Peggy Lee
Contralto · Jazz · Pop · USA · prominent since 1942
How Peggy Lee uses that range
Lee subtracts until only the essential pulse remains: short phrases, straight tone, and a dynamic ceiling barely above speech. Her onsets are aspirate by design, each phrase beginning as breath that condenses into pitch. Rhythm does the seduction — she places syllables a fraction late, then snaps one exactly on the beat. The D3 bottom is a spoken shadow; rare climbs toward A5 stay cool and unpressed. Students copying her add volume, vibrato and ornament, which destroys the effect. The study here is restraint: hold the groove, trust the microphone, and make silence do half the singing.
What is Peggy Lee’s vocal range?
Peggy Lee's vocal range is commonly cited as D3 to A5 — about 2.6 octaves, or 31 semitones, and is usually classified as contralto.
Cool, hushed contralto purr that trades volume for pulse; a whisper riding a finger-snap groove.
- Signature song
- Fever
Reading the numbers
- 4 other voices here carry the identical cited range — at the resolution these figures are quoted in, those voices are indistinguishable on the chart.
- Prominent from 1942, earlier than all but 10 voices in this library.
- No separate full-voice ceiling is cited, so the figures describe a range worked largely in full voice across its 31 semitones.
- The weight of the range is above middle C: 21 semitones up there against 10 below.
- Ranked by bottom note, it is the 456th lowest voice in this library; by top note, the 266th highest.
Commonly cited figures, not lab measurements — extreme notes are one-off recorded moments, not the singer’s everyday range.
More about Peggy Lee’s voice
How high can Peggy Lee sing?
Peggy Lee is commonly cited singing as high as A5, the top of a cited range that starts down at D3.
What is Peggy Lee’s highest note?
Peggy Lee’s highest note is commonly cited as A5, heard in My Dear Acquaintance (A Happy New Year).
What is Peggy Lee’s lowest note?
Peggy Lee’s lowest note is commonly cited as D3, heard in Fever.
How many octaves can Peggy Lee sing?
Peggy Lee’s commonly cited range spans about 2.6 octaves (31 semitones), from D3 up to A5. That span is wider than 39% of the 636 voices in this library.
Take the free 2-minute range test — your mic finds your lowest and highest notes, then this page shows exactly how your voice lines up with Peggy Lee’s.
Also bottoming out on D3
35 other voices here are cited to the same floor.
Also topping out on A5
49 other voices here reach the same ceiling.