'Where Or When' (Official Video) - Peggy Lee

About the song: “These recordings may seem rather moody, and somehow they were, but it was also, after all, a little dangerous…” Peggy recalled on the gymnastics required to perform the song. Recorded on Christmas Eve in 1941, “Benny [Goodman] wanted to use one microphone for the musicians as well as the singer. Lou McGarrity, playing trombone, would first crawl up in the air (on boxes), then we would somehow manage to remain relatively silent and hold our breath in passing each other. As I crawled up for my vocal, he crawled down. Despite the challenging ‘Where or When’ this recording is a must-listen today.

“Where Or When” written by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers.

Follow Peggy Lee:

Video Production: EXUNYC
Copyright Peggy Lee Associates, LLC 2020

[johnjdevlin]

Her voice caresses the listener. It's a voice filled with subdued wonder and conveys the intentions of the composers with grace and fascination. Beautiful.

[k]

This song feels magical to me. No one in my opinion has done this better than Peggy. Another one for me is 'On the Sunny side of the Street'. Perfect! <3

[paulademichele]

The visuals on this upload truly are wonderful - using the photo of the handwritten letter, some of which we can read - magnificent. Such a unique way to add the lyrics. Thank you for taking the time to do something this creative for such a beautiful musical version of this very moving song. I found myself in tears.

[borbetomagus]

Very nice video.

Details about the session (wonderfully documented on PeggyLeeDiscography web site):
Master Take: CO 32052-1
December 24, 1941; 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Liederkranz Hall, 115 East 58th Street, Manhattan, New York

Benny Goodman (leader), The Benny Goodman Sextet (acc), Benny Goodman (clarinet), Cutty Cutshall (trombone), Lou McGarity (trombone, vocals), Tom "Tommy" Morgan (guitar), Sid Weiss (bass), Mel Powell (Head Arrangement, piano, celeste), Ralph Collier (drums), Peggy Lee (vocals).

"In a radio interview conducted by Fred Hall [1990? 2000?], Peggy Lee named both "Where Or When" (recorded during this session) and "The Way You Look Tonight" (recorded on March 10, 1942) among her personal favorites from her years of recording with Benny Goodman. She had good reason for singling them out. Lee thoroughly imbued both ballads with a personalized approach (an emotional fervor, a mellow warmth) that she was probably being discouraged from conveying in ballads featuring the full orchestra. (Even if they typically were lyrical declarations of romance, big band ballads were still geared toward dancing to a beat. Such was the expectation of many a band fan, as well as the directive of Goodman's primary arranger at the time, Eddie Sauter.)

"Where Or When" and "The Way You Look Tonight" probably exemplify the intimate style of singing that Lee had cultivated earlier, during her days as a solo act -- a style which she had needed to put on hold in order to adjust to the comparatively more upbeat tempo of the big bands. Lee continued to develop this bluesy and melodic style right after leaving Goodman, through her interpretations of numbers such as "That Old Feeling" (recorded January 7, 1944), "Baby Is What He Calls Me" (December 27, 1944), and "Waitin' For The Train To Come In" (July 30, 1945)."

There was also a 3m18s alternate take: CO 32052-"A" found on:
"The Unheard Benny Goodman, Volume 1; The Small Groups" (1981) [Blu-Disc T1002]
"The Alternate Goodman, Volume VII; Royal Flush" (1982) [
Phontastic ‎– NOST 7620]
"The Different Version, Vol. III: 40 Alternate Takes Of Recordings 1941 - 1942" (1993) [
Phontastic ‎– PHONT NCD 8823]

Yet, an additional note says:
"On a more procedural note, curious viewers might want to know that the above-shown sequence of takes correctly reflects the order on which they were performed (as heard in the session lacquers). In other words, 'Where Or When' was the first performance attempted at the session, followed by the first attempt at 'Blues In The Night' ensuing, and then a comeback to 'Where Or When'. Despite the comeback, ultimately the pick for commercial issue was the first take of 'Where Or When'. "Undoubtedly, " bio-discographer Russ Connor declares, "Benny realized that the earlier version -- there's little to choose between them -- could be released, and additional recordings were not needed."

[barbaraobach]

It's not about that, but besides talented, she was pretty, glamourous