Peggy Lee

Norma Deloris Egstrom was born May 26, 1920 in Jamestown North Dakota and died January 21, 2002. She was a popular singer, songwriter, composer, and actress for over 60 years. As a teen in North Dakota, she sang on radio station WDAY in Fargo, and it was radio host Ken Kennedy that changed her name to Peggy Lee, and she used that name for the rest of her life. At age 17 she left North Dakota for Los Angeles, and then to Chicago where bandleader Benny Goodman's fiancee, Lady Alice Duckworth heard her sing and then brought Benny to hear her. She sang for the band for the next two years, during which time she recorded 'Somebody Else is Taking My Place,' which became a number one hit song, followed by the giant hit 'Why Don't You Do Right?' which sold over a million copies and made her a household name. Over the years she sang with most of the current singing stars and bands, and appeared in several movies. She earned three Grammy Awards from twelve Grammy nominations, one of which was a Lifetime Achievment Award, and was nominated for one Academy Award for best supporting actress in the movie, 'Pete Kelly's Blues.'