When I am looking for new music, I have gotten into the habit of checking other people’s favorite lists. This is how I discovered Peggy Lee’s version of “Fever” . Since I saw it on several lists, I gave it a listen and was pleasantly surprised at how unique a song it was especially for the time in which Lee sang.

The song came out in the staid 1950’s and it is anything but staid. Lee is clearly singing about sex and not love. She uses the word fever for sex but any adult would know what she is actually talking about and it isn’t love. Her yearning for sex is blatant. She doesn’t hide her desire with sweet talk or some notion of a higher love. She wants to get laid and she is unafraid to say it.

She also takes an inventive approach to the accompanying music. There is only a bass player and a drummer. It is sparse group with the more modest instruments of the band during a time where most songs had a full orchestra. The smaller group gives a quieter tone to the song so that when Lee adds her snapping fingers to the mix, you feel very much like your in Lee’s head as she is pondering the fun she is going to have with her man.

It is lovely way go.