Never know how much I love you / Never know how much I care / When you put your arms around me / I get a fever that’s so hard to bear, the languid words, lazily draped across a sultry rhythm, belong to one of music’s most classic works, “Fever.”
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The highly covered tune has seen its share of reinventions, most notably one by the jazz-pop songstress Peggy Lee, who made the song an iconic jazz hit. However, “Fever” had another life before Lee made it a success and continues to live many lives today.
Who Wrote It?
“Fever” was written by songwriters Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell in 1955. The latter, who penned the song under his stepfather’s name–John Davenport–for fear of breaching his ongoing songwriting contract, was also responsible for writing songs like the Jerry Lee Lewis hit “Great Balls of Fire” and the Elvis Presley standards “Don’t Be Cruel,” “All Shook Up,” and “Return to Sender.”
The smoldering tune was originally recorded by the then-eighteen-year-old R&B singer, Little Willie John. Soon after its initial release, “Fever” topped the R&B charts and would become one of Little Willie’s biggest hits. Listen to the song’s original recording below.
However, “Fever” wouldn’t become the classic we know it as today until Peggy Lee released her cover of the tune in 1958.
“Fever” Heats Up
A swing-era icon, Peggy Lee revitalized her career with the release of “Fever” in the late 1950s. The times were changing then and with them, so was the music. In an attempt to tap into the fledgling rock and roll scene, she revamped the tune, giving it a sensual jazz sound and a smokey edge. She also toyed with the lyrics, driving home the song’s subtle innuendos.
The result was an instant success and has since become the vocal legend’s signature tune.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
