“Is That All There Is?” by James Gavin – The Timeless Jazz Heroine

Looking back on the past century in terms of music, it seems there was a very real and sudden expansion, or more precisely, an explosion. Countless artists made their name by exploring new genres of music and generally taking things to the next level, into uncharted territories.

Naturally, it came to the point where some of our beloved musicians became idolized, or at least recognized as objectively-fascinating figures, as was the case with Peggy Lee.

In Is That All There Is?, James Gavin conducts a thorough review of Peggy Lee's life from the very beginning to the very end. Of course, you are going to find all the well-known and pertinent bits of information about her life and her career, but that's not why most people are going to buy this kind of book.

Going beyond the mundane, Gavin attempts to paint the most accurate and complete picture of Peggy Lee as a person, a normal human being whose life led her to rather contradictory and extraordinary places, making her go through the kinds of experiences anyone can learn from.

Perhaps above all else, Gavin uses this work of literature in an attempt to unravel and somewhat demystify the legendary figure who swayed and seduced millions upon millions of people around the world with the mere sound of her voice.

In a world of men it is more often than not very difficult for women to make a name for themselves, to be remembered throughout history without having their exploits overshadowed, and I believe that their stories deserve to be brought to the fore just a tad more often.

Perhaps Peggy Lee isn't exactly a figure that's been left out from historical records, she has nevertheless been rather under-explored as a person, especially considering the unimaginable fascination she drew to herself in her hayday.

Gavin understands that rather well and doesn't spend too much time delving into impertinent facts or wasteful anecdotes, rather concentrating on the various events that defined her as a person.

Much of the information about Lee has been taken from the public domain, but Gavin also conducted his fair amount of research, taking interviews from those who were closer to Lee on some sort of level, whether she served as a source of inspiration or admiration or was a relative to those people.

As a result, this work of literature ends up being very humanizing and humbling in its nature, in the sense that we find ways to relate to Peggy herself and see her as a peer but without drawing away from her sensational accomplishments.

Perhaps the sentiment is a tad hard to convey, but for those of us born too late to bask in her glory, she becomes a lot more real than a picture in a book or even a voice on an audio recording.

All things considered, if the history of music in the past few decades is of interest to you, or if you are a Peggy Lee fan and want to explore her life from A to Z through an engaging and entertaining read, I wholeheartedly recommend you give the book a shot.

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James Gavin Personal site James Gavin is a globetrotting author who had his breakthrough with Is That All There Is?, demonstrating his ever-developing penchant for writing superb and insightful biographies. He was born in Manhattan and graduated from Fordham University with a degree in Journalism.