Norma Deloris Engstrom

 Norma Deloris Engstrom, known as Peggy Lee (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002)

From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and performer. During her career, she wrote music for films, acted, and recorded conceptual record albums that combined poetry and music. In 1942 Lee had her first No. 1 hit, "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place", followed by 1943's "Why Don't You Do Right?" (originally sung by Lil Green), which sold over a million copies and made her famous. She sang with Goodman's orchestra in two 1943 films, Stage Door Canteen and The Powers Girl. She had addition hit songs at this time, including "I Don't Know Enough About You" (1946) and "It's a Good Day" (1947). In 1948 Lee joined Perry Como and Jo Stafford as a rotating host of the NBC Radio musical program The Chesterfield Supper Club. She was also a regular on NBC's Jimmy Durante Show and appeared frequently on Bing Crosby's radio shows in the late 1940s and early 1950s. She left Capitol for Decca Records in 1952 but returned to Capitol in 1957. She is most famous for her 1958 cover version of Little Willie John's "Fever", written by Eddie Cooley and John Davenport. In her 60-year-long career, Lee was the recipient of three Grammy Awards (including the Lifetime Achievement Award), an Academy Award nomination, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Award, the President's Award, the Ella Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Living Legacy Award from the Women's International Center.

In 1999 Lee was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Lee continued to perform into the 1990s, sometimes confined to a wheelchair. After suffering years of poor health, Lee died of complications from diabetes and a heart attack on January 21, 2002, at the age of 81. She was cremated, and the ashes interred at Westwood Memorial Park.