Peggy King, one of the most popular TV and recording stars of the 1950's, will make her first Los Angeles appearance in more than 30 years on Sunday, July 27 at 7:30 PM at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood. Joining her will be acclaimed pianist, harpist and vocalist Corky Hale, leading an all-star quartet including Lymon Medeiros on bass, Jack LeCompte on drums and John Chiodini on guitar.
King was re-discovered last year in the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning film "Behind the Candelabra," in which Michael Douglas and Matt Damon are seen watching her perform "When Liberace Winks at Me" from a 1955 video performance, accompanied by the real Liberace. The song went viral and is included on the Elektra soundtrack album and DVD. Since then, King has been performing with great success at such New York clubs as 54 Below and the Metropolitan Room. Terry Gross, reviewing her on NPR, said "Peggy King is one of the foremost interpreters of American popular music. She should be declared a national treasure." Jazz Times wrote: "Her intonation, interpretive powers, subtle sense of swing and range are all intact, and better than ever." King is best-remembered for her three years as "pretty perky Peggy King" on the weekly "George Gobel Show" in the 1950's, and for film appearances ranging from the Vincente Minnelli classic "The Bad and the Beautifulz' to the cult favorite "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy." She co-starred with Tab Hunter in the Hugh Martin musical "Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates" and was a frequent guest-star on all of the major variety shows. Her Columbia Records hits include "Make Yourself Comfortable," "You Better Go Now" and "Learning to Love" and a 30-track CD compilation of her classic recordings has just been released this month by Jasmine Records.Videos