Other Individuals Unknown (unk)

Photos

Sheet music for the popular 1949 tune "(Ghost) Riders In The Sky," featuring Peggy Lee on its cover. Compiled, annotated, and optimally remastered under the supervision of Ron Furmanek, Capitol's CD The Early Years includes both of this session's masters.


Songs

1. "(Ghost) Riders In The Sky" In The Music Charts
Sung by Gene Autry in the 1949 movie Riders In The Sky, this highly popular pseudo-western tune might have initially seemed an unlikely choice for a female vocalist to sing. Most record labels indeed assigned the number to male singers: according to Joel Whitburn's estimates, Vaughn Monroe gave a huge #1 bestseller to RCA Victor, Decca's Bing Crosby took it to #14, and Columbia's Burl Ives to #21. At Capitol, Peggy Lee's feminine approach propelled the tune all the way to #2. She turns "(Ghost) Riders In The Sky" into less of a happy cowboy novelty and more of a melancholic ghost story. (Fittingly, the original inspiration for this song's lyrics were legends that came, like Lee's own ancestors, from Scandinavia.)

Cash Box's two main charts corroborate that this song was a major hit: it reached #1 on both of them. In Disc Hits Box Score, the debut of "(Ghosts) Riders In The Sky" took place on the week ending April 30. Its eight consecutive weeks at the top began on the week ending June 4. It did not fall from the top ten until the week ending September 17; its last week on the countdown was the week ending October 15.

In the magazine's Poll Of The Nation's Top 10 Juke Box Tunes, "(Ghost) Riders In The Sky" scored a high debut (#4) during the week ending May 28. It reached the peak position in two weeks (June 11) and stayed there for eight weeks. It finally dropped from this ten-slot countdown during the week ending September 10, thereby logging a 16-week total.

Unlike the aforementioned Billboard charts, these Cash Box countdowns tabulated songs, not individual recordings. The magazine does tell us which versions of the song were available, but does not identify which ones had become popular. Fortunately, Cash Box also provided regional charts on a weekly basis, and those allow us to assess which versions of any given song were receiving airplay. As expected, the 1949 regional charts point to Vaughn Monroe's version as the top one. They show that Peggy Lee's version was being played quite often, too. From week to week, Peggy Lee's recording is listed in the top ten of several states' radio stations.


Personnel

1. The Jud Conlon Singers
This group sings background vocals for "(Ghost) Riders In The Sky" only.


Issues And Cross-references

1. South Pacific [Album]
For this album's full track listing and for details about the configurations in which it was originally issued, see notes under session dated March 11, 1949. Discussion of each configuration's release date is also provided there. (The above-listed 1949 release date applies to the 78-rpm album only.)

2. "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair" [78, 45]
Capitol's Peggy Lee session file lists the following catalogue numbers under her performance of "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair":

a) H 163
b) 54 603 (alb. Cdf 163)

These catalogue numbers belong to two of the three configurations in which Capitol released the album Songs From Rodgers And Hammerstein's South Pacific. H-163 refers to the 10" LP, CDF-163 to the 45-rpm album. Unaccountably left out of Capitol's session file (but reinstated in this discography) is the third configuration, a 78-rpm album whose catalogue number is CD-162.

In the 78-rpm configuration, "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair" can be found in disc #54-603. In the 45-rpm configuration, it on disc #57-599. Incidentally, these discs are often erroneously listed as singles online, especially in auctioning sites. With the passing of time, they have become detached from their original context, and have ended up being misidentified and sold as separate pieces.


Arrangements

The arrangements for this session's performances are extant in Capitol's library of music scores. Heinie Beau is, as I have indicated above, the credited arranger.

Date: May 25, 1949
Location: Los Angeles
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1351

Peggy Lee (ldr), Lee Gillette (pdr), Dave Barbour All-Stars (acc), Peggy Lee (v), Other Individuals Unknown (unk)

Photos

Featured above is a mini-gallery of collaborating songwriters and their singing friends. Peggy Lee sang over 25 numbers authored by songwriting partners Johnny Burke (standing) and Jimmy Van Heusen (sitting), including "Aren't You Glad You're You," "As Long As I'm Dreaming," "But Beautiful," "Here's That Rainy Day," "Imagination," "Oh, You Crazy Moon," "Swinging On A Star," and also one of this session's masters ("Sunshine Cake").

Another session master, "At The Café Rendezvous," was the result of a similarly lengthy partnership, involving in this instance the two men shown on the second image above: Jule Styne (sitting) and Sammy Cahn (standing). From their songbook, Peggy Lee sang at least five numbers -- "The Christmas Waltz" "It's Been A Long, Long Time," "It's Magic," "I'm Glad I Waited For You,"" and this date's "At The Café' Rendezvous."

An even more popular and successful partnership happened when Cahn and Van Heusen (third photo) joined forces to compose a fair share of hit songs for Frank Sinatra. Both songwriters also had a strong connection to Peggy Lee. She not only interpreted some of their compositions but also were friendly with them. Cahn and Lee's friendship actually dated back to her canary days with Benny Goodman (i.e., the early 1940s).

Lee's friendship with Van Heusen might have begun about 20 year later (in the late 1950s), but it was strong enough to generate affectionate correspondence between them. In the second row of pictures above, we find Van Heusen, Lee, and Sinatra together at a benefit for the Palm Springs Police Association that took place on March 29, 1958. Last but not least, this mini-gallery closes we a screenshot from a 1961 Peggy Lee special on which Cahn and Heusen were prime guests (seen along with Lee's fellow singer Bing Crosby and comedian David Kossoff).


Arrangements

1. Source
The arrangements for this session's three performances are extant in Capitol's library of music scores. The library is the source for the above-indicated arranger credits.


Masters And Cross-references

1. "Sunshine Cake"
For an issued version of this song, see session dated October 7, 1949.

Date: June 3, 1949
Location: Capitol Recording Studio, 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1361

Peggy Lee (ldr), Lee Gillette (pdr), Dave Barbour (con), Peggy Lee (v), The Jud Conlon Singers (bkv), Other Individuals Unknown (unk)

Photos

Above: A July 1949 advertisement from Peggy Lee and Dave Barbour's management agency, promoting not only one of their Capitol singles (#703) but also their concurrent concert engagement at the Paramount Theatre in New York City. (The photo was part of the advertisement.) Below: Capitol's own 1950 ads on behalf of various artists' singles, including another one by Peggy Lee (#849).


Personnel

1. Background Vocals
Background singing by The Jud Conlon Singers on "Neon Signs," "The Christmas Spell," and "Song At Midnight."


Arrangements

1. Source
The arrangements for this session's performances are extant in Capitol's library of music scores. As indicated above, the library credits Heinie Beau for all five arrangements.

2. "The Christmas Spell"
Peggy Lee's sheet music library contains another arrangement of this song. That arrangement is by Dick Hazard, who worked with Lee during most of the 1960s but also seems to have occasionally arranged for Lee in the late 1940s and early 1950s.


Songs And Songwriters

1. "Goodbye, John"
2. Alec Wilder
In his 1975 book Letters I Never Mailed, Alec Wilder addresses one of the titular letters to Peggy Lee. He writes that, while visiting the apartment of a very courteous but alarming man, he happened to hear one of her recordings: It was yours and Dave's record of "Goodbye John." Dear Peggy, how absolutely dear and loving that record was! Every word you uttered I believed and every note you sang was definitive. Dave's section was a model of distillation and choice! Really a very special record for anyone, let alone the writer of the music.

Unfortunately, what initially looks like a eulogy eventually turns into chastisement, bestowed on Lee for transgressions that are rather vaguely stated. Wilder seems to resent the fact that Lee never got around to record another number which he had composed especially for her. (Titled "Is It Always Like This?," the song was meant to console Lee for the loss of a boyfriend. The number was written in 1942, which was a rather inconvenient time for her to record it. Back then, Lee was still under the employment of Benny Goodman, and hence she had very limited input in song choices. Then, after her time with Goodman, opportunities decreased even more, because Lee went into temporary retirement. (Another Wilder favorite, Mabel Mercer, picked up the song instead, and so did Lena Horne.)

Other lapses for which Wilder reprimands Lee are her alleged attempts at "com[ing] to grips with today's goblin society" and with the "bitterness or loneliness of age." In Wilder's opinion, such attempts have led Lee to lose her "belief[s] and sweet sadness, [her] genuine love and the gentle touch ... [her] age of innocence, joy and wonderment."

Insiders have revealed that, contrary to what Wilder's book would have its readers believe, his never-sent letters were not memories that he had kept from decades past. Instead, Wilder is said to have churned them out over a short period of time (weeks), usually while sitting in a booth at a club where his friend, pianist Marian MacPartland, played regularly.

If Lee ever read those partially unflattering comments (published in 1975), she must have not taken lasting offense to them. In her autobiography (1989), Lee refers to Wilder as a "superb composer and friend." She also describes him as "a lovable eccentric, and he and I would sit and talk about life for hours. Schmoozing, I think it's called. Which is talk with a lot of affection and closeness." Further corroboration of this portrait of the singer and the songwriter's closeness comes from Lee's daughter, Nicki Foster. In an essay written by Will Friedwald for Capitol's The Singles Collection, Foster shared the following reminiscence from her childhood: "I remember Alec. He had a mad crush on Mother. He was a very odd man, very tall and lanky, and he smoked incessantly, but I remember I always found him interesting. He was practically obsessed with Mother, and she loved his writing."

The exact reasons behind Wilder's dissatisfaction with Lee are open to debate. They might or might not be those that he mentions on the written page. People who knew the songwriter deemed him not only eccentric but also troubled. Due in part to a drinking problem, Wilder could be contentious and rude. He clearly did not take lightly to singers who took liberties with his compositions. (For an instance involving Lee, see notes under session dated November 27, 1947.) Even the ever friendly and amenable Ella Fitzgerald was once taken to task, in her case for not having recorded any of his songs. After the reprimand (admonished some time around 1969, when she caught her while both happened to take the same elevator), Fitzgerald went on to record Wilder's "Trouble Is A Man."




3. "Through A Long And Sleepless Night" In The Regional Music Charts
Billboard does not identify "Through A Long And Sleepless Night" as a national hit song, but Cash Box does. The love song from the 20th Century Fox's Come To The Stable peaked at #16 in Cash Box's Disc-Hits Box Score during the week ending November 19, 1949.

This movie theme was recorded by Alan Dale for Hi-Tone, Vic Damone for Mercury, Eddy Duchin for Harmony, Bill Farrell for MGM, Gordon Jenkins for Decca, Peggy Lee for Capitol, Vera Lynn for London, Dinah Shore for Columbia, The Stardusters for Decca, and Claude Thornhill for Victor. The available data suggests that three of these versions competed for attention in the American market: Farrell's, Lee's, and Shore's. The clear winner is Dinah Shore, with 11 reports of top ten airplay from several radio stations, spanning from the first to the last week in which the song charted (from the week ending September 3 through the week ending December 10). Farrell gave Shore strong competition with eight reports (September 17 to November 19).

Peggy Lee came in third, with six reports (September 17 to December 10). Of the other acts, only The Stardusters made these regional charts, for one week (November 5). Lee's version received airplay at stations such as WCAE in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (#3 during the week ending October 15, 1949) and in the juke boxes of Detroit, Michigan (#10 for the weeks of December the 3rd and the 10th).

{Side note. Based on the aforementioned Cash Box data, "Through A Long And Sleepless Night" should be deemed a hit for Peggy Lee, even if Billboard does not list it. This discography makes periodic mention of the total amount of hits scored by Peggy Lee up to a given year, or point in time. Those scores rely on Joel Whitburn's book Pop Memories 1890-1954 and, more generally, on Billboard chart data. Hence a number such as "Through A Long And Sleepless Night" falls outside of Whitburn's purview, and has not been factored into my own count herein. At some point in the future, when time permits, I am planning to add Cash Box-only entries such as this one to the tally of hits scored by Lee. For the time being, however, I am limiting myself to letting readers know about the situation.}

Date: October 6, 1949 (Beginning at 2:00 p.m.)
Location: Capitol Recording Studio, 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1493

Peggy Lee (ldr), Lee Gillette (pdr), Pete Rugolo (con), Pete Rugolo and His Orchestra (acc), Henry J. "Heinie" Beau (r), Unknown (r, f, cl, bcl, enh, frh, bsn, o, g, b, str, p, cel, hrp, d, vc), Peggy Lee (v)

Photo

The advent of the 1950s brought about publicity shots of Peggy Lee in color. Those featured in both this session and the next one were probably among her earliest. Others also in the running will be showcased under sessions further down the page.


Songs And Personnel

1. "One Day"
2. Pete Rugolo
In his track-by-track annotation for the Capitol set Miss Peggy Lee, Jim Pierson writes: "At the suggestion of famed conductor Pete Rugolo, this previously unissued gem from 1949 has been liberated from the Capitol vaults. Rugolo recorded several sides with Peggy and recalled that she was deeply disappointed that the whimsical One Day was not released."


Musicians

1. Heinie Beau
2. Sources
Jazz bio-discographer and liner note writer Tony Middleton is my source for some of this session's personnel credits, including those pertaining to Heinie Beau.

Since the personnel and instrumentation of these October 6 and 7, 1949 is not listed in any of the official documentation at my reach, I can only speculate about the exact instrument(s) that Beau played on both dates. The most obvious possibility is the clarinet, his primary instrument. He also played the sax, as attested in a few of this discography's earlier dates. Beau should thus be deemed "a person of interest" whenever any alto or tenor playing is heard in the six performances under scrutiny.


Arrangements And Musical Instruments

1. Source
2. "Crazy, He Calls Me"
The arrangements for this session's three performances are extant in Capitol's library of music scores. The library is the original source for the above-indicated arranger credits and for the date's instrumentation. All the specifics musical instruments listed above are heard during Lee's performance of "Crazy, He Calls Me." I became acquainted with these specifics about the performance's instrumentation thanks to research work being conducted by guitarist/music publisher Rob Duboff, and thanks also to the kind assistance of musical arranger/jazz historian Jeff Sultanoff.

Date: October 7, 1949 (Beginning at 1:00 p.m.)
Location: Capitol Recording Studio, 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1494

Peggy Lee (ldr), Lee Gillette (pdr), Pete Rugolo (con), Pete Rugolo and His Orchestra (acc), Henry J. "Heinie" Beau (r), Peggy Lee (v), Other Individuals Unknown (unk)

Photo

More pictures from the same photographic shoot already showcased on the preceding session.


Crossreferences

1. "Sunshine Cake"
For an earlier and unissued recording of this song, see session dated May 25, 1949.


Musicians

1. Heinie Beau
2. Sources
Jazz bio-discographer and liner note writer Tony Middleton is my source for some of this session's personnel credits, including those pertaining to Heinie Beau.

Since the personnel and instrumentation of these October 6 and 7, 1949 is not listed in any of the official documentation at my reach, I can only speculate about the exact instrument(s) that Beau played on both dates. The most obvious possibility is the clarinet, his primary instrument. He also played the sax, as attested in a few of this discography's earlier dates. Beau should thus be deemed "a person of interest" whenever any alto or tenor playing is heard in the six performances under scrutiny.


Arrangements

1. Source
The arrangements for this session's three performances are extant in Capitol's library of music scores. The library is the source for the above-indicated arranger credits. In the case of "Save Your Sorrow For Tomorrow," credit is mysteriously given to a "Tommy" for whom no last name is included.


Songs

1. "Sunshine Cake" In The Regional Music Charts
According to Cash Box's Disc Jockey's Regional Record Reports for the week ending March 11, 1950, Peggy Lee's version of "Sunshine Cake" reached the #1 position at KROP, in Brawley, California. Other acts in the station's top 10 were Bing Crosby ("the Horse Told Me"), Doris Day ("Save A Sunbeam"), Louis Prima ("Enjoy Yourself"), and the team of Jimmy Wakely & Margaret Whiting ("The Gods Were Angry," "Broken-down Merry-Go-Round").

Date: November 11 & 15, 1949
Location: Capitol Studios, 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Sessions #1541, #1542, #1616, #1617

Mel Tormé (ldr), James Conkling, Lee Gillette (pdr), Mel Tormé (pdr, v), Harold "Hal" Mooney (con), The Mel-Tones (Les Baxter, Betty Beveridge, Ginny O'Connor, Bernie Parks), Mel Tormé and The Mel-Tones (acc), Skeets Herfurt aka Arthur Herfurt (cl, as), Jules Jacob[s], Jules Kinsler, Robert "Bob" Lawson (as, ts), Chuck Gentry (bar), Conrad Gozzo, Uan Rasey, George Seaberg, Joe Triscari (t), Joe Howard aka Francis Howard, Ed Kusby aka Edward Kuczborski, Si Zentner (tb), Allan Reuss (g), Phil Stephens (b), Unknown (str), Buddy Neal (p), Ralph Hansell (x, vib), Robert Maxwell (hrp), Irv Cottler (d), Harry Bluestone aka Blostein, Jacques Gasselin, George Kast, Daniel "Dan" Lube, Nick Pisani, Lou Raderman, Mischa Russell, Paul Shure, Felix Slatkin (vn), Paul Robyn (vl), Cy Bernard, Eleanor Slatkin (vc), Peggy Lee (v), Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires {Conlon, Mack McLean, Loulie "Lily" Jean Norman, Charles Parlato, Gloria Wood}, The Mel-Tones (Les Baxter, Loulie-Jean Norman, Ginny O'Connor, Bernie Parks), The Starlighters (Pauline Byrns, Vince Degen, Jerry Duane, Howard Hudson, Tony Paris) (bkv)

Photos

Images above: Publicity photos of Peggy Lee and Mel Tormé, both identifying the artists as being under the management of Carlos Gastel at GAC (the General Artists Corporation). The other individual pictured is Gastel himself, who was probably instrumental in this and subsequent collaborations between Lee and Tormé.

Images below: the first row spotlights Tormé's California Suite in its original Capitol release form, in a British edition, and on a 1984 reissue from the Discovery label. The second row offers disc pictures of all three issues from the first row. Note that original Capitol disc does not even list tracks; its back cover can be seen last in the third row. The other items on the third row items are Gordon Jenkins's Manhattan Suite (LP edition), to be discussed below, and Mel Tormé's 1957 remake of his California Suite, released on the Bethlehem label. This remake is picture here only for clarification purposes: it offers the same Suite but with a different set of participants, other than Tormé.

Images down below: Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra and Mel Tormé were the five artists whose craftsmanship New York's WNEW celebrated with a series of posters that promoted them and the station with the slogan "blessed with America's best." Seen here are the Mel Tormé poster and two edition of the Peggy Lee poster.


Personnel

1. Peggy Lee And Mel Tormé: Collaborations
Other collaborations between Lee and Tormé ensued. Shortly after the completion of the California Suite, they met again for a duet session (November 16, 1949) in which a light-hearted song that the pair had co-written was among the attempted numbers. Another duet session took place two years later (July 10, 1951); at that point, they were also co-hosting a summer television show. Later on still, the twosome jointly worked on more television (1960s) and also in concerts (1990s). At the last of those concerts (1995), the two artists seem to have had a falling out, unfortunately. But throughout his long career Tormé consistently made appreciative comments about Lee's talents, both in interviews and in his self-written print (e.g., Tormé's 1994 book My Singing Teachers).

2. "Susan Melton"
Notice that this is a Mel Tormé session, and that Peggy Lee is not listed by her own name in this date's paperwork. Instead, credit for her role as The Easterner is given to a pseudonym, Susan Melton. The reason why Peggy Lee used this assumed name is unknown. Chances are that she and those involved in the album's production were merely having tongue-in-cheek fun. The name "Melton" is obviously a play on the name of Mel's group (The Mel-Tones) and, by extension, on Tormé's first name.

Lee's adoption of such a pseudonym also suggests that she was not particularly interested in receiving public credit for her contribution, but participated in this project chiefly as a favor. Lee's and Tormé's common manager, Carlos Gastel, was largely responsible for orchestrating her involvement. In the liner notes for the Rhino set The Mel Tormé Collection, 1944-1985, Will Friedwald quotes Tormé himself as saying that "[w]hen we came to the point when we needed the voice of The Easterner, Carlos Gastel thought of Peggy. He went to her and said, Would you do this for Mel? and she said, Sure. She sings it with that sort of mock Eastern accent."

3. The Jud Conlon Rhythmiares
4. The Starlighters
Heard throughout, The Rhythmaires and The Starlighters constitute the Suite's choral voices, sometimes commenting about or adding to the narrative, at other times backing the soloists or amplifying the sounds of The Rhythmaires.

In the case of The Starlighters, the identity of the individuals who sang at this session is difficult to ascertain, due in part to the relatively scant amount of extant information on the matter, in part to the several changes of personnel undergone by the group over its years of activity. The individual names listed above are those who were active members during the second half of 1948 and the first half of 1949. It is thus likely that all five individuals were still part of the group in November of 1949, when the California Suite sessions took place.







Issues

1. Mel Tormé's California Suite
2. Gordon Jenkins' Manhattan Tower And California (The Golden State)

This session's masters are part of a musical suite composed by Mel Tormé. The suite is over 30 minutes long. Tormé's model and inspiration was a work of the same genre that had been released a few years earlier (and to which the next paragraph will be dedicated).

In September 1945, pianist, composer and arranger Gordon Jenkins recorded a 17-minute homage to New York City. The next year, Decca Records released it on the album pictured first above. Titled Manhattan Tower: A Musical Narrative Composed By Gordon Jenkins (catalogue number 723, this album divides the composer's suite into four sections distributed over two 78-rpm discs. Jenkins' musical narrative seems to have been reissued in 1949, as either an EP album or a 10" LP, and again around 1954, as a 12" LP (Decca Dl 8011). Those post-78-rpm album versions are actually twofers: they combine Manhattan Tower with California (The Golden State), a similar work that Jenkins had co-written with Tom Adair. (Both pieces mix music with dramatic narration, and each bears the sub-title "A Musical Narrative.") Next, in 1956, a newly recorded and expanded version of the New York suite was released by Jenkins, not on Decca but on Capitol, in EP and LP configurations, under the title Complete Manhattan Tower (catalogue number for the LP: T 766). "New York's My Home" has become the best-known song from Jenkins' homage to the Big Apple.

In Tormé's own words, his California Suite was conceived as an "an alter ego" to Jenkins' Manhattan Tower. As its title implies, the suite celebrates the joys of California and the West Coast. The most noticeable difference between Tormé's and Jenkins' opuses is that Tormé includes no spoken narration; everything is sung, including the expository commentary. Also, some of the singers in Tormé's suite are well-defined dramatis personae (The Extra Girl, The Easterner), whereas those in Manhattan Tower are barely sketched characters of little dramatic import. Thus California Suite qualifies not just as a narrative in song but also as musical drama. Its best-known number is "Poor Little Extra Girl."

Peggy Lee sings the role of The Easterner, a character who functions as the chief antagonist throughout this musical drama. In a New York accent, she constantly extols the superiority of various East Coast locations and professes herself skepticism about the West Coast's alleged virtues. Toward the end of the suite, she comes around, after having heard all the many eulogies to California that are sung by the other characters. Miss Big Apple Dweller ends up acknowledging that the West Coast has, after all, plenty to recommend.

Worth noting: Capitol Records' California Suite must not to be confused with a reprise of the suite that Tormé recorded for Bethlehem Records. Though also titled California Suite and covering the same basic terrain, the second version differs significantly from the Capitol original. Most importantly for the purposes of this discography, Peggy Lee does not participate in that 1957 reprise.

3. Album Configurations
California Suite was originally issued in three configurations: as a 78-rpm set (four discs: 8 28004 to 8 28007), as a 45-rpm set (three discs: 6f 28004 to 6f 28006), and as an LP that was Capitol's first non-classical 12" vinyl.

It should be pointed out that none of these original configurations offers a track listing. This American album's contents are simply presented as one long-running unit, without any song titles. It would not be until British EMI released the suite in the United Kingdom that song titles would be provided for the several segments of the Suite. From then onwards, the titles were incorporated to both American and European reissues.

4. Track-By-Track Personnel Identification
Capitol Records' California Suite documentation does not clarify which individuals performed on which track. Neither does the label's original album. In Mel Tormé: A Chronicle Of His Recordings, Books And Films, George Hulme identifies which tracks are instrumentals and which ones feature any vocal work. Furthermore, he divides the vocal personnel into four main units: The Mel Tones, Mel Tormé, Peggy Lee, and a so-called Chorus combining the voices of The Rhythmaires and The Starlighters. To make all such identifications, the author relied on his own careful listening of the suite. After having also spent some time listening to the suite, I find myself concurring with Hulme's identification of the tracks sung by Lee. Here is how Hulme identifies the personnel on the tracks that feature Lee:

We Think The West Coast Is The Best Coast: Part 1 (MT and Chorus)
We Think The West Coast Is The Best Coast (MT, PL and Mel-Tones Chorus)
Coney Island (PL)
The Miami Waltz (PL)
We Think The West Coast Is The Best Coast (reprise) (PL, MT & Chorus)

In addition to Lee's voice, "Coney Island" also features unidentified speaking voices, simulating the sounds of fairs and carnivals.

During the reprise of "We Think The West Coast Is The Best Coast," a large number of voices is heard singing the choral parts in unison, and quite a few of them are female ones. It is possible that, for this number, the Chorus was expanded to include The Mel-Tones.

5. Female Vocalists Heard In The Suite
Various female voices are heard throughout Capitol's California Suite (Peggy Lee's, Loulie Jean Norman's, Ginny O'Connor's). As already indicated, the official or original sources do not identify the exact parts sung by each female. Neither does Capitol's in-house documentation. For the purpose of Peggy Lee's discography, those omissions mean that there is no official identification of the segments that are sung by "Susan Melton." Differentiation between her voice and those of the other female vocalists has thus to be made solely by listening. Fortunately, Lee's voice is not difficult to identify. Norman and O'Connor generally sing in harmony with their Mel-Tones male partners, with one important exception: Ginny O'Connor adopts and sings the role of the "Poor Little 'Extra' Girl."


Arrangers

1. Mel Tormé
2. Jud Conlon
3. Billy May
4. Neal Hefti
5. Dick Jones
6. Hal Mooney
7. Paul Villepigue
8. Source
Mel Tormé did the arrangements for the group vocals by The Mel-Tones. All other choral arrangements are by Jud Conlon.

Jack Mirtle's The Music Of Billy May: A Discography is the source for the arranging credits in the cases of "Coney Island" and "Got The Gate On The Golden Gate."

Known to have contributed arrangements for the instrumental parts of California Suite are Dick Jones, Hal Mooney, and Paul Villepigue. With the one exception noted in the paragraph immediately below, there is no knowledge about the authorship or distribution of orchestral arrangements among these gentlemen.

One of the parts arranged by Paul Villepigue is a segment of "We Think The West Coast Is The Best Coast" in which Peggy Lee has one line ("Yeah, what's that?"). The sub-title of the segment in question is "Dreary Days." My thanks to Desne Ahlers for sharing with me this bit of information, gleaned from a personal letter that his father, Paul Villepigue, wrote to his mother.





Session(s) And Dating

Specific session information about these recordings has proven hard to come by. What's more, Billy May discographer Jack Mirtle reports that Capitol's master files for the California Suite contain neither dates nor song titles. Ultimately, convenience rather than accuracy has led me to group the five above-listed performances under one session.

The Capitol Label Discography by Michel Ruppli et al. gives a general November 1949 date to the original masters. (As noted before, those masters were initially released on a 78-rpm album.) Ruppli's text also shows that Capitol created a second, separate entry for the suite's 45-rpm album version, probably because the masters already released on 78-rpm discs had to be remastered (e.g., edited and re-cut) so that they could be suitable for inclusion in the 45-rpm configuration. That second entry, dedicated to the remastering for 45-rpm issue, is dated February 1950.

The earliest of the dates that I have given to these performances (November 11, 1949) is confirmed only for "Got The Gate On The Golden Gate." Rhino's The Mel Tormé Collection, 1944-1985 is my source. Rhino in turn obtained its information through the kind cooperation of the American Federation Of Musicians, Local 47, whose archives are deemed the most reliable for session data. Because "Got The Gate On The Golden Gate" is the only track from California Suite that was included in The Mel Tormé Collection, 1944-1985, Rhino gives no dating information about the suite's other tracks. Since Peggy Lee is one of the voices heard in "Got The Gate On The Golden Gate," it is clear that she was present at this November 11, 1949 session.

My source for the other date given above is the 2008 Fresh Sound CD Mel Tormé Sings His Own California Suite, Complete Edition. Actually, the issue states that the suite was recorded over two days, and corroborates that November 11 was the earliest. Although this CD is a Public Domain issue, its lavish booklet, sound discographical data, detailed biographical essay and rare photos strongly suggest that a knowledgeable insider was involved in the project -- one who might have had access to documentation on which the recording dates were and full session personnel were given.


Masters

1. Master Numbers
My initial acquaintance with the above-shown master numbers happened thanks to authors George Hulme and Jack Mirtle , who found them while they were researching their respective discographies of Mel Tormé and Billy May. The numbers were found in the log sheets for the suite's completed master. (That is to say, they do not come from the session's file, whose location eluded the authors and their assistants).

The more recently published Capitol Label Discography by Ruppli et al. offers additional details. This extensive CD-ROM document shows that, as Hulme had indicated in his Mel Tormé discography, master numbers were assigned not by individual song but by the parts or segments in which the suite was divided for the purpose of issuing it on 78-rpm disc. Hence, for instance, "Coney Island" and "The Miami Waltz" are both parts of 78-rpm master disc #5465.

To further complicate matters, California Suite actually has not one but two sets of master numbers. One set belongs to the 78-rpm master discs, the other set to 45-rpm master discs. Here is the set of numbers attached to the 78-rpm configuration, as listed in the Capitol Label Discography:

Session #1541
November 1949
5463 California Suite, Part 1: Mountain Desert Theme / The Golden West / We Think The West Coast Is The Best Coast, Segment 1
5464 California Suite, Part 2: We Think The West Coast Is The Best Coast, Segment 2
5465 California Suite, Part 3: Coney Island / The Miami Waltz
5466 California Suite, Part 4: They Go To San Diego

Session #1542
November 1949
5667 California Suite, Part 5: Sunday Night In San Francisco
5468 California Suite, Part 6: Got The Gate On The Golden Gate
5469 California Suite, Part 7: Prelude To Poor Little Extra Girl
5470 California Suite, Part 8: Poor Little Extra Girl / We Think The West Coast Is The Best Coast, Reprise / Mountain Desert Theme

[A side note. I believe that Ruppli et. al have used two sources for the details shown above: Capitol's log sheets (which do not give the suite's song titles) and another source (from which the song titles were gathered). EMI in the United Kingdom seems to have been the first company to issue the album in a version that identified the songs by title. Hulme also identified them in his Tormé discography. Thereafter, song titles have appeared in various other sources: Jasmine Cd 365 (an issue which benefitted from Hulme's output), this discography, and some Public Domain issues.]

As already mentioned, a second set of master numbers was assigned to the suite's segments when they were re-cut for release as a 45-rpm album. The Capitol Label Discography presents those numbers as follows:

Session #1616
ca. February, 1950
5471 Pt.1
5472 Pt.2
5473 Pt.3

Session #1617
ca. February 1950
5474 Pt.4
5475 Pt.5
5470 Pt.6

Because I do not own a copy of the suite's 45-rpm album version, and because I do not know which songs are included in each of the 45-rpm masters, I have entered in this discography only the 78-rpm master disc numbers.

Date: November 16, 1949
Location: Capitol Recording Studio, 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1547

Peggy Lee (ldr), Lee Gillette (pdr), Lou Busch and His Orchestra (acc), Lou Busch (p), Peggy Lee, Mel Tormé (v), The Mellomen {Bob Hamlin, Bill Lee, Thurl Ravenscroft, Max Smith} (bkv)

Songs

1. "The Old Master Painter" In The Music Charts
According to Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories, 1890-1954, Peggy Lee's and Mel Tormé's duet version of "The Old Master Painter" made its chart debut during the week of January 7, 1950, and went on to peak at #9. It was Lee's 24th solo Billboard hit and Tormé's 8th. A highly popular song at recording time, five other recordings of "The Old Master Painter" successfully competed on the Billboard charts as well: Frank Sinatra's (#13), Snooky Lanson's (#12), Phil Harris' (#10), Dick Haymes' (#4), and Richard Hayes' (#2).

All six versions are also listed in Cash Box as well. At both of the magazine's main charts, (Disc-Hits Box Score, Poll Of The Nation's Top 10 Juke Box Tunes), "The Old Master Painter" remained at #3 for three straight weeks (starting with the week ending January 28, 1950). It spent a total of 16 weeks in the former (a top 40 chart), 10 weeks in the latter (a top 10 chart).

Cash Box's main charts measured the popularity of songs rather than recordings. Hence the above-given results collectively apply to all six then-current recordings of "The Old Master Painter." A look into Cash Box's regional charts confirms that each of the six versions was popular in different markets. The Lee-Tormé version seems to have gained attention last, as the popularity of the other versions was beginning to dwindle.


Personnel

1. The Mellomen
This edition of The Mellomen featured Thurl Ravenscroft, Max Smith, Bill Lee, and Bob Hamlin. (During her Decca years, Peggy Lee worked with a later edition of the group. That edition still included Ravenscroft, Lee, and Smith, but Hamlin had been replaced by Phil Stephens.)

2. Lou Busch
3. Joe "Fingers" Carr
The Lou Busch who participated in this 1949 session was the same man who would soon become popular as a ragtime, honky tonk pianist, under the pseudonym of Joe "Fingers" Carr. Aural inspection of the piano playing heard through "The Old Master Painter" certainly suggests that the hands tickling the ivory are Carr's.

4. Accompaniment: Dave Barbour Versus Lou Busch
Extant information about this session's accompaniment is conflictive. Lee's session files credit Dave Barbour as the orchestra leader, and do not list Lou Busch. On the other hand, and according to Mel Tormé discographer George Hulme, "[t]he orchestra leader is given as Lou Busch on [Tormé's] Capitol log sheets. The notes for [EMI CD] 077779942626 credit Lou Busch as the orchestra leader but the notes for Capitol [CD] 7 93195-2 mistakenly give the leader as Dave Barbour." In private communication with me, Hulme also made a sensible point about Capitol's occasional practice of listing an accompaniment other than the actual one -- especially when the actual conductor was not a brand name.

Hulme's assertion that Busch directed this date strikes me as probably correct. The Capitol Label Discography, published after Hulme did his research, backs him up. (The text by Ruppli et al. states: "Peggy Lee, Mel Torme [vo] & The Mellomen [vo] with Lou Busch and his Orchestra.") Since there is no prominent guitar in either of this session's two songs, Barbour's participation is highly questionable. Piano is the main instrument. (There also seems to be clarinet, organ, and in "Bless You," perhaps a sax.)

Of course, there is room for the possibility that Barbour was somehow involved, even if not as heavily as Busch, who was actually an in-house producer at Capitol. After all, Barbour and Lee tended to work as a two-person "package" during these years. Although it would have been unusual, Busch could have ceded the direction of one of the tracks to Barbour. The matter needs to be fully settled by consulting more reliable documentation which is not accessible to me, unfortunately -- i.e., the date's AFM reports.


Acknowledgments

1. George Hulme
My thanks to Mr. Hulme for the very helpful and instructive details that he shared with me (about both Capitol and Tormé) during various email exchanges, and for his superior work Mel Tormé: A Chronicle Of His Recordings, Books And Films.


Masters And Arrangements

1. "Crime And Punishment"
Capitol's library of music scores lists an arrangement for a duet by Peggy Lee and Mel Tormé, for a song titled "Crime And Punishment." Presumably, this "Crime And Punishment" was the 1920s number composed by Ferre and Jacobs, the same team responsible for another composition that Peggy Lee recorded for Capitol on June 16, 1950, "The Cannonball Express." As interpreted by artists such as Hoagy Carmichael, "Crime And Punishment" resembles "The Old Master Painter" in its canteen-piano musical atmosphere.

However, no Lee-Tormé master of "Crime And Punishment" is known to exist. Unless it is unlisted in the official paperwork and lost in the vaults, it doesn't seem to have been recorded. For another master whose situation is similar, see session dated September 13, 1950, notes included.

Date: December 2, 1949
Location: Capitol Recording Studio, 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1560

Peggy Lee (ldr), Lee Gillette (pdr), Dave Barbour (con), The Gualadajara Boys (acc), Peggy Lee (v), Other Individuals Unknown (unk)

Photos

1. Publicity Shot
Contributing to promote Capitol single #801, the above-shown photo of Dave Barbour and Peggy Lee was published on the February 18, 1950 issue of Cash Box magazine. It was accompanied by the following comment: "[v]ery much in a gay Latin mood, thanks to their new click record, My Small Señor, are thrush Peggy Lee and her band leader hubby Dave Barbour. The novelty, causing much favorable comment, is being compared to the smash Mañana that the combination of Lee and Barbour created using the same Spanish tempo and engaging accent delivery. Disk, issued just last week, is already causing great excitement among the nation's Capitol Records' distributors." (The alleged similarities to "Mañana" are overstated.) My apologies for being unable to provide a clearer scan of the photo. (Also seen above: the Capitol 78-rpm single.)


Issues

1. Review Of "My Small Señor" / "When You Speak With Your Eyes" [Capitol single 801]
In the January 18, 1950 issue of Variety, the single that resulted from this session was reviewed as follows: "Miss Lee and spouse Dave Barbour wrote both those tunes. My Small Señor particularly is a hefty potential. A side reminiscent of Miss Lee's Mañana, it's on a rhumba beat and vocal is couched with a Mex-accent. It's a really good cut. Reverse sells, too. Miss Lee delivers in her own style and though the tune is not as good, it has a chance. Dave Barbour and The Guadalajara Boys accomp."


Masters And Studio Chatter

1. "My Small Señor (With The Sonriente Eyes)"
The Capitol set The Singles Collection includes a very brief spoken bit from this session. Right before Lee sings take #3 of "My Small Señor," she is heard practicing her pronunciation of the Spanish word "sonriente," which translates into "smiling" or "flirty." (The bit is 12 seconds long.)


Songs

1. "My Small Señor" In The Regional Music Charts
"My Small Señor" was a strong 1950 regional hit for Peggy Lee. Evidence can be found in two of Cash Box's regional charts, one of them called Disc Jockey's Regional Record Reports and the other Poll Of The Nation's Top 10 Juke Box Tunes.

Two radio stations reported that Lee's recording had reached top 10 status: KWKW in Pasadena, California (#4 for the week ending February 11) and WJHP in Jacksonville, Florida (#9 for the week ending February 18).

"My Small Señor" did even better in the jukebox market. It reached the #1 position in three cities: Worcester, Massachusetts (March 4), St. Louis, Missouri (March 11), and Jacksonville, Florida (March 25).

2. "When You Speak With Your Eyes" In The Regional Music Charts
According to Cash Box's Disc Jockey's Regional Record Reports, this Peggy Lee recording also enjoyed some regional success. For the week ending February 11, 1950, "When Your Speak With Your Eyes" scored a #6 ranking at WHAM, in Rochester, New York.

Incidentally, the week ending February 11, 1950 was notably successful for Peggy Lee. Her recordings of "When You Speak With Your Eyes," "My Small Señor," "Sugar," and "The Old Master Painter" were all simultaneously enjoying top ten success in different regional markets (namely, four other radio stations, and also one regional jukebox survey).

Date: March 13, 1950
Location: Capitol Recording Studio, 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1659

Peggy Lee (ldr), Lee Gillette (pdr), Dave Barbour (con), Dave Barbour And His Orchestra (acc), Peggy Lee (v), Other Individuals Unknown (unk)

Photos

Domestic portraits of Dave Barbour and Peggy Lee. Their 1949 summer tour is likely to have elicited a flurry of promotional activity, including photo shoots for use in the magazines of the day.


Masters And Studio Chatter

1. "Helpless"
The Capitol set The Singles Collection includes a very brief spoken bit (:15) from this date. Peggy Lee is heard saying that "Helpless" is a tune that jumps.


Arrangements

1. Source
With the exception of "They Can't Take That Away From Me," arrangements for this session's performances are extant in Capitol's library of music scores. The library is the source for the above-indicated credits to Heinie Beau.

Date: June 16, 1950
Location: Capitol Recording Studio, 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1782

Peggy Lee (ldr), Lee Gillette (pdr), Dave Barbour And His Orchestra (acc), Peggy Lee (v), Other Individuals Unknown (unk)

Photos

Ads on behalf of Capitol no. 1105, one of the three singles generated by this session.


Songs

1. "Show Me The Way Out Of This World" In The Music Charts
Peggy Lee's 25th solo hit entered the charts during the week of August 26, 1950 and, according to Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories, 1890-1954, reached a #28 position. No other versions of this Matt Dennis composition are known to have made the charts.


Masters

1. Total Of Masters
2. "Lover, Come Back To Me"
Curiously, this date has a total of five masters, instead of the customary three or four. I am left to wonder if the fifth performance was not originally planned.

I imagine that this lively, exciting rendition of "Lover, Come Back To Me" reflects the manner in which Lee was regularly performing the song in concerts at the time. Perhaps the live rendition had been so enthusiastically received that Barbour and Lee decided to recreate it in the studio.

3. Masters' Sequence
Moreover, the fifth master (#6148) breaks the sequential order of the other masters (#6139 - #6142). The simplest possible explanation for this sequential jump to 6148 is that numbers 6143 to 6147 had already been reserved. The Capitol Label Discography support such an explanation: it shows that numbers 6144 to 6146 were given to an Earl Grant date that was recorded on the same day as Lee's. (As for masters #6143 and #6147, the latter was assigned to a performance from a Paris-recorded session by Guy Luypaerts And His Orchestra. The former was left unused -- or, if it was used, the song that it contained must have been erased).


Arrangements

1. Source
For all but one of this session's five performances, the arrangements are extant in Capitol's library of music scores. The one exception is "Lover, Come Back To Me," which might have a head arrangement. In the cases of "Happy Music" and "Don't Give Me A Ring On The Telephone," the library's scores do not identify the arranger.

Date: September 13, 1950
Location: Capitol Recording Studio, 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1907

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Barbour And His Orchestra (acc), Peggy Lee (v), Other Individuals Unknown (unk)

Photos

By 1950 a well-established, brand music act, the Barbours graced the covers of two top music magazine issues. The Cash Box issue made it to the magazine stands in August, the Metronome issue in October.


Masters And Issues

1. "If I Could Steal You From Somebody Else"
2. The Lost '40's & 50's Capitol Masters [CD]
"If I Could Steal You From Somebody Else" made its debut in 2008, as part of the excellent 2CD set The Lost '40's & 50's Capitol Masters. Unfortunately, this particular track suffers from a significant problem. The performance cuts a few lines before it ends. It is not known if this is a master tape defect or an error made by the set's master engineer.


Songs And Arrangements

1. "Ay Ay Chug A Chug" In The Regional Music Charts
According to Cash Box's Disc Jockey's Regional Record Reports, Peggy Lee's recording of this self-penned novelty grabbed the attention of listeners at WNOR, in Norfolk, Virginia. It ranked #2 during the week ending January 13, 1951, when Guy Mitchell's version of "My Heart Cries For You" held the top spot. For the week of February 10, Peggy Lee's number was placing at #5 in the station's top ten.

2. "The One I Love"
3. "The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else"
4. "If I Could Still You From Somebody Else" And "The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else"
Capitol's library of music scores lists an arrangement of a song titled "The One I Love." The arrangement was made by Richard Hazard for Peggy Lee, but no Lee master of it is listed anywhere, and nothing else is known about the prospective performance. Unless it was left unlisted and is currently lost in the vaults, it might have never been recorded.

Since no performance exists, I can only speculate about the identity of the song in question.

"The One I Love" is the title of a Jurmann-Kahn-Kaper number that was sung by Allan Jones in the 1938 movie Everybody Sing, co-starring Judy Garland. ("The one I love is coming along someday / And I'll have none except the one I love / He may be near or ever so far away / But I'll have none except the one I love ...... And through the night I pray to the moon above / To please be kind and find the one I love.")

This title could also be an abbreviation of the well-known standard "The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else," by Isham Jones and Gus Khan. ("... He means her tender songs for somebody else / And even when I have my arms around him / I know his thoughts are strong for somebody else ...")

Notice that this session features a song whose title is partially similar to "The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else": "If I Could Steal You From Somebody Else." The similarity leads me to ponder if the original plan was to create a two-song medley. Such a possibility could explain why the master of "If I Could Steal You From Somebody Else" cuts abruptly.

Then again, this possibility seems far-fetched because Lee did not record any other medleys during these years. Moreover, I have no knowledge of when the arrangement was made. Given the credit to Hazard, plans to record it could have been made as early as this session and as late as the mid-1960s.

Still, the title similarity could hint, if not at a medley, at an intent to also record "The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else" during this date, which generated three instead of the maximum of four songs.

For another arrangement that, like "The One I Love," resulted in no extant master, see notes under session dated November 16, 1949.

5. Source (Arrangements)
The arrangements for this session's three performances are extant in Capitol's library of music scores. The library is the source for the above-indicated arranger credits.

Date: September 14, 1950
Location: Capitol Recording Studio, 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #1912

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Barbour And His Orchestra (acc), Unknown (b, str, p, d), Peggy Lee (v), The Jud Conlon Choir (bkv)

At The Session

1. Stan Kenton
2. Maynard Ferguson
The September 30, 1950 issue of Billboard magazine contains this lighthearted tidbit: Does Stan Kenton play loud? Peggy Lee showed up for a Capitol recording session last week to find all the amplifiers at the diskery's studio had been blown out. Kenton had recorded just prior to that." The tidbit itself bears a September 23 date, thereby making it likely that the Lee session in question is the present one (#1912) or, otherwise, her preceding session (#1907). Kenton's September sessions took place on the 12th (#1904), 13th (#1905), and 14th (#1910).

The last two dates actually featured no playing from Stan Kenton. They did feature his band, though, with his trumpet player, the enticingly loud Maynard Ferguson, leading the pack. Among the eight numbers recorded at those Ferguson dates were "Take The A Train" and "Short Wave" (both on the 13th), "Santa Lucia" and "Pagliacci" (on the 14th).


Photos

To further honor the bandleader and the above-told anecdote, here are Stan Kenton and Peggy Lee caught in the same shot, along with Johnny Mercer and Martha Tilton. The photo is actually from a few years earlier -- New Year's Eve, 1945, or December 31, 1944, or thereabouts. Also seen above is an advertisement promoting various Capitol singles, including one from this Peggy Lee session ("Once In A Lifetime") and another recorded by Nat King Cole in conjunction with Stan Kenton ("Orange Colored Sky," which Lee would eventually tackle as well, on the radio).


Songs And Songwriters

1. "Once In A Lifetime"
2. Ambroise Thomas
The melody of "Once In A Lifetime" is strongly reminiscent of a theme by the French composer Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896), best remembered for his opera Mignon. (My thanks to Michael J. White for first alerting me to the similarity.) See also notes about the song "I Hear The Music Now," under Decca session dated December 16, 1952.


Arrangements

1. Source
The arrangements for this session's three performances are extant in Capitol's library of music scores. The library is the source for each of the above-indicated credits to Heinie Beau and Dick Hazard.

Date: December 26, 1950
Location: Capitol Recording Studio, 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #2008

Peggy Lee (ldr), Dave Barbour And His Orchestra (acc), Peggy Lee (v), Other Individuals Unknown (unk)

Photos

Taken from magazine issues published in December and August of 1950, these photos belong to the last months of the Barbours' marriage. The present session was also the last one they would do as a couple. Preceded by a separation period, the couple's divorce would become official in May 1951 . (The divorce did not signify a full parting of ways, however. Remaining on friendly terms and with a child to rear, they remained on friendly terms. The press reported that Barbour often visited Lee's household, and even got along with her next husband. Barbour would also go on to participate on a few Lee sessions from the 1950s.)


Masters

1. Sequential Order
This session's first master bears a number (6916) which is significantly lower than the other two master numbers (6937 and 6938). When I first noticed it, I suspected that a typo accounted for the discrepancy (i.e., #6936 had been inadvertently turned into #6916). But, after double-checking Capitol's files and, more recently, the Capitol Label Discography, I have corroborated that 6916 is indeed the correct number. A look at other Capitol sessions from the last months of 1950 show that the case under discussion is not exceptional: quite a few master numbers from that period are out of sequential order.


Songs

1. "Climb Up The Mountain" In The Regional Music Charts
According to Cash Box's Disc Jockey's Regional Record Reports, Peggy Lee's recording of "Climb Up The Mountain" reached top ten status at two radio stations: St. Louis' KXOK (#8 for the week ending January 13, 1951) and Denver's WKYR (#10 for the week ending March 3, 1951; #7 for the week ending March 24, 1951).


Arrangements

1. Source
The arrangements for this session's three performances are extant in Capitol's library of music scores. The library is the source for the credit to Heinie Beau.


Photos

1. The Peggy Lee Look
Images below: Shots of the artist as she looked in 1951. The first is a candid taken at the Cocoanut Grove and published in a January 1951 magazine issue. The second, a publicity agency photo, has a March 12, 1951 date attached to it. The third formed part of the publicity for the show TV's Top Tunes, which aired during the summer of 1951. The fourth was used as the cover of a magazine issue published in August of 1951.

Date: February 8, 1951
Location: Capitol Recording Studio, 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #2053

Peggy Lee (ldr), Louis Prima and His Orchestra (acc), Jim Wynn (sax), Peggy Lee (v), Benny Carter, Other Individuals Unknown (unk)

Photo

Capitol advertisement showcasing Peggy Lee's recording of the Benny Carter tune "Rock Me To Sleep," released on the label's 1428 single. Also pictured above: from Capitol 78-rpm disc 1450, the side which features "That Ol' Devil," a Peggy Lee-Dave Barbour composition recorded at the present date.


Songs

1. "Ev'rytime" In The Regional Music Charts
According to Cash Box's Disc Jockey's Regional Record Reports, Peggy Lee's version of "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" spent two weeks (March 10 & 17, 1951) in the #7 slot of WCKY's countdown. (WCKY was a radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio). During the week ending April 21, 1951. Lee's recording of "Yeah! Yea! yeah!" also became the 2nd most played number in the jukeboxes of Fertile, Minnesota. (The #1 spot was held by the suitably called Pinetoppers, with their version of "Mockin' Bird Hill.")

2. "Rock Me To Sleep" In The Regional Music Charts
According to the same aforementioned Cash Box chart, Peggy Lee's version of "Rock Me To Sleep" became the 10th most requested song in Birmingham, Alabama's WGSN during the week ending March 31, 1951. Then, for the week ending April 21, 1951, it held the #9 position at WINX, a radio station in Washington, D. C.


Personnel

1. Louis Prima
2. Benny Carter
3. Jim Wynn
There is conflicting data about the backing of this session. Whereas Peggy Lee's Capitol session file identifies the band as "Louis Prima and His Orchestra," The Capitol Label Discography states that "artist file lists backing band as Benny Carter and his orchestra." (Curiously, one of the songs recorded at the date was written by Prima, and another by Carter.)

A third source of information is a review published on the April 6, 1951 issue of Downbeat magazine. The review states that Capitol single #1428 ("Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" / "Rock Me To Sleep") features "backing by a mixed crew headed by Jim Wynn, local saxman & leader." One of Lee's biographers makes mention of a corroborating article, found in the February 14, 1951 issue of Billboard magazine. Capitol "used an all-Negro jazz group, led by Jim Wynn," the Billboard reporter declares, "in an effort to set off her pipings with a rough 'n' ready backdrop."

Since I have no official personnel data for this date, I cannot categorically assert which of these accounts is accurate. For discographical purposes, I have believed the press' claim that Wynn was present. At the present time, my suspicion is that all three men were present, with Carter in charge of the overall proceedings. In my hypothetical scenario, Carter would have ceded leadership position to Prima during "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" only, and Prima would have been present only for that number.

But, until further official documentation comes forward, Prima's full degree of involvement in the session cannot be ascertained. (For what is worth, there is proof that Prima and Lee worked together around this time. They did so on the radio: he guested in five episodes of her 1951-1952 radio series. In fact, Prima's five guest turns grant him the distinction of being the solo act to make the highest number of appearances in the year-long show.)

Until further official documentation comes forward, Carter's presence in this session must be deemed tentative as well. It's worth noting that Ed Berger's discography of Benny Carter does not list this Peggy Lee session among those which Carter conducted. This Lee session is, on the other hand, listed in Louis Prima's discography at his official site, where he is declared the date's leader and trumpet player.


Masters

1. "That Ol' Devil Won't Get Me"
2. Double-tracking
In some parts of master #7123, Lee's voice is double-tracked, thereby creating the effect that she is singing and speaking with herself.


Arrangements

1. Source
The arrangements for this session's three performances are extant in Capitol's library of music scores. The library is the source for the above-given credits to Heinie Beau and Benny Carter.

Date: April 5, 1951
Location: probably WMGM Radio Studio, 711 5th Avenue , New York
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #2076

Peggy Lee (ldr), Sid Feller (con), Sid Feller and His Orchestra (acc), Peggy Lee (v), Other Individuals Unknown (unk)

Photos

Another set of colorful Peggy Lee shots, estimated to date from around 1950.


Personnel

1. Sid Feller
In the early 1950s, Sid Feller was the A&R executive in charge of the sessions that Capitol vocalists held in the New York area. The importance of his position can be gleaned from a Billboard article published on April 17, 1954. The article refers to the "loophole" that had been left by " Sid Feller's leaving the firm" and explains a "rotation scheme" that Capitol vice-president Alan Livingston is enacting to solve the matter. The scheme involved monthly New York stays of each of the label's LA-based pop A&R men (Lee Gillette, Dave Dexter, Voyle Gilmore), on a rotation basis. In addition to "see[ing] publishers and mak[ing] records" while in the Big Apple, the three A&R men's prospective duties are identified as follows: "[s]ince Capitol a.&r. men are assigned specific artists, the rotation scheme means that the a.&r. man visiting New York for his month will have a double job. He will pick material for his own artists as well as for artists based here and formerly handled by Eastern staff. in addition, he will select material for other artists to be sent to the Coast."


Songs

1. "If You Turn Me Down" In The Regional Music Charts
According to Cash Box's Disc Jockey's Regional Record Reports, Peggy Lee's recording of "If You Turn Me Down" became the 10th most requested song in Detroit, Michigan's WJBK during the week ending June 23, 1951. Then, for the week ending July 21, 1951, it held the #8 position at WAAT, a radio station in Newark, New Jersey.

2. "It Never Happen' To Me" In The Regional Music Charts
According to Cash Box's Disc Jockey's Regional Record Reports, this conceptual successor to "Mañana" spent the week ending June 9, 1951 in the #9 position at WHOD, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Arrangements

1. Source
The arrangements for this session's four performances are extant in Capitol's library of music scores. The library is the source for the arranging credits to Sid Feller that are given above.


Location

The documentation at hand states that New York was the city in which the session too place, but the venue is not identified. WMGM Radio Studio is an educated guess of mine, based on various reports that allude to that studio as the one where Capitol held its pre-1953 New York sessions. The studio had originally belonged to NBC. WMGM took over it in the mid-1940s, but did not start using it regularly until 1948. (Columbia Pictures bought it from MGM in 1956.)

One of the reports that I consulted indicate that Capitol used the 711 5th Avenue studio for at least its jazz-oriented sessions. Other reports state that the record company used the studio for all its sessions. One additional source states that, before the late 1940s, New York's Capitol had been using WMGM's previous studio facilities -- probably Loew's State Theatre, 1540 Broadway. (While at the Loew's Theatre, the station bore the call letters WHN; the change to WMGM happened when the station moved to 711 5th Avenue.)

The above-mentioned reports seem to be somewhat in line with discographical details given by well-researched releases such as Bear Family Records' Ella Mae Morse boxed set Barrelhouse, Boogie And The Blues, in which all her New York sessions from 1942 to 1957 are listed as taking place at MGM. (Bear Family does not provide full address, however. If their data is accurate, then two studios would be at play -- the one at 711 5th Avenue, and the one owned by WMGM before that one. I have doubts about their data's full accuracy, however. My doubts come from the fact that 1953-1957 sessions are listed as having taken place at WMGM studios. Elsewhere, post 1953 sessions by all Capitol artists are listed as taking place at the label's own studio -- at least until 1971.)

Date: May 16, 1951 (5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; First Of Two Sessions)
Location: Capitol Melrose Studios, 5515 Melrose, Hollywood
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #2172

Peggy Lee (ldr), Billy May And His Orchestra (acc), Ed Kusby aka Edward Kuczborski (tb), Vincent Terri (g), Don Whitaker (b), Paul Smith (p), Tommy Romersa (d), Peggy Lee (v)

Photos

Peggy Lee serves as cover girl for 1951 issues of two periodicals, the first from February, the second from August. The February image presents Lee as she looked for much of the 1949-1950 years, the August shot as she would look for much of the 1951-1952 years. See also photography in the next entry.


Songs

1. "Tonight You Belong To Me" In The Regional Music Charts
The flip side of Capitol single 1573 found favor at WNOR in Norfolk, Virginia, where it enjoyed a #5 position and a non-consecutive two-week stay within the top ten (weeks ending June 30 and August 4, 1951). Cash Box's Disc Jockey's Regional Record Reports is the source for this piece of information.


Arrangements

My two sources for this session's arranging credits are in discrepancy. Capitol's library of music scores gives authorship to Billy May, yet Jack Mirtle's The Music Of Billy May: A Discography identifies Sid Feller instead. Since Mirtle worked closely with Billy May, I suspect that May might have explained that he was only the nominal arranger, and that Feller was the actual arranger. Whichever the case may be, arranging credits for this session must be deemed tentative.


Dating

Peggy Lee's Capitol file erroneously gives May 17 as this session's date. May 16 is the correct date. The error was first pointed out by Billy May discographer Jack Mirtle, after he checked the session's contract report at the American Federation of Musicians.

Date: May 16, 1951 (8:30 p.m.- 12:30 a.m.; Second Of Two Sessions)
Location: Capitol Melrose Studios, 5515 Melrose, Hollywood
Label: CAPITOL

Peggy Lee (ldr), Billy May And His Orchestra (acc), John Hacker, Jules Jacob[s], Jules Kinsler (r), John Graas (frh), Laurindo Almeida, Jose Oliveira (g), Meyer "Mike" Rubin (b), Don Ferris (p), Kathryn Thompson (hrp), Joe Guerrero (d), Harry Bluestone aka Blostein, Ben Gill, Henry Hill, Lou Raderman, Mischa Russell, Felix Slatkin (vn), Cy Bernard, Eleanor Slatkin (vc), Peggy Lee (v), The Jud Conlon Singers (bkv)

Photos

The July 1951 issue of Capitol News features Peggy Lee on its front cover, which also highlights several numbers from her repertoire. Those include "(When I Dance With You) I Get Ideas" and "My Magic Heart," both from the present date. The former is listed in Capitol advertisement (along with its flip side, "Tonight You Belong To Me") as one of the label's "popular hits" for the month of October 1951. The photos present her as she variously look from 1946 to 1951.


Songs

1. "(When I Dance With You) I Get Ideas" In The Music Charts
This suggestive bolero was adapted from the Argentine tango "Adiós, muchachos." Peggy Lee's version entered Billboard's charts during the week of September 8, 1951 and, according to Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories, 1890-1954, peaked at #8. Lee's competition (all-male, as it had been on various previous occasions) did better than her this time around. RCA's Tony Martin had a sizable hit with his version, which came out before hers, and went on to spend 30 weeks in the chart, peaking at #3. Furthermore, Louis Armstrong's saucy-sounding combination of "(When We Are Dancing) I Get Ideas" and "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" resulted in a double-charting Decca hit, with Satchmo's "Ideas" peaking at #10.

In Cash Box's charts, the combined strength of the versions by Tony Martin, Peggy Lee, and Louis Armstrong resulted in impressive scores. It collected a 36-week total at the Disc-Hits Box Score, where it remained at its #2 peak during the weeks ending October 13 & 20, 1951. The Poll Of The Nation's Top 10 Juke Box Tunes shows it stubbornly spending five consecutive weeks at #3 (September 29 to October 27, 1951) and an 18-week total in that chart. The main impediment for the attainment of the #1 position in both charts was the popularity of Tony Bennett that year, with his versions of "Because Of You" and "Cold, Cold Heart," as well as the other artists who had recorded competing versions of those two songs. Further challenges were posed by the number "It's No Sin," best known as recorded by The Four Aces and Eddy Howard.

Cash Box magazine's regional chart make it evident that, while Tony Martin had the smash, all three versions achieved significant popularity. Peggy Lee's version is listed in the top 10 of ten radio stations, scoring a #4 on several of them, and a #3 at one in particular ( WLIZ in Bridgeport, Connecticut, week ending October 27, 1951).

"I Get Ideas" was Lee's 26th Billboard hit for Capitol Records. It was also her last hit before she moved to Decca Records. (She would, however, return to Capitol five years later, and would henceforth generate more hits for the record label.)

The flip side of Capitol single 1573 also found some listeners' favor in certain radio markets. See notes under previous session.

2. "Wandering Swallow" In The Regional Music Charts
According to Cash Box's Disc Jockey's Regional Record Reports, Peggy Lee's recording of "Wandering Swallow" reached the #9 position at WMMW in Meriden, Connecticut and the #6 position at WJMR in New Orleans, Louisiana. Both placements were attained during the week ending September 8, 1951. For the week ending September 29, 1951, it continued to find favor at WJMR, earning the #6 slot.


Arrangements

1. Sources
2. Billy May
3. Harold Mooney
3. Sid Feller
There is partial disagreement among the various sources for this session's arranging credits. The disagreement is over two of the arrangements.

In Capitol's library of music scores, "I Love You But I Don't Like You" is credited to Harold Mooney and "My Magic Heart" is credited to Sid Feller. Those two credits are reversed in Jack Mirtle's The Music Of Billy May: A Discography.

To further complicate matters, an extant arrangement of "I Love You But I Don't Like You" credits neither Mooney nor Feller. The arrangement, kept at Peggy Lee's sheet music library, credits Billy May.

Faced with the need to choose among those options, I have tentatively favored the credits given by Capitol's library. Readers must bear in mind that, should additional date come forth, there might be changes in the future.

All my sources agree that Billy May did the session's other arrangements ("I Get Ideas," "Wandering Swallow").

Date: July 10, 1951
Location: probably WMGM Radio Studio, 711 5th Avenue, New York
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #2202

Peggy Lee (ldr), Sid Feller (con), Sid Feller and His Orchestra (acc), Buck Clayton, Bernie Privin (t), Warren Covington, Lou McGarity, Buddy Morrow (tb), Barry Galbraith (g), Joe Shulman (b), Joe Lewis (p), William Exiner (d), Peggy Lee, Mel Tormé (v)

Photos

Pictures of Peggy Lee and Mel Tormé, all of them published in 1951, and all of them believed to have been taken on that year as well. The last one is one of many publicity shots promoting the summer show TV's Top Tunes, sponsored by Chesterfield, with whom Lee had a contract. Probably thanks to the efforts of their common manager Carlos Gastel, the show signed Tormé to join Lee as a male co-host.


Personnel

1. Peggy Lee with Mel Tormé
This was one of two Capitol sessions in which singers Peggy Lee and Mel Tormé got together to record duets. For the other one, see session dated November 16, 1949. See also November 11, 1949 session.

2. Producer (Dave Cavanaugh?)
3. Engineer (Frank Abbey?)
For the sources of these tentatively entered names, see Location notes below (second paragraph).


Songs And Songwriters

1. "Telling Me Yes, Telling Me No"
Some sources give this song's titles nas "Telling Me Yes, Telling Me No" whereas others claim it to be "Telling Me Yes And Telling Me No." To judge from an internet listing, the sheet music may offer a third alternative, "Telling Me Yes - Telling Me No."

A listening of Lee's and Tormé's vocal supports the use of comma, and the exclusion of the conjunction. The third edition of The Catalogue Of Copyright Entries presents that same spelling.


Location

The documentation at hand pinpoints New York as the city in which the present session took place. Unfortunately, the name of the venue is not given.

My identification of WMGM Radio Studio as said venue is an educated guess. Capitol is known to have held most of its pre-1953 New York sessions there. It was leased space. (In 1953, the label acquired its own Manhattan studio, at 151 West 46th Street.)

A few words about the studio's history. Located at 711 5th Avenue in Manhattan, it had once belonged to NBC. WMGM took over the premises in the mid-1940s, and began to officially use the audio in September 1948.

At the time in which this New York session took place, Capitol was making a concert effort to increase its presence in Manhattan. Between July and September of this year, its sales department moved from Hollywood to Gotham. Several Hollywood acts were encouraged to hold sessions in New York, too, while visiting. The June 30, 1951 issue of Billboard magazine elaborates on the matter:

"As part of the West Coast diskery's announced program to emphasize its Eastern operation, Capitol Records has set a heavy recording schedule here and enlarged its local engineering staff. At least 10 of the label's top artists will all be waxed here by Eastern a. and r. chief Dave Cavanaugh in dates skedded for July 4. Set for waxing in the East are Dean Martin, Jan Garber Ork, Mel Tormé , Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly, the Martin and Lewis team, Peggy Lee, Pee Wee Hunt and two newly signed artists being held under wraps. Local engineering staff took on two additional men and named Frank Abbey to handle the dials on waxing sessions. Abbey replaces Clair Krepps, who resigned recently."

Date: December 17, 1951
Location: probably WMGM Radio Studio, 711 5th Avenue, New York
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #2226

Peggy Lee (ldr), Sid Feller and His Orchestra (acc), Peggy Lee (v), Other Individuals Unknown (unk)

Photos

Two of this session's numbers have noteworthy cinematic connections. "I Love The Way You're Breaking My Heart" remained a very obscure Peggy Lee recording until it was picked for the soundtrack of the 2006 HBO movie Bernard And Doris. Upon hearing it, many movie watchers sought out her recording. Back in 1985, the British film Dance With A Stranger used the song "Would You Dance With A Stranger?" as the theme of its soundtrack. The film's star, Miranda Richardson, sings it on the movie. British singer Mari Wilson then recorded the song for commercial release, in a version that is evidently a copy of Peggy Lee's original recording, both vocally and musically.


Songwriters

1. "Would You Dance With A Stranger?"
2. Alfredo Bracchi
Capitol single #1926 credits "Would You Dance With A Stranger?" to Ray Miller and Giovanni D'Anzi only. ASCAP credits a third person, lyricist Alfredo Bracchi. I assume that Bracchi, known for his partnership with D'Anzi in Italy, was responsible for an original set of Italian lyrics, and thus has no claim to the version with English lyrics.


Songs

1. "It Feels So Good"
2. "I Love The Way You Are Breaking My Heart"
I am told that a Capitol master inventory lists master #7773 as "It Feels So Good," which is merely one of the lines in the song, not its official title.


Arrangements

1. Source
Arrangements for two of this session's three performances are extant in Capitol's library of music scores and are credited to Sid Feller. The library has no arrangement of "I Love The Way You Are Breaking My Heart."


Location

The documentation at hand states that New York was the city in which the session too place, but does not indicate the exact venue. The identification of WMGM Radio Studio is an educated guess; Capitol is said to have held its pre-1953 New York sessions there. (In 1953, Capitol acquired its own studio in Manhattan, at 151 West 46th Street.) WMGM had taken over the studio at 711 5th Avenue in the mid-1940s, officially beginning to use it in September 1948, although they might have informally held sessions there at an earlier time. (The studio had previously belonged to NBC.)

Date: February 18, 1952
Location: probably WMGM Radio Studio, 711 5th Avenue, New York
Label: CAPITOL
Capitol Session #2240

Peggy Lee (ldr), Sid Feller and His Orchestra (acc), Unknown (t, g, b, p, d), Peggy Lee (v)

Photos

Three color slides of Peggy Lee, year and occasion unknown. Her hairdo suggests that the date fall between 1951 and early 1953, with 1952 as the more reasonable of the three possibilities.


Masters

1. Contractual Obligations
The relatively high number of masters recorded during this session could be an indication that Peggy Lee was trying to fulfill a contractual quota before her imminent departure from Capitol Records.


Songs

1. "Ev'rytime" In The Regional Music Charts
According to Cash Box's Disc Jockey's Regional Record Reports, Peggy Lee's version of "Ev'rytime" became the 7th most requested song in Tampa, Florida's WFLA during the week ending May 3, 1952. Then, for the week ending May 10, 1952, it held the #10 position at WHEE, a radio station in Boston, Massachusetts.


Issues And Dating

1. All Aglow Again!
Capitol issued two of this session's six masters on a single. The other four masters were left unissued until 1960, when three of those were curiously picked up for inclusion in the album All Aglow Again!. That twelve-track album compiles numbers from Lee's singles sessions, all of them falling within her 1957-1959 period except for the ones from this 1952 date and "Mañana," which goes back to 1947.

2. The Singles Collection [CD] At The Grammys
Four of the six songs from this session were included in The Singles Collection, a 4CD set that was nominated for two Grammys in 2004. One of the nominations, for Best Historical Album, was bestowed on producers Cy Godfrey and Steve Woof. The other nomination, for Best Album Notes, went to music writer Will Friedwald. The winner in both categories was Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: A Musical Journey.

3. Songs From The Jazz Singer [CD]
4. "Goin' On A Hayride" [Song]
Sepia's CD Songs From The Jazz Singer inadvertently assigns the recording date December 17, 1951 to both "Shame On You" and "Goin' On A Hayride." That date belongs to "Shame On You" only.


Arrangements

From this session, only two arrangements are extant in Capitol's library of music scores: "Goin' On A Hayride" and "Let's Call It A Day." Sid Feller is credited as the arranger of both.


Location

The documentation at hand states that New York was the city in which the session too place, but does not indicate the exact venue. The identification of WMGM Radio Studio is an educated guess; Capitol is said to have held its pre-1953 New York sessions there. (In 1953, Capitol acquired its own studio in Manhattan, at 151 West 46th Street.) WMGM had taken over the studio at 711 5th Avenue in the mid-1940s, officially beginning to use it in September 1948, although they might have informally held sessions there at an earlier time. (The studio had previously belonged to NBC.)