by Peggy Lee

I love prom kids. That’s one night when they’re all dressed up – brushed and combed and squeaky clean. I’m happy to say that a lot of them come to see me when I’m playing a club at prom time. And I usually am.

I remember a night last June…As I left the stage after a performance, a big, tall, nice-looking boy, dragging along a very shy and cute girl, came up to me and said: “Hey, we just wanted to tell you how much we liked you. We thought Peggy Lee would be an old folks’ singer but man, you’re – you’re groovy!”

I think that I enjoyed that “review” as much as a rave review in the newspapers.

Strangely enough, as I was going down the elevator only moments later, a middle-aged couple, probably in their fifties, told me how much they enjoyed my show, saying, “It’s nice to hear a singer to whom we can relate.

Twice in 10 minutes! It does a girl good.

I’m delighted that the mothers and fathers still like my songs, and of course, I’m thrilled that the kids do, too. There are so many good songs being written today – you can sing songs that are very “now” but that doesn’t alienate adults.

Audiences are really the most important in performing, and I feel a great sense of responsibility to them. If you can’t capture your audience, the best musical material in the world won’t be of any help to you.

You can’t just stand up there like a star saying, “Here I am.” You have to give to an audience. Some of our younger performers haven’t learned this yet. I guess I’m kind of old-fashioned. I’m very hard-working and low-keyed. I love to talk and sing to an audience as if they were my friends.

Of course, I never cut out the songs that my fans identify with me. I give them something new, but they also get “Mañana,” “Fever” and “Is That All There Is?”

And I’ll tell you a secret. I love to perform. When it is no longer stimulating, I’ll think of giving it up. But that time seems to be far in the future. I’m having too much fun right now!