DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. I'm David Bianculli. Today, Peggy King, a singer and actress who got her start singing in big bands in the 1950s and had a string of hits, a contract with MGM and was a popular fixture on many TV variety shows. She died late last month at the age of 96. Here she is in 1951, with Ralph Flanagan and his orchestra.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "VERY GOOD ADVICE")
PEGGY KING: (Singing) I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it. That explains the trouble that I'm always in. Be patient is very good advice, but the waiting tonight makes me curious. And I'd love the change should something strange begin.
BIANCULLI: Peggy King signed a long-term contract with Columbia Records and recorded two bestselling albums, "Wish Upon A Star" and "Girl Meets Boy." In 1952, MGM signed her to a movie contract. She was often told at MGM she looked and sounded like Judy Garland, something King disputed. She made a singing cameo in the film "The Bad And The Beautiful," and she became a regular on the TV variety shows, starring Mel Torme and George Gobel. She made guest appearances on other TV programs like "Dragnet." In 1955, on that show, she played a nightclub singer who may have encountered a suspect.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "DRAGNET")
KING: (As character, vocalizing).
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) That's sure a pretty song.
KING: (As character) Well, thank you very much. It's a new song written by a fellow named Arthur Hamilton.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Yeah, it's very nice.
KING: (As character) Now what's this about a man I'm supposed to have seen?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Well, we told you there was a shooting at 14th and Flower.
KING: (As character) Uh-huh.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Well, one of the people in the neighborhood recognized you, and he tells us that the suspect ran right by you, is that right?
KING: (As character) Gee, I don't remember. Just a minute. Oh, now I remember. Yeah. He ran out of the store, almost knocked me down, didn't even stop to say anything.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Did you get a good look at him?
KING: (As character) Well, he ran into me.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Can you tell us anything about him?
KING: (As character) Well, I'm afraid not. I didn't pay any attention. Something that happens and you don't think about it, you know?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Yes, ma'am. Would you know the man if you saw him again?
KING: (As character) I don't think so. The whole thing happened so fast.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) There's nothing about him that you remember?
KING: (As character) No. Unless it was his eyes.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Ma'am?
KING: (As character) Well, his eyes, like he was looking right through you.
BIANCULLI: Peggy King also toured with the USO. Here she is with Bob Hope in 1956, performing for the troops during a stop in Alaska.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BOB HOPE: What are you going to sing for us?
KING: Well, Bob, I thought I'd do that terribly pretty member from "My Fair Lady," "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face."
HOPE: Well, the stage is yours.
KING: Thank you. But I thought that since it's such a nice, intimate number, I wondered if I could go down there and sing it.
HOPE: Into the audience?
KING: Yeah.
HOPE: You mean down in that snake pit?
(APPLAUSE)
HOPE: She must be bucking for Section 8. Go, Peggy.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: (Singing) I've grown accustomed to your face.
BIANCULLI: Peggy King stopped performing in 1961 and moved to Philadelphia with her husband to raise their family. In the 1980s, after her children were grown, she returned to show business with renewed vigor. She sang with the Philly Pops Orchestra, the All-Star Jazz Trio and with other musicians. She performed in theaters and nightclubs and had stints in New York City at Michael's Pub and the Metropolitan Room. And she recorded new albums of standards, songs by Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, the Gershwins and Rodgers and Hart. In tribute, we're going to listen to Peggy King's FRESH AIR concert from 1983. She was about to release her album "Rain Sometimes." At the piano was Michael Abene, who was featured on and wrote the arrangements for the album.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
TERRY GROSS: It's a great pleasure now to welcome and introduce singer Peggy King and pianist Michael Abene.
KING: Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
KING: Thank you. Thank you, Terry, for not saying that you weren't born when I was singing before. I appreciate that very much.
MICHAEL ABENE: (Playing piano).
KING: (Singing) They all laughed at Christopher Columbus when he said the world was round. They all laughed when Edison recorded sound. They all laughed at Wilbur and his brother when they said that man could fly. They told Marconi wireless was a phony. It's the same old cry. They laughed at me wanting you, said I was reaching for the moon. But, ah, you came through. Now they'll have to change their tune. They all said we never could be happy. They laughed at us, and how. Ha-ha-ha, who's got the last left now? They all laughed at Rockefeller Center. Now they're fighting to get in. They all laughed at Whitney and his cotton gin. They all laughed at Fulton and his steamboat, Hershey and his chocolate bar. Ford and his Lizzie kept the laughters busy. That's how people are. They laughed at me wanting you, said it would be hello, goodbye. But, oh, you came through. Now they're eating humble pie. They all said we'd never get together. Darling, let's take a bow 'cause ha-ha-ha, who's got the last laugh? He-he-he, who's got the last laugh? Ha-ha-ha, who's got the last laugh now?
ABENE: (Playing piano).
(APPLAUSE)
KING: Thank you. That was from a film called "Shall We Dance." I think Fred Astaire sang that song. You'll find that I do a lot of songs that Fred Astaire sang. I love his singing. People look at me like I'm crazy, but I love his phrasing. I love what he does with the lyric. For a man with absolutely no voice, he's always been one of my favorite singers. And when I met him, I told him that, and he said - I said, oh, Mr. Astaire, I really love your singing. He said, you mean my dancing. And I said, no, I mean, your singing. And he said, God bless you, Peggy King. This is - I won't tell you the name. We'll just surprise you. This is a very - this is the oldest song we're doing. It's from 1928, and I absolutely love this song.
ABENE: (Playing piano).
KING: (Singing) I could cry salty tears. Where have I been all these years? Little wow, tell me now how long has this been going on? There were chills down my spine and some thrills I can't define. Listen, sweet, I repeat. How long has this been going on? Oh, I feel like I could melt. Into heaven I'm hurled. I know how Columbus felt finding another world. Kiss me twice, then once more. That makes thrice. Let's try for four-four. What a break for heaven's sake. How long has this been going on? Kiss me once, then once more. What a dunce I was before. What a break for heaven's sake. How long has this been going on? How long has this been going on?
(APPLAUSE)
BIANCULLI: That's Peggy King from a 1983 FRESH AIR concert. We'll hear more after a break. This is FRESH AIR.
This is FRESH AIR. Let's get back to our 1983 concert with Peggy King. She died late last month at the age of 96. She was a popular singer during the 1950s but stepped away from performing to raise a family. In the early 1980s, she returned to singing.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
KING: For those of you under 35, this song came from a film - a Gene Kelly film called "An American In Paris." For those of you a little older than that, it came from a 1938 movie by Sam Goldwyn called "Goldwyn Follies," I think.
(Singing) It's very clear, our love is here to stay, not for a year, but ever and a day. The radio and the movies and the movies that we know may just be passing fancies and in time may go. But, oh, my dear, our love is here to stay. Together we're going a long, long way. In time, the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble. They're only made of clay. But our love is here to stay. But, oh, my dear, our love is here to stay. Together we're going a long, long way. In time, the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble. They're only made of clay, but our love is here to stay.
(Singing) For you, for me, forevermore. It's bound to be forevermore. It's plain to see, we found by finding each other, the love we'd waited for. I'm yours. You're mine. And in our hearts, the happy ending starts. What a lovely world this world would be with a world of love in store for you, for me, forevermore. I'm yours. You're mine. And in our hearts, the happy ending starts. What a lovely world this world would be with a world of love in store for you, for me, forevermore.
(APPLAUSE)
KING: Thank you. That's - I didn't want to stop because I really wanted to go right into that. But that's from 1947 film. George Gershwin died in 1937. But when they started doing this, Ira rummaged around and came up with some wonderful old melodies, and he loved that one. And he put these words to it. It was from a Betty Grable film called "The Shocking Miss Pilgrim," which I saw. I was a little tiny girl, and I don't remember who the man was who sang it. Unless it was Dick Haymes. It was. Somebody here knows. OK, you're showing your age, sir.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Thank you. Thank you. Those were all Ira and George Gershwin. And then, of course, you know that Ira went on to write with just about every one of the great composers, and he died just a few weeks ago. I thought it might be interesting to do some songs by a contemporary songwriter. And this is someone I know very, very, very well. When I was just coming away from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Films, where I had been sitting and filing my nails for several years and taking fencing lessons and things - all sorts of things like that and not doing much else, because it was the end of the big movie time. Arthur Freed had taken me there. I'd got a phone call. I did a local show, and I got a phone call from a young man named Arthur Hamilton, and he was working for Jack Webb on "Dragnet," and he said he'd written a song for me, and he'd like very much to have me come onto "Dragnet" and do it. And I did, and that began a very long and happy relationship. This first song by Arthur is the name of my new album, "Rain Sometimes." I don't think you've ever heard it. It was written in 1965, but it's a very nice song.
(Singing) Rain sometimes, money down the drain sometimes, reason to complain sometimes. That's how it'll be. But there'll be champagne sometimes, lobster flown from Maine sometimes. We'll ride the gravy train sometimes, just you wait and see. We may be stranded rain sometimes, dream our dreams in vain sometimes, lose more than we gain sometimes, but this I guarantee. Love is not for sometimes. Love is for all times, for all times, for you and me. Love is not for sometimes. Love is for all times, for all times, for you and me. Rain sometimes.
(APPLAUSE)
KING: It sounds like an old song, isn't it?
BIANCULLI: Peggy King performing in concert for FRESH AIR in 1983. She also spoke to Terry Gross about her life and music. She died late last month at age 96. After a break, we'll hear more from that FRESH AIR visit, and Justin Chang will review "Bitter Christmas," the new film by Spanish director Pedro Almodovar. I'm David Bianculli, and this is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LAZY AFTERNOON")
KING: (Singing) It's a lazy afternoon. And the beetle bugs are zooming, and the tulip trees are blooming. And there's not another human in view but us two.
BIANCULLI: This is FRESH AIR. I'm TV critic David Bianculli. Today, we're remembering Peggy King, the singer and actress whose career ranged from singing with big bands in the 1950s to recording best-selling albums and appearing as a regular on several TV variety shows. She died late last month at the age of 96. When she spoke with Terry Gross in 1983 as part of a FRESH AIR concert, she discussed her interpretations of some musical standards.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
KING: This next song will be very familiar to you because it's really become a classic. Before it had ever been recorded, before anybody ever did it, I opened up Mocambo at the height of "The Gobel Show." Hello, George. George is in Valley Forge today. Hello, George. And it was Arthur's birthday. And he had never heard this song done by anybody. It hadn't been recorded, and no one had done it anywhere. And he was sitting right there in the front row. And about halfway through the show, I said, Arthur, happy birthday.
(Singing) Now you say you love me. You cried the long night through. Well, you can cry me a river. Cry me a river. I cried a river over you. Now you say you're sorry for being so untrue. Well, you can cry me a river, cry me a river. I cried a river over you. You drove me - nearly drove me out of my head, while you never shed a tear. Remember, I remember all that you said. Told me love was too plebeian, told me you were through with me. And now you say you love me. Well, just to prove you do, come on and cry me a river. Cry me a river. I cried a river over you. You drove me, nearly drove me right out of my head, while you - you never shed a tear. Do I remember? Yeah, I remember all that you said. Told me love was too plebeian, told me you are through with me. And now you say you love me. Well, just to prove you do, come on and cry me a river. Cry me a river. I cried a river over you. I cried a river over you. I cried a river over you.
(APPLAUSE)
KING: Thank you. Thank you.
GROSS: Peggy, did you always plan on coming back to performing after you took your break?
KING: No. I really didn't plan to take that long a break. But I - you know, we moved to the suburbs. I had two children in a year and 10 days, and I was very busy. And, you know, I was - you know, the chauffeur. I was doing all the, you know, the PTA or whatever, those things. No, not the PTA, the Brownies. That's it. The Brownies. I was the greatest Brownie leader that you ever had. Right, Suzy? My daughter will tell you. But I never thought about it. I'm kind of a freak. If I don't sing for three or four years, then I open my mouth, and it's there. You know, one day, I'll open my mouth, and it'll be dust, you know, if I don't stop that. I think now that I'm older, I will have to warm up a little. My husband says that someone said to him, I'd like to use Peggy's warm-up thing, whatever she uses. And Sam said, that's easy. Peggy goes, (imitating clearing throat). That's live - that's because I did so much live radio and live television. You really didn't have a lot of time to get yourself together.
GROSS: You recorded several albums.
KING: Oh, yeah, I did a lot of albums with Columbia, yes.
GROSS: And you just went back into the studio and recorded one...
KING: Yes.
GROSS: ...That I think you produced yourself.
KING: I didn't produce it. Michael Abene produced it with the engineer, whose name is Jay Messina. They produced it.
GROSS: You had the kind of control, I think.
KING: I had a lot of input.
GROSS: What was the difference for you between what you wanted from the album now and what albums were like in the '50s?
KING: Well, the big difference was that Mitch Miller wasn't in the booth, and I - you know, I couldn't see all of that conducting. No. The major difference today in recording is that they do it in pieces. They do it in sections, you know, which we did not do the album in sections. We did it in three-hour sessions, right straight through. Michael felt very strongly, and so did I, that we would get more of an emotional recording if we did it all at once. I think you tend to lose some of the - when you've done a song over and over and over, it almost becomes too emotional for me. I get - you know, I never like singers who cry while they sing. I think the trick is to make everybody else feel like crying or laughing while you do not do it yourself. But if you sing a song like that over and over, you will cry just from sheer exhaustion. So I did - I don't think we did more than two takes on anything. We just kind of did it right through. And Michael plays so beautifully. I really didn't need to do that many takes.
GROSS: You have a lot more control that you did - than you did before, both in the recording studio, but also in terms of what you want to do. Like, you referred before to being at MGM, where it was in the tail end of the big studio days.
KING: Yes.
GROSS: And they created their performers into what their performers to be, and they told them what movies they were going to be in, and someone had very little control there. What kind of changes do you want to make in your career now? What kind of career do you want to have that's different from the one from the '50s?
KING: Well, I'm not one of those singers who ever says, oh, that song is - you know, that's a terrible song. For instance, one of the songs, the one I like almost the most on the album, is "I'm In Love Again," which is 1929 Gershwin, and, you know, everybody that I ever mentioned it to until Michael Abene said, oh, that's a corny song. It isn't. It comes out - it's terrific. I love it. I never turn a song down without looking at it. But I don't ever want to be told - I just don't want to be in one of those ruts again. I don't want to be told that I sound like Judy Garland or that I sound like - I don't know who else - Peggy Lee.
You know, I mean, by the time you finish your career, they'll tell you that you sound like everybody. You know, I don't really think that I sound like anyone. I don't copy anyone. I don't try to sing like anyone. And I think for the first time - you know, I'm a grown woman. I think people tend to take a grown person seriously. I'm not a kid. And I think that I want to be a little more relaxed. I was - I'm not hungry any longer. I don't have to make a living. That's a terrible thing to say, but you are - tend to be a little more relaxed when you know that an ax is not going to fall and tomorrow you're going to be on the street. You know, it is a little different.
BIANCULLI: Peggy King appearing in concert on FRESH AIR in 1983 and speaking with Terry Gross. More after a break. This is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
BIANCULLI: This is FRESH AIR. We're devoting today's show to Peggy King, the singer and actress who died late last month. She was 96 years old. In 1983, when she performed in a FRESH AIR concert, she talked about some of her favorite songwriters.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
KING: My - if I had to choose a favorite set of - I love Jerome Kern, and I sing a lot of Kern. But I really, really love the lyrics of Lorenz Hart. I think there has never again been anyone of his like. He was the most prolific, the most incredible lyricist that ever lived. He was a dynamic little man - under five feet. He never ran - he never walked when he could run, they say, and he never he never giggled when he could laugh, and he never talked when he could scream. You know, he was - there were no grays, and I understand that because that's me. He was just all-out. And he had an unhappy life. He had an unhappy time.
The world wasn't really ready for his personal life. And he was in Philadelphia doing a show and kept running to Wanamakers and buying raincoats and overcoats because he kept running out without them, getting cold. And he did that once too often, and he died at a very, very young age. But he left us this incredible legacy.
Richard Rodgers, of course, went on to write with the great Oscar Hammerstein, and that's wonderful, too. But for me, there isn't anything like Rogers and Hart.
(Singing) Once I was young. Yesterday, perhaps. Danced with Jim and Paul and kissed some other chaps. Once I was young, but never was naive. I thought I had a trick or two of my imaginary sleeve. And now I know I was naive but I didn't know what time it was. Then I met you. Oh, what a lovely time it was. How sublime it was, too. I didn't know what day it was. You held my hand. Warm as the month of May, it was. And I'll say it was grand. Grand to be alive, to be young, to be mad, to be yours alone. Grand to see your face, feel your touch, hear your voice, say I'm all your own. But I didn't know what year it was. Life held no prize. I wanted love, and here it was, shining out of your eyes. I'm wise. And I know what time it is now. Grand to be alive, to be young, to be mad, to be yours alone. Grand to see your face, feel your touch, hear your voice, say I'm all your own. But I didn't know what year it was. Life held no prize. I wanted love, and here it was, shining out of your eyes. I'm wise, and I know what time it is now.
(APPLAUSE)
KING: Thank you. This is my favorite song of all. I think it's the unhappiest. It's from "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue," and I think it's the greatest verse ever written by anybody. You have to picture the girl singing this song looking in a mirror. It's very important.
(Singing) Look at yourself. If you had a sense of humor, you would laugh to beat the band. Look at yourself. Do you still believe the rumor that romance is simply grand? Since you took it right on the chin, you have lost that bright toothpaste grin. My mental state is all a jumble. I sit around and sadly mumble. Fools rush in. So here I am. Very glad to be unhappy. I can't win, but here I am, more than glad to be unhappy. Unrequited love's a bore. And I've got it pretty bad. But for someone you adore, it's a pleasure to be sad. Like a straying baby lamb with no mammy and no pappy I'm so unhappy. But oh so glad.
(APPLAUSE)
BIANCULLI: Peggy King appearing in concert and speaking to Terry Gross in 1983. She died October 25 at age 96. You can find her other appearances on FRESH AIR at freshairarchive.org. Let's conclude our tribute to Peggy King with this Jerome Kern song.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DEARLY BELOVED")
KING: (Singing) Dearly beloved, how clearly I see. Somewhere in heaven you were fashioned for me. Angel eyes knew you. Angel voices led me to you. Nothing could save me, fate gave me a sign. I know that I'll be yours come shower or shine. So I say merely, dearly beloved, be mine.
BIANCULLI: Coming up, Justin Chang reviews "Bitter Christmas," the newest film by Spanish director Pedro Almodovar. This is FRESH AIR. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
