March 1960: Basin Street East, New York
Songs included: Smack Dab in the Middle / Misty / Heart
/ Hey There / I'm Gonna Go Fishin' / Fever / I Don't Know Enough
About You / Who Don't You Do Right? / Lover / I Enjoy Being a Girl
/ It's the Right Face
"The svelte blonde thrush is more in her element here than she
was at the Copacabana in her last New York date three years ago.
This is strictly a music room and what comes out of Miss Lee's
pipes is strictly music... Her work here is bound to get talked
up around town which will keep the captain at his post directing
the heavy load of traffic." - Variety, 3/16/60
"The sign on the wall said 'Occupation by more than 340 persons
is illegal and unlawful," and last night Basin Street East was
crowded to the very edge of illegality... In all her yesterdays,
Peggy was never better than last night. Only a superlative artist
could sell out a club the size of Basin Street East on such a
raw, snowy night... Peggy's phrasing is crisp, her diction faultless,
every song a delight. She uses her hands constantly; their action
becomes part of and enhances her routine. She's magnetic and exciting,
exhibits rare stage presence. Everyone loved her last night, and
their affection was not misplaced." - Nick Lapole, New York
Journal-American, 3/8/60.
"Peggy Lee turned the presentation of a song program into a fine
art during her recent Manhattan stint. Rarely has there been a
more carefully prepared and tastefully executed nightclub act...
Over the years, Peggy has acquired a great deal of stage presence
for in-person appearances of this type. She seems to be calmer
and more in control of the situation on a nightclub floor than
in front of a television camera." - Downbeat, 3/26/60
August 1960: Ciro's, Hollywood
Songs unknown
"Peggy Lee's ripe quality and her exceptional good taste in arrangements,
staging, lighting, etc. give fans what they crave during this
40-minute show." - Variety, 8/10/60
November 1960: Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas
Songs included: Day In, Day Out / Fever / I'm Gonna Go Fishin'
/ Lover
"Peggy Lee's current stint finds her hitting a stride that was
lacking in her earliest appearances on the Strip; she shows relaxed
animation combined with exciting warmth that clicks with her audience.
Her voice is at its best, she looks good and is tastefully gowned."
- Variety, 11/9/60
January 1961: Basin Street East, New York
Songs included: Fever / The Second Time Around / Moments
Like This / The Second Time Around / One Kiss / My Romance / The
Vagabond King Waltz / The Most Beautiful Girl in the World / I'm
Gonna Go Fishin' / But Beautiful / Non Dimenticar / He's My Baby
and I Love Him So / He's Good to Me / Alright, Okay, You Win / You
Won't Let Me Go / Just for a Thrill / Yes Indeed / Day In, Day Out
/ Call Me Darling / I Got a Man / I Love Being Here with You / Them
There Eyes
"The former band vocalist is one of the hotter pop singers around
- also one of the most savvy. She knows how to excite moods, infuse
humor and insert sly and wicked connotations into what the customers
had previously imagined to be devoid of ulterior meaning. Miss
Lee sells jazz and sex in copious quantities. But she also dispenses
fun. Her opening stint lasts just about an hour, but it wasn't
overlong; the customers were still on her side at the conclusion
of her turn... She's not all gaiety, mixing her moods and tempo
of her numbers for an extremely colorful and satisfying session."
- Variety, 1/18/61
"Her efforts proved that while the business is replete with both
singers and performers, Peggy Lee is one of a handful who legitimately
are superlatives as both. To this, add that she looks as beautiful
and vital as she sounds and it is pretty tough to match her in
any department.... Another side of the Lee talent is perhaps even
more unique: her way with a very deliberate tempo, so slow that
few other singers would even essay them lest they show up vocal
deficiencies... If ever a performer 'owned' a club and its audience,
it's Peggy Lee at Basin Street East. Since such atmosphere brings
out the best in a performer, Capitol could well consider cutting
an album on location here, where the electrically charged air
should readily be transmitted through wax to the home listener."
- Sam Chase, Billboard, 1/16/61
"Breathy but truly on pitch in her pensive periods, she is firm
in her declarative sentences, and as she approaches her climaxes
of exultation her orchestra rises with her, but never is it so
intense and closely woven that there are no loopholes through
which her words shine clear... She is a pair of honed skates evolving
fast figures on a pond of glare ice, leaping into the air and
descending with a vehemence that shatters little jets of frosty
crystals." -- New Yorker, 1/28/61
July 1961: Pigalle, London
Songs included: Mañana / Heart / Hallelujah, I Love Him
So / Fever / Fly Me to the Moon / Just for a Thrill / Life Is for
Living / One Kiss / Lover / It's a Good Day / I'm Gonna Go Fishin'
"Miss Peggy Lee, the woman who brought artistry to pop singing,
displayed her art last Monday evening at London's Pigalle restaurant
to what must have been her fan club in disguise... Masterly arrangements
interpreted with such supreme skill and delicacy of timing that
the audience was snapped up in the spell cast by this shimmering
singer. At times, among the whispered fragments of a slow, slow
ballad, Peggy created an atmospheric silence that made the mumbling
air-conditioning plant sound like a roaring wind-tunnel." - Jack
Hutton, Melody Maker, 7/22/61
"She is a handsome, white-gowned blonde who offers no concession
to the usual tricks of cabaret artists, dispensing with unnecessary
movement and patter. She is content to do what has built up her
following, that is sing a variety of pop songs with versatile
style and polish." - Variety, 8/2/61
November 1961: Basin Street East, New York
Songs included: Hey! Look Me Over / Why Don't You Do Right?
/ Mañana / Lover / I'm Gonna Go Fishin' / Yes Indeed / Heart / Fever
/ Kansas City / Goin' to Chicago Blues / No Beans in Boston
"The pace hasn't slackened at Basin Street East in the past two
years. Peggy Lee, who virtually put this jazz room on the map
when it was just getting started in 1959, is back for a five-week
run that's sure to be ropes-up and lines outside all the way...
Miss Lee carries a brand of excitement that few singers can match,
and her hour-long set is paced with such savvy that the tablers
never seem to tire of her and could listen to her for twice as
long. However, she gives them their money's worth in the sixty-minuter
with a songbag of ballads, rhythm, oldies and newies, and all
dressed up with showmanship and humorous touches when called for...
Her musicianship is always at the forefront no matter what style
she's tackling." - Variety, 11/8/61
April 1962: Basin Street East, New York
Songs included: The Sweetest Sounds / Loads of Love / I
Believe in You / Goin' to Chicago Blues / St. Louis Blues / Kansas
City / New York City Blues
"If any one person can be credited with the buildup of Basin
Street East as one of the 'must' jazz rooms in town, it's Peggy
Lee... Current stand is Miss Lee's first since a siege of pneumonia
forced her to cancel a four-week booking here last November before
two weeks were up. The recuperative period out on the Coast put
her right back on the beam and there are no ill effects from the
sickness in either her vocal style or stage deportment. She's
still tops in both departments... She's one of the few song stylists
who puts humor into her work and it gives the performance the
necessary lifts and colorings." - Variety, 4/25/62
November 1962: Basin Street East, New York
Songs included: Close Your Eyes / Baubles, Bangles and Beads
/ Funny Man / What Kind of Fool Am I? / You're Mine You / Strawberries
and Wine / Nice and Easy / Life Is for Living / Gonna Build a Mountain
/ I'm a Woman / You've Got to See Mama Every Night / Heart / Why
Don't You Do Right? / I'm Gonna Go Fishin'
"The lovely and winning Peggy Lee returned to her favorite night
spot, Basin Street East, last week, with a whole new act and a
new band, led by her new arranger-conductor, Benny Carter... New
act, old act, Peggy is as wonderful as ever. She can turn a phrase
on a rhythm tune or a ballad that is distinctly her own and is
distinctively delightful. She can move from a mood of sorrow to
a mood of swinging happiness within one song and carry the audience
along with her from mood to mood. She knows how to use her hands,
her body and her eyes, as well as her voice, and there are few
singers about today who can compare with her. And she does it
all while showing off that beguiling smile that makes her a joy
to watch." - Bob Rolontz, Billboard, 11/17/62
"Packing lots of sex appeal and, as the hippies say, plenty of
'cool,' she scores consistently with a round of tunes ranging
from specialty talking blues numbers to wailing up-tempo tunes
to soft and sentimental ballads... Her well-timed dramatic sense
of the lyrics and suave delivery make for unbeatable salesmanship,
and for many in the audience she seemingly can do no wrong." -
Variety, 11/7/62
February 1963: Diplomat Hotel, Hollywood Beach, Florida
Songs unknown
"Peggy Lee, at her first cafe appearance at a south Florida Gold
Coast poshery - many were offered but none were chosen in recent
years - must be wondering what kept her from taking up one of
the prior bids... Miss Lee could do no wrong for the smart house...
It was a tour-de-force for the warm, easy-working, attractive,
blonde vet of song... Despite the long stay (she eschews the phony
walk-offs and returns), they wanted more." - Variety, 2/20/63
March 1963: Latin Casino, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Songs included: Mack the Knife / Days of Wine and Roses
/ Fever / I'm a Woman / The Alley Cat Song / Fly Me to the Moon
/ Big Bad Bill / Nice and Easy
"Peggy Lee seldom makes appearances in this area, usually confining
her activities in the east to New York's Basin Street East. Her
booking at the Latin Casino marks her first visit here in nine
years, and the avant-garde chirp has a special following to augment
the Jersey café's regular dining-out trade... Miss Lee believes
in making each word intelligible and using arrangements geared
to her knowing style." - Variety, 3/6/63
March 1963: Basin Street East, New York
Songs included: The Alley Cat Song / A Taste of Honey
"Peggy Lee has become a box-office landmark locally. Playing
the Basin Street East bistro twice annually, Miss Lee becomes
a magnet for all the classes of nitery goers. It's a common sight
during Miss Lee's run to see a line outside of the cafe waiting
to get in, even during the slowest night of the week. There's
little wonder about Miss Lee's constant lure. She seems to work
hard at repertoire between engagements here. She comes in with
a batch of new numbers, new treatments for previously used items
and, not incidentally, a come-hither viewpoint that seems to make
all of her offerings bedroom ballads." - Variety, 3/20/63
June 1963: Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas
Songs included: Mack the Knife / It Amazes Me / The Alley
Cat Song / The Doodlin' Song / I'm a Woman
"Several years ago about the only animation in Peggy Lee's act
was subdued finger-snapping and she had a poker face. On each
of her past five or six gigs here, she's shown more warmth, and
in her current, she's almost a smiling red-hot mama. This Peggy
Lee is the best, as it is the most pleasant visual showcase for
one of the top femme jazz sounds in the biz. Her vocal styling
is also updated via new and imaginative arrangements." - Variety,
6/12/63
January 1964: Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas
Songs included: A Lot of Living to Do / I Can't Stop Loving
You / Once Upon a Summertime / I'm a Woman / Funny Man / A Great
Big Love
"Peggy Lee's still the chirp to beat as a top jazz singer. In
her latest outing on the Strip she shows why she's a vocalist's
vocalist by solidly selling such numbers as [songs listed above]."
- Variety, 2/5/64
April 1964, Americana Hotel, New York
Songs included: Make Believe / Mañana / Why Don't You Do
Right? / Fever / Talk to Me, Baby / Lover / Funny Man / I Can't
Stop Loving You
"Miss Lee is a canary who an warble with the best of them, and
this has long been musical history. She's a mistress of rhythm
and a 100% professional. That means, of course, that when some
of her selections aren't really worth it, she still gives them
the same amount of heart [that] she does her familiar stand-bys...
There are enough straightforward and sincerely sung offerings
to please the most demanding Lee fan... Bowing to the demands
of restless residents, she included plenty of fast rhythm and
jump tunes but, as always, she comes on strongest with a hushabye
ballad." - Variety, 4/29/64
"The Capitol Records artist is at the height of her power - assured
and gracious in manner and blessed with a vocal style of technical
excellence. Not the least of her impact derives from the fact
that her voice is so completely under control. This facilitates
evocation of the many moods indicated by the different songs...
This reviewer has always found Miss Lee outstanding in her understanding
of many different kinds of American music. We have mentioned show
tunes, country songs, blues and jazz. To this we may add the Latin-American
genre and the Negro spiritual. All these categories were represented
in the Wednesday show, and all had the artist's distinctive styling."
- Paul Ackerman, Billboard, 5/9/64
September 1964: Cocoanut Grove, Los Angeles
Songs included: What Kind of Fool Am I? / Funny Man / Talk
to Me, Baby / My Sin / I Won't Dance / You've Got to See Mama Every
Night / Once Upon a Summertime / Bye-bye, Blackbird / My Romance
/ Money Can't Buy Me Love / Things
"In her first stand here in more than seven years (she's in for
three weeks), [the] chirp segues between her standards and newer
numbers in her usual slick style, frequently changing moods but
never losing audience attention. Miss Lee captured much applause
in more than 20 numbers, along with a lyrical medley of many of
her disc clicks... That she can do no wrong is testified by [the]
crowd's response." - Variety, 9/16/64
"The misty-voiced thrush sang 27 titles, many combined skillfully
into medleys which moved briskly... Known for her love of clowns,
Miss Lee offers a funny man medley, with a live clown brooding
sadly onstage while the vocalist softly sang... Only a genuine
professional could have an actor upstage her, as was the result
of the clown's appearance with subsequent audience attention drawn
to him." - Eliot Tiegel, Billboard, 9/19/64
February 1965: Basin Street East, New York
Songs included: Who Can I Turn To
"Miss Lee presents new facets every time she makes an appearance
here. This time, Miss Lee is out to make the most of every phrase
in her rhythm tunes. Her mood is one of let's enjoy everything
about it, but we've got all night to make it. She cools down the
ardor in the numbers and controls the moods of her auditors. This
is not easy for an audience ready to gallop at any command she
purrs out... In her finale, Miss Lee does some of her stalwarts
and it's a strong send-off." - Variety, 3/3/65
November 1965: Copacabana, New York
Songs included: Fever / Mañana / Lover / It's a Wonderful
World / I Must Know / How Long Has This Been Going On? / Tell the
World About You / Then Was Then / Big Spender / Trapped / Watch
What Happens / Everyone Has the Right to Be Wrong / Come Back to
Me / An Empty Glass / I Only Miss Him When I Think of Him / Moving
On
"As Miss Lee pitches the lower decibels they respectfully hang
on every lyrical nuance and, considering that she was uncorking
a flock of newies, it was a personal tribute to her audience identification
and control. She played it to the hilt, even unto getting audible
acquiescence on whether to continue her touring, a vicarious and
rhetorical 'loyalty test,' hinting that she had been mulling less
and less of 'the road,' as she put it." - Variety, 11/17/65
"Saloon entertainment will continue to thrive so long as Peggy
Lee is around to give it a jolt every now and then... She keeps
her magic formula intact by holding to the sultry ballad-finger-snapping
rhythm number mixture as before. It's a formula that will always
work for her because she can take any style in her stride. Every
song is treated with care, nothing is short-changed, so everything
has added value. It will probably be another year before Miss
Lee makes the New York rounds again, but fortunately, there are
her Capitol disks to fill the vacuum." - Mike Gross, Billboard,
11/27/65
February 1966: The Nugget, Reno, Nevada
Songs included: It's a Grand Night for Singing / Things
/ Funny Man / What Kind of Fool Am I? / Big Spender / Tell All the
World About You / Fever / I'm a Woman / Alright, Okay, You Win
"Miss Lee, in premier date for this swankery, works the Circus
Room as if designed for her alone. Catalog, lighting and staging
have been given careful attention, and result is as anticipated:
singer is the consummate diseuse. Her black off-shoulder gown
contrasting her light complexion and blond good looks, she soothsays
what's to come via 'Grand Night for Singing.' It is." - Variety,
2/23/66
March 1966: Diplomat Hotel, Hollywood Beach, Florida
Songs included: Alright, Okay, You Win / Bye-bye, Blackbird
"While too many performers are content to rest on their withering
laurels while thorn-jabbed audiences pay too-high minimums, Peggy
Lee comes to town each year with a completely different show...
Miss Lee, looking lush in a red sequined gown which drew applause
before she started chirping, was in a great mood for her opening
and seemed to be enjoying herself completely." - Variety,
3/16/66
June 1966: Shoreham Hotel, Washington D.C.
Songs included: You've Got Possibilities / How Long Has
This Been Going On? / An Empty Glass / Alright, Okay, You Win
"Peggy Lee's voice, one of immaculate style and a kind of grand,
quiet sex, was wildly applauded... Show itself is well-organized
and polished, wisely shunning patter and zipping from one number
to another. Miss Lee mixes her pitches well - something old, something
new, something borrowed, something blue." - Variety, 6/22/66
October 1966: Copacabana, New York
Songs included: Think Beautiful Things / The Shadow of Your
Smile / Nice and Easy / So What's New / As You Desire Me / Come
Back to Me / Big Spender / Lover / Fever / Why Don't You Do Right?
/ Makin' Whoopee / Somebody Else Is Taking My Place / An Empty Glass
/ My Guitar / Alright, Okay, You Win
"Miss Lee is one of the tops in the café field. It's a virtually
new act every time she makes her appearance, and most frequently,
her turn represents artistic growth in some direction... Nobody's
interest lags during Miss Lee's turn, even during the periods
when the audience is frustrated by the orchestral intrusions.
She came back for four encores, which is a rather singular tribute
under the circumstances. Her gown, described as an East Indian
djilabas, was also provocative. - Variety, 11/2/66
"Peggy Lee's 65-minute one-woman show at the Copa Thursday night
certainly ranks among the most distinguished performances in a
distinguished career. Miss Lee led the band, clowned with the
audience and the musicians, discussed the musical accomplishments
of her fellow artists and engaged in a sparkling bit of musical
repartee with Toots Thielemans. These alone would have made for
one enchanted evening. But she also sang, and the sum total of
her efforts was a Copa opening the likes of which have seldom
been matched." - Billboard, 11/5/66
January 1967: Diplomat Hotel, Hollywood Beach, Florida
Songs included: Lover / The Shadow of Your Smile
"Miss Lee looks really good onstage, if slightly heavier than
last time around. She is working very easily on some fine charts,
well read by the musicians, and is in full control as she styles
her way through the show with something less than the voice of
old." - Variety, 1/25/67
July 1967: Roostertail, Detroit, Michigan
Songs included: Big Spender / Makin' Whoopee
"Miss Lee, who suffered a back injury while picking up her grandson
on the Fourth of July, arrived at the supper club every night
in a wheelchair, which she insisted on leaving in her downstairs
dressing room. She climbed the stairs with the assistance of special
hand-railings and arrived onstage with no one aware of her painful
injury... She alternately shook 'em up with the rhythm numbers
and soothed 'em with the blues, withal maintaining a romantic
mood." - Variety, 7/19/67
October 1967: Copacabana, New York
Songs included: Alfie / Our Love Is Here to Stay / Fever
/ Just Like Old Times / So What's New / The More I See You / Something
Stupid / You'll Get Over It / Lonesome Road / Release Me / It Don't
Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing
"The range of professionalism between a master of song like Capitol
Records' Peggy Lee and a novice - everybody else - was never demonstrated
better than Thursday night at the Copacabana nightclub... One
can't help getting the impression that she's a blues belter -
or could be, or can be when she wants to be - but she has every
note locked up tight and is in control." - Claude Hall, Billboard,
10/14/67
February 1968: Diplomat Hotel, Hollywood, Florida
Songs included: Alfie / The More I See You / Come Back to
Me / What Is a Woman? / Fever
"Miss Lee has her usually skillful control, style, poise, showmanship
and total believability, and she combines the elements into as
good a show as any femme singer puts on." - Variety, 2/7/68
April 1968: Copacabana, New York
Songs included: Hand on the Plow / Until It's Time for You
to Go / By the Time I Get to Phoenix / Reason to Believe / Why Don't
You Do Right? / Do I Hear a Waltz / My Personal Property
"Peggy Lee's sultry, jazz-oriented song style has been a national
sound for more than a score of years. What's more remarkable these
days is the dedicated professionalism that goes into this solo
club act... Blues, jazz, folk, rock, standard - any and all are
this girl's forte, and she made the opening night dinner audience
applaud wildly with, of all things, a beg-off rendition of the
liberal folk rouser, 'Hand on the Plow.'" - Variety, 4/17/68
"The voice of Peggy Lee will never die, nor will it fade away...
Miss Lee displayed a sterling command of both the music and the
audience in her opening Copacabana appearance Thursday. Her spicy
delivery spun the audience into sheer joy." - Hank Fox, Billboard,
4/27/68
May 1968: Frontier Hotel, Las Vegas
Songs included: Everyone's Gone to the Moon / Something
Stupid / By the Time I Get to Phoenix
"Miss Lee not only proves all the well-worn adages of experience
but adds new dimensions to presentation of her wares. Her taste
in repertoire is stunning and her involvement in music is total...
Being a musician and composer, Miss Lee can most effectively bring
audiences into her personal sphere quickly and hold them fast
until her final notes." - Variety, 6/5/68
September 1968: Copacabana, New York
Songs included: Yesterday I Heard the Rain / Them There
Eyes / I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) / Almost Like Being in
Love / I've Gotta Be Me / Didn't We? / Johnny (Linda) / Love Story
/ Here's to You
"Miss Lee is still the bright singer expressing age-old feelings
in the hip manner of this era... Essentially a top musician, ever
with a feel for lyrics, no musical nuance seems to escape her...
Miss Lee knows how to have fun with her catalog. She has some
odd approaches that sometimes bring out a generally undetected
humorous element in the tune." - Variety, 10/2/68
"Capitol Records' Peggy Lee, like all artists worth their salt,
has never been static. In a business where success is both fickle
and skin-deep, and where stagnancy is deadly, she conquered the
Big Band, Brazilian beat and rock eras because of tremendous natural
talent and a perseverance to keep tuned in to today's music. At
her opening... she showed the stuff she's made of by dazzling
the audience with a new wave performance that was effortless and
full of surprises. She simply wrapped up the 17 or 18 tunes into
a lyrical package and sent it off floating and softly stinging."
- Robert Sobel, Billboard, 10/5/68
December 1968: Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas
Songs included: Almost Like Being in Love / This Girl's
in Love with You / This Time / Yesterday I Heard the Rain / I've
Gotta Be Me / Fever / Big Spender / Alright, Okay, You Win
"Peggy Lee is surrounded by and engulfed in talent during her
present Riviera Hotel outing... Miss Lee's presentation is all
softness and underscoring, with emotional vitality the keynote...
She is 'Miss Cool' all the way." - Eliot Tiegel, Billboard,
12/28/68
March 1969: Sherman House, Chicago
Songs included: Spinning Wheel / Fever / Alright, Okay,
You Win
"A thick layer of time separates Miss Lee's current and last
appearane here, and judging from opening night response she has
been sorely missed. The songstress could do no wrong at show's
bow, and turned in the type of socko performance that has kept
her name on the top-line of boitedom's finest establishments for
years. As always, the star dwells in a low-key realm dispensing
arresting, mellow rhythmics that had the auditors making with
the contrasting loud cheers. Everything she fashions seems easy
and natural." - Variety, 3/26/69
April 1969: Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York
Songs unknown
"Miss Lee's act, although recalling the stalwart songs with which
she achieved star status, has an ever-expanding catalog. She is
mindful of today's trends, today's new composers and the new set
of musical mores that have taken over the music business. She
is also cognizant of the meaning of lyrics. In virtually all departments,
Miss Lee is the consummate singer, meticulously prepared and tastefully
groomed, this time in a beaded champagne gown." - Variety,
4/16/69
October 1969: Landmark Hotel, Las Vegas
Songs included: Almost Like Being in Love / All of a Sudden
My Heart Sings / Watch What Happens / Spinning Wheel / Is That All
There Is? / Fever / Why Don't You Do Right? / Big Spender / My Man
/ Mañana / Here's to You
"Peggy Lee, making a quick trip back to town after being the
first top-liner at the International's Casino Theater when it
opened in early July, has a classy show in the Landmark's (also
new) theater restaurant." - Variety, 10/8/69
December 1969: Sherman House, Chicago
Songs included: Don't Explain / Something / Spinning Wheel
"Miss Lee can always be counted upon to provide a top-notch session,
but rarely does an act turn on the audience to the degree witnessed
at the performance caught. If anything, she is more impressive
this time around than she was during her previous gig in this
room, and at that time she was nothing less than sensational...
All is handled with the ease of an artist who completely understands
the medium and is totally confident in her ability to deliver
the goods, no matter how they are musically wrapped." - Variety,
12/10/6