{"id":6495,"date":"2026-02-09T06:46:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peggylee.com\/?p=6495"},"modified":"2026-02-12T06:52:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T11:52:06","slug":"lavieenrose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peggylee.com\/lavieenrose\/","title":{"rendered":"A Valentine Discovered in Peggy Lee’s Personal Reel-to-Reel Archive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Previously Unreleased Peggy Lee Recording of \u201cLa Vie en Rose\u201d<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Sung in French \u2013 First Single in the From the Peggy Lee Archive <\/em>Series<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LOS ANGELES, CA \u2013 February 9, 2026 \u2013 <\/strong>Peggy Lee Associates today announces the release of a previously unheard recording of Peggy Lee\u00a0performing the beloved classic \u201cLa Vie en Rose\u201d<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>in French, accompanied by a\u00a0jazz trio. Captured on Lee\u2019s personal reel-to-reel tape recorder around 1952, the intimate performance makes its long-awaited debut as a Valentine, <\/strong>shared publicly for the first time. The digital-only single is available at all digital service providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Known to keep a reel-to-reel recorder both at home and while traveling, Peggy Lee documented her studio sessions, rehearsals, informal jam sessions, gatherings with friends, and business meetings, preserving ideas, conversations, and musical moments as they unfolded. Scores of these personal tapes have now been digitized, offering an extraordinary look at Lee\u2019s life and creative process beyond the recording studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs I\u2019ve had my grandmother\u2019s reel-to-reel and cassette tapes digitized, it has felt like being a fly on the wall, traveling back in time,\u201d says Holly Foster Wells, President of Peggy Lee Associates and Lee\u2019s granddaughter. \u201cHearing her in so many different settings has allowed me to keep getting to know her in new ways. Even with their imperfections, so much of the music on these tapes is stunning. There is something especially moving about hearing her sing just for herself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This home recording of \u201cLa Vie en Rose,\u201d captured in just one take, comes from an informal gathering, with Lee singing alongside a trio of piano, string bass, and drums, working through several songs in a relaxed, off-the-cuff setting. Research is ongoing to identify the musicians involved. Recorded privately, the sound reflects its original setting and has been newly restored by multi-GRAMMY\u00ae Award\u2013winning mastering engineer Michael Graves at Osiris Studio, bringing out the warmth and intimacy of the original performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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