By Marilyn Lester***In 2020, singer-songwriter Peggy Lee would have turned 100. To celebrate, KT Sullivan and The Mabel Mercer Foundation were going to honor the icon at its annual concert at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital space. What could have possible gone wrong? So, two years later, I Like Men—Celebrating 102 Years of Miss Peggy Lee, created and hosted by songstress Stacy Sullivan, with a dozen male cabaret vocalists, accompanied by Jon Weber (piano), Steve Doyle (bass) and Troy Fannin (guitar), proved the wait was more than worth it. From the several a c
appella bars of “It’s a Good Day” (with Dave Barbour) and opening remarks by the beautiful and poised Sullivan, the show was off and running—and it was a very good evening at that, plus so much more, with members of the Lee family in attendance.
Born May 26, 1920, Peggy Lee was a multifaceted artist, whose career spanned more than seven decades. She was a distinct vocal stylist (big band, swing, pop, blues, and jazz); an Academy Award-nominated actress; and a composer and lyricist. Lee published her first song in 1941, and she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999. Her song, “I Like Men!” (Jack Marshall, music), was the inspiration for the evening. Sullivan is no stranger to the Lee legacy; in the early years of this century she did a show with one of Lee’s co-writers, Paul Horner. Finding that she especially loved Lee’s songs, she created It’s a Good Day: A Tribute to Miss Peggy Lee, about a decade ago, combining a biographical journey with the music.
That actress-vocalist Sullivan “gets” Lee is an understatement. Interpreting the half dozen numbers she sang during the evening, Sullivan went deeply into the lyric, delivering each tune with a profound understanding of meaning. The well-known “Fever” ( Eddie Cooley, John Davenport, with re-written lyrics by Lee) and the show closer, “Is That All There Is?” (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) were brilliantly delivered and then included choruses with the entire cast, and the audience. With her subtle yet intense d
ramatic skills she also offered other popular songs once sung by Lee, such as the lesser-known “Johnny Guitar” (music by Victor Young).
As for those men, soprano saxophonist-singer Danny Bacher was the logical choice for “It’s a Good Day.” his naturally upbeat personality and joyous sense of swing perfectly fit the tune. Another vocalist of inherent positivity, Nicolas King, offered an effervescent “Things Are Swingin’” (music by Jack Marshall) complete with scat. A frequent creative partner of Sullivan’s, crooner Todd Murray was on hand to smoothly deliver “There’ll Be Another Spring” (with Hubie Wheeler) in his rich baritone. In fact, Murray and Sullivan have recently created and are touring I’m Glad There is you! The Musical Romance of Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee: The show represents the era from Lee and Sinatra’s first sharing the stage at the Paramount Theater in New York in 1941 until Sinatra’s death in 1998. The pair had remained the closest of friends and musical peers throughout.
A couple of singing pianists were are hand. Sullivan introduced Mark Nadler with the words the “King of Extravagance meets the Queen of Simplicity.” Nadler didn’t disappoint in ebullience or drama with “New York City Blues” (with Quincy Jones). Dapper Eric Yves Garcia’s “Where Can I Go Without You? (Victor Young, music) put his cosmopolitan touch on the very aching and sophisticated lyric. A pair of Davis men, the unrelated but equally talented Derrick sang a ch
arming and robust “I Don’t Know Enough About You” (with Dave Barbour) and Steven offered the emotive story song, “The Folks Back Home,” Lee’s heartfelt tribute to the people of her home state of North Dakota who helped her survive a troubled childhood. In that same vein, Gary Williams told of the background of “The Nickel Ride” (music by David Grusin), and hauntingly sang of the carnival experience of the young Lee.
Would it be a tribute to Peggy Lee and her men without a Lee drag artist? In costume, Chuck Sweeney, who has long portrayed the diva, offered the title song of the event, “I Like Men,” and humorously dueted with Sullivan on “I’m A Woman” (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller). Heading toward the end of a spectacular,evening of entertainment, the high-energy Darius de Haas put a jazzy, R&B spin on “I’m Gonna Go Fishin’” after a robust and intense band introduction—very fitting since Lee wrote lyrics to the music that Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn composed as part of the score for Anatomy of a Murder. And yes, that trio of top-line musicians did a fabulous job of backing up one and all.
The penultimate number of the evening was sung by Sidney Myer, in that engaging and unique way that only “the most loved man in cabaret” could. “Angels On Your Pillow” (music by Paul Horner) is a wish for beautiful things, including “angels on your pillow.” If an angel were to appear in your life and bestow upon you such wonders, it would surely be Sidney Myer.
Mark your calendar for the annual Mable Mercer Foundation 33rd New York Cabaret Convention, October 26, 27 and 28. Visit mabelmercer.org for more information.
