- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- Even in the context of 1969, “Is That All There Is?” hit the record charts utterly out of left field. Peggy Lee won a Grammy Award for “Is That All There Is?”
Peggy Lee – Is That All There Is? (1969): Even in the context of 1969 – one of the most eclectic years in the history of music (if I remember right, there was once a television program on the music in that year) – “Is That All There Is?” hit the record charts utterly out of left field. Particularly as performed in the version by Peggy Lee – who was previously best known for her hit “Fever” in the late 1950’s (with “Fever” later becoming probably the best-known cover song by Madonna) – “Is That All There Is?” seems to come off like a 1940’s-style pop song. The verses tell of the singer’s growing disillusionment with life – first at a house fire, then at a circus, and finally at love – followed by the chorus (the only part that is sung). You can almost see her world-weary shrugs in the way that Peggy Lee sings those lines: “If that’s all there is, my friends, then let’s keep dancing / Let’s break out the booze and have a ball”.
In a final twist, the chorus is cut short before the last verse where the singer has decided that suicide is no answer either: “I’m not ready for that final disappointment”. In a sense, “Is That All There Is?” is a grimmer retelling of the Joni Mitchell song “Both Sides, Now” that Judy Collins made into a Top 10 hit the previous year; it had appeared on Collins’ 1967 album, Wildflowers. The first recorded version of “Is That All There Is?”, by New York disc jockey Dan Daniel was released in March 1968. The song was written by the prolific songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. “Is That All There Is?” has little in common with their better-known songs like “Jailhouse Rock”, “Hound Dog”, “Kansas City”, or the numerous hits by the Coasters; although songs that the two co-wrote with others, such as “Stand by Me” and “On Broadway” have some of the flavor of that song. The piano work along with the arrangements on the Peggy Lee hit version of “Is That All There Is?” were by Randy Newman at the beginning of his career (he was also the orchestra conductor) – Newman’s debut album, Randy Newman came out in 1968 – and there is no doubt that this song is right up his alley. Peggy Lee won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Is That All There Is?”, and the song was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. On the record label for the Is That All There Is? album, “Is That All There Is?” has a parenthetical note: “From the forthcoming production, International Wrestling Match” (!). Evidently that is for real; there is an Obie-winning play called International Wrestling Match that was to go into production with music by Leiber and Stoller, but the producers backed out. The album Is That All There Is? also includes top-notch renderings in Peggy Lee’s inimitable style of three pre-rock standards, “My Old Flame”, “Me and My Shadow”, and “Don’t Smoke in Bed”; plus George Harrison’s “Something”, the sneaky great Neil Diamond song “Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show”, two other songs by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and two songs by Randy Newman.