Peggy Lee
A vocal chorus on a Benny Goodman record introduced Peggy Lee to record buyers in 1941.
View reverse side
ListenElmer’s Tune · 1941
Benny Goodman with Peggy Lee; the original issued take 2. Listen on YouTube ↗
1941 · Columbia
Elmer’s Tune / The Birth of the Blues
Peggy Lee’s first commercial record gives her a small but unmistakable place on the label: “Vocal Chorus by Peggy Lee.” Goodman’s orchestra carries the billing; the voice beginning its recording career is hers.
| Accession | OMMA-0148 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Benny Goodman and His Orchestra · vocal chorus by Peggy Lee on “Elmer’s Tune” |
| Release | September 1941 · United States |
| Label | Columbia · 36359 |
| Format | 10-inch shellac single · 78 rpm |
| Issue | U.S. commercial issue · red/gold microphone labels |
| Runouts | Not documented |
| Recorded grade | E (seller-reported, 78-rpm grading) · not play-graded |
Release history and significance
In the summer of 1941, Lee was singing at the Buttery in Chicago’s Ambassador West Hotel. Alice Goodman heard her there, and the engagement led to an invitation to join Benny Goodman’s orchestra. A hotel-lounge audience became the doorway to a national one. [1]
On 15 August, Lee entered a Chicago recording studio with the band. “Elmer’s Tune,” written by Elmer Albrecht, Sammy Gallop and Dick Jurgens, was her first commercially recorded song. Columbia issued take 2, master CCO 3950-2, on 36359; an alternate take later appeared on other releases. [2]
The single reached the market in September 1941. Its reverse, “The Birth of the Blues,” is a Goodman instrumental, without Lee. That pairing preserves the working arrangement in which her recording career began: a featured singer within a bandleader’s record, before her own name became the main attraction. [3]
Market context
The market has not caught up with this exceptional debut. Discogs sales snapshot for the red-label variant records a median of US$9.95 across all conditions. [4]
Physical Description
A black shellac disc with red-and-gold Columbia microphone labels. The A-side names Lee in its vocal-chorus credit; the reverse names Goodman’s orchestra alone. The labels identify matrices CCO 3950 and CCO 3951.
Condition
Graded E in 78-rpm grading, with substantial surface gloss and light label marks, with no major crack or chip apparent.
Provenance
Obtained September 17, 2026 from noted vintage record collector Michael Scarola,
Sources
- PeggyLee.com, Like a Lily in the Mud. Official-site account of Lee’s Chicago engagement and introduction to Goodman.
- Iván Santiago, The Peggy Lee Bio-Discography: The Benny Goodman Years. 15 August 1941 session and the master/alternate-take distinction.
- The Peggy Lee Bio-Discography, Singles Catalogue. Columbia 36359, September 1941 issue and instrumental reverse.
- Discogs, Columbia 36359, release 10764141. Variant listing; market figures from the supplied snapshot.
- Supplied seller photographs, collector correspondence and accession record. Copy description, reported grade and provenance.
Catalogue text reviewed 17 September 2026.