Peggy Lee "Sneakin' Up On You" (1965)

Alright doggs, here's a quick one to keep things breathing.

Peggy Lee was a very prolific jazz/lounge singer with about twenty or thirty albums to her name, peaking in the 50s and 60s. I tend to think of her as a more schoolmarmish version of Julie London - in 1950s terms, Peggy Lee could probably make 1 bow-tie spin around for every 4 bow-ties set spinning by Julie London, or; Julie London could make one single bow-tie spin at a rate four times faster than the same bow-tie in the presence of Peggy Lee - I'm not quite sure how it worked exactly. 

Peggy Lee - "a swell dame"

Julie London - "dang, up to 4x sweller"

 

(In the interests of being even-handed in my sexual objectification of musicians, I will be comparing 2Pac's abs against this Korean in a later post)

"Sneaking Up On You" is not a famous joint, but like many of the world's great songs it is about stalking. Peggy vows that she is going to "creep up" and "pounce" on her target, regardless of whether he is at the beach, on a date with another girl, or "standing around on a roller-whirl" (whatever that is) - those seem to be the three scenarios she has allowed for.
She even trucks out the phrase "if it's the last thing I do", more famously associated with Gargamel, nemesis of the Smurfs. The whole thing rides a nicely arranged and surprisingly tough groove (given the genre and the early vintage), I'm particularly fond of the double-bass work and the drumming. Check it out.

Peggy Lee - Sneakin' Up On You


BTW, keep 'em peeled for Peg's stomping version of "Dock of the Bay" - I haven't managed to track down a copy yet.