Peggy Lee (born Norma Deloris Egstrom; May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002) was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer and actress, in a career spanning six decades. 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. She wrote music for films, acted, and created conceptual record albums — encompassing poetry, jazz, chamber pop, and art songs. (More from Wikipedia)
Even in the context of 1969 – one of the most eclectic years in the history of music (if I remember right, there was once a television program on the music in that year) – “Is That All There Is?” hit the record charts utterly out of left field. Particularly as performed in the version by Peggy Lee – who was previously best known for her hit “Fever” in the late 1950’s (with “Fever” later becoming probably the best known cover song by Madonna) – “Is That All There Is?” seems to come off like a 1940’s-style pop song. The verses tell of the singer’s growing disillusionment with life – first at a house fire, then at a circus, and finally at love – followed by the chorus (the only part that is sung): You can almost see her world-weary shrugs in the way that Peggy Lee sings those lines: “If that’s all there is, my friends, then let’s keep dancing / Let’s break out the booze and have a ball”. In a final twist, the chorus is cut short before the last verse where the singer has decided that suicide is no answer either: “I’m not ready for the final disappointment.”
The piano work along with the arrangements on the Peggy Lee hit version of “Is That All There Is?” were by Randy Newman at the beginning of his career (he was also the orchestra conductor) – his debut album, Randy Newman came out in 1968 – and there is no doubt that this song was right up his alley.
Peggy Lee won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Is That All There Is?”, and the song was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
