''Blues Cross Country'' is a 1962

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

, principally arranged by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

, with some arrangements by

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

. The album can be described as a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, consisting of a musical journey across the United States through swinging blues songs, many of which were written by Lee with other contributors. ''Blues Cross Country'' was the second of Lee's two albums featuring arrangements by Jones. He had also arranged her previous studio album, ''

If You Go ''If You Go'' is a 1961 album by Peggy Lee. John Engstead was the front cover photographer. Track listing # " As Time Goes By" (Herman Hupfeld) – 2:48 # "If You Go" ( Geoffrey Parsons, Michel Emer) – 2:39 # "Oh Love Hast Thou Forsaken ...

'' (1961).

Reception

''Blues Cross Country'' received good reviews at the time of its release from both ''Billboard'' magazine in March 1962, and ''Time'' magazine in May 1962. ''Billboard'' wrote that "Peggy's back, and this time in a blues mood - with sad blues, happy blues and swinging blues. She sings them in her own delightful style aided muchly by the fine arrangements of ork icleader Quincy Jones. .. The album's a gas". The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review by William Ruhlmann awarded the album four stars and commented that "Though Jones' arrangements are often a touch brassier than the blues standards can handle, Lee contributes just the right blend of vigor and feeling to the songs"

Track listing

# "

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

" (

Jerry Leiber Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...

Mike Stoller Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...

) - 2:29 # "

Basin Street Blues "Basin Street Blues" is a song often performed by Dixieland jazz bands, written by Spencer Williams in 1928 and recorded that year by Louis Armstrong. The verse with the lyric "Won't you come along with me / To the Mississippi..." was later added ...

" (

Spencer Williams Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs " Basin Street Blues", " I Ain't Got Nobody", " Royal Garden Blues", " I've Found a N ...

) - 3:04 # "Los Angeles Blues" (

) - 2:38 # "I Lost My Sugar in Salt Lake City" (

Johnny Lange John George Lange (August 15, 1905 – January 6, 2006) was an American songwriter, working mostly in the motion picture industry. His chief musical collaborators were Archie Gottler and Jack Meskill. Biography Lange was born in Philadelphia ...

Leon Rene Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

) - 2:53 # "The Grain Belt Blues" (Lee,

Milt Raskin Milt Raskin (January 27, 1916 – October 16, 1977) was an American swing jazz pianist. Biography Born in Boston, Mass., Raskin played saxophone as a child before switching to piano at age 11. In the 1930s he attended the New England Conse ...

, Bill Schugler) - 1:52 # "New York City Blues" (Jones, Lee) - 3:21 # "Goin' to Chicago Blues" (

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

Jimmy Rushing James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as " Mr. Five by ...

) - 2:37 # "San Francisco Blues" (Lee, Raskin) - 2:37 # "Fisherman's Wharf" (Lee, Raskin) - 3:11 # "Boston Beans" (Lee, Raskin, Schugler) - 2:05 # "The Train Blues" (Jones, Lee) - 2:42 # " Saint Louis Blues" (

W. C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. He was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musician ...

) - 2:15 ;Bonus tracks issued on the 1999 CD release #

" Hey, Look Me Over!" (

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, to Ashkenazi, Eastern European Jewish parents, an ...

Carolyn Leigh Carolyn Leigh (August 21, 1926 – November 19, 1983) was an American lyricist for Broadway, film, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and " The Best Is Yet to Come". W ...

) - 1:55 # "The Shining Sea" (Lee,

Johnny Mandel John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925June 29, 2020) was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. The musicians he worked with include Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Benn ...

) - 2:45

Personnel

* Peggy Lee - vocals *

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

- arranger ("San Francisco Blues"),

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

- arranger ("The Shining Sea") *

Stan Levey Adolph Stanley Levey known professionally as Stan Levey (April 5, 1926 – April 19, 2005) was an American jazz drummer. He was known for working with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in the early development of bebop during the 1940s, and in ...

Earl Palmer Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of al ...

- drums * Max Bennett - bass * Chico Guerrero -

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

s, percussion * Aubrey Bouck, Bill Henshaw, Sinclair Lott, Henry Sigismonti -

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

Frank Strazzeri Frank Strazzeri (April 24, 1930 – May 9, 2014) was an American jazz pianist. Career Strazzeri began on tenor saxophone and clarinet at age 12, then switched to piano soon after. He attended the Eastman School of Music, then took a job as a hou ...

- piano *

Jimmy Rowles James George Hunter (August 19, 1918 – May 28, 1996), known professionally as Jimmy Rowles (sometimes spelled Jimmie Rowles), was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, and composer. As a bandleader and accompanist, he explored multiple styles in ...

- piano * Bob Cooper, Harry Klee,

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and Ree ...

* Bill Green,

Plas Johnson Plas John Johnson Jr. () (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s " The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and bar ...

, Bill Perkins - alto saxophone,

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

Jack Sheldon Beryl Cyril "Jack" Sheldon Jr. (November 30, 1931 – December 27, 2019) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor. He performed on ''The Merv Griffin Show'' and participated in episodes of the educational music television series ''Scho ...

- trumpet *

Bob Bain Bob Bain (26 January 1924 – 21 June 2018) was an American guitarist mainly known for his film music contributions, including “ Dr. Zhivago” (1965), where he played the balalaika in the score for certain scenes where “Lara’s Theme” is ...

Dennis Budimir Dennis Matthew Budimir (June 20, 1938 – January 10, 2023) was an American jazz and rock guitarist. He was considered to be a member of the Wrecking Crew. Biography Budimir learned to play piano and guitar in his youth and first played profe ...

John Pisano John Pisano (February 6, 1931 – May 2, 2024) was an American jazz guitarist. Biography John Pisano was born in Staten Island, New York, on February 6, 1931. Pisano worked with Herb Alpert, Billy Bean, Chico Hamilton, Peggy Lee, and Joe Pass. ...

Howard Roberts Howard Mancel Roberts (October 2, 1929 – June 28, 1992) was an American jazz guitarist, educator, and session musician. Early life Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona to Damon and Vesta Roberts, and began playing guitar at the age of 8 — a ...

Toots Thielemans Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans (), was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for playing the chromatic harmonica, as well as his guitar and wh ...

- guitar *

Artie Kane Artie Kane (born Aaron Cohen; April 14, 1929 – June 21, 2022) was an American pianist, film score composer, and conductor with a career spanning over six decades. As a pianist in Hollywood studios, Kane worked with artists such as Frank Sinatr ...

- organ *

Larry Bunker Lawrence Benjamin Bunker (November 4, 1928 – March 8, 2005) was an American jazz drummer, vibraphonist, and percussionist. A member of the Bill Evans Trio in the mid-1960s, he also played timpani with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra. ...

Emil Richards Emil Richards (born Emilio Joseph Radocchia; September 2, 1932 – December 13, 2019) was an American vibraphonist and percussionist. Biography Musician Richards began playing the xylophone aged six. In High School, he performed with the ...

- percussion * Lou Levy - piano *

Jack Nimitz Jack Nimitz (January 11, 1930 – June 10, 2009) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist, nicknamed "The Admiral" - a reference to Chester Nimitz. Career A native of Washington, D.C., Nimitz started on clarinet in his early teens before pl ...

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in ...

- alto saxophone, tenor saxophone * Justin Gordon - tenor saxophone * Hoyt Bohannon, Vern Friley, Bobby Knight, Lew McCreary,

Dick Nash Richard Taylor Nash (born January 26, 1928) is an American jazz trombonist most associated with the swing (genre), swing and big band genres. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and began playing brass instruments at ten. He became more intere ...

, George Roberts,

Frank Rosolino Frank Rosolino (August 20, 1926 – November 26, 1978) was an American jazz trombonist. Biography Rosolino was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, He performed with the big bands of Bob Chester, Glen Gray, Tony Pastor, Herbie Fields, G ...

Tommy Shepard Thomas M. Shepard (March 31, 1923 – February 23, 1993) was an American trombonist who worked extensively in both Chicago and Hollywood as a regular recording artist for the top recording, television, and film studios. He had a trombone sound th ...

- trombone *

Pete Candoli Walter Joseph "Pete" Candoli(June 28, 1923 – January 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played with the big bands of Woody Herman and Stan Kenton and worked in the studios of the recording and television industries. Career A native ...

, Bob Fowler,

Conrad Gozzo Conrad Joseph Gozzo (February 6, 1922October 8, 1964) was an American trumpet player. He was a member of the NBC Hollywood staff orchestra at the time of his death. Early life Gozzo was born in New Britain, Connecticut on February 6, 1922, ...

, Joe Graves,

Al Porcino Al Porcino (May 14, 1925 – December 31, 2013) was an American lead trumpeter. He was born in New York, United States. Porcino began playing professionally in 1943, and played in many of the big bands of the 1940s and 1950s, including those of Ge ...

, Ray Triscari - trumpet

References

{{Authority control 1962 albums Albums arranged by Benny Carter Albums arranged by Quincy Jones Albums conducted by Quincy Jones Albums produced by Milt Gabler Blues albums by American artists Capitol Records albums 1960s concept albums Peggy Lee albums