Is That All There Is?
| "Is That All There Is?" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Peggy Lee | ||||
| B-side | Me and My Shadow | |||
| Released | 1969 | |||
| Label | Capitol Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | |||
| Producer(s) | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | |||
| Peggy Lee singles chronology | ||||
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"Is That All There Is?", a song written by American songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller during the 1960s; became a hit for American singer Peggy Lee and an award winner from her album of the same title in November 1969. The song was originally performed by Georgia Brown in May 1967 for a television special. It was first recorded by disc jockey Dan Daniels in March 1968, but this was an unauthorized recording that, while played on Daniels' own radio show, went unissued at the songwriters' request. The first official recording was by Leslie Uggams in August 1968. Then came the hit Peggy Lee version in August 1969, followed by Guy Lombardo in 1969, and Tony Bennett on 22 December 1969.
Peggy Lee's version reached number 11 on the U.S. pop singles chart—becoming her first Top 40 pop hit since "Fever," 11 years earlier—and doing even better on the adult contemporary scene, topping that Billboard chart. It won Lee the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and then later was named to the Grammy Hall of Fame.
The orchestral arrangement on the song was composed by Randy Newman, who also conducted the orchestra.
The lyrics of this song are written from the point of view of a person who is disillusioned with events in life that are supposedly unique experiences. The singer tells of witnessing her family's house on fire when she was a little girl, seeing the circus, and falling in love for the first time. After each recital she expresses her disappointment in the experience. She suggests that we "break out the booze and have a ball—if that's all there is", instead of worrying about life. She explains that she'll never kill herself either because she knows that death will be a disappointment as well. The verses of the song are spoken, rather than sung. Only the refrain of the song is sung.
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