Listen to a Rare Recording of Peggy Lee Performing 'La Vie en Rose'

A previously unheard recording has been released of vocalist Peggy Lee performing the classic “La Vie en Rose” in French, accompanied by a jazz trio. Captured on Lee’s personal reel-to-reel tape recorder around 1952, the performance is now available publicly for the first time on digital.

Listen to it here:

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.

“As I’ve had my grandmother’s reel-to-reel and cassette tapes digitized, it has felt like being a fly on the wall, traveling back in time,” says Holly Foster Wells, President of Peggy Lee Associates and Lee’s granddaughter. “Hearing 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.”

This home recording of “La Vie en Rose,” captured in just one take, comes from an informal gathering, with Lee singing alongside a trio of piano, string bass, and drums. Recorded privately, the sound reflects its original setting and has been newly restored by multi-GRAMMY Award–winning mastering engineer Michael Graves at Osiris Studio.

Preserved for nearly 75 years, the release of “La Vie en Rose” launches From the Peggy Lee Archive, a new singles series drawn from the previously unreleased reel-to-reel recordings. While reviewing Lee’s personal tapes, Foster Wells uncovered this performance among a collection of previously unheard recordings that will be shared in future releases. 

A lifelong admirer of Édith Piaf, Peggy Lee owned original 78s of “La Vie en Rose” and “Hymne à l’amour” dating back to the 1940s. She performed “La Vie en Rose” on several occasions throughout her career, including on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1950, beginning in English and ending in French; during her April 1951 show at the Copacabana; and as a French-language duet with Charles Aznavour on a 1977 television special. Despite her deep affection for the song, Lee never recorded it commercially.

About Peggy Lee

A renowned singer-songwriter of the 20th century, Peggy Lee wrote over 270 songs, recorded over 1,100 masters, and had over 100 chart hits throughout her seven-decade career. As one of the world’s first female contemporary singer-songwriters, she co-wrote and sang many of her own hits, most notably “He’s a Tramp” for Disney’s Lady and the Tramp, as well as “Mañana” and “It’s a Good Day.” She’s best known for hits “Why Don’t You Do Right?” “Fever,” “I’m a Woman,” and “Is That All There Is?” for which she won the GRAMMY for Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance.

A 13-time GRAMMY nominee, she received Lifetime Achievement Awards from NARAS, ASCAP, and Society of Singers, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Pete Kelly’s Blues. She made her Broadway debut in 1983 with the short-lived Peg, which was an autobiographical musical of the performer.