Peggy Lee

Re “Peggy Lee, Sultry Jazz and Pop Singer, Dies at 81,” Jan. 23: When I was a 17-year-old college freshman in Boston in 1943, one of the local, late-evening disc jockeys had a ritual. Every weeknight, just past 11:30, he played Peggy Lee’s recording of “Where or When,” with the Benny Goodman Trio. The tempo was unhurried, thoughtful, rich with feeling and promise. The singer seemed to be singing directly to me, and in our crowded dormitory room we sat, eyes closed, each of us alone with our hopeful dreams. She was something special.

Charles Champlin

Los Angeles