Local Talents Entertain the Troops

Peggy Lee Joins the USO Tours with Benny Goodman Orchestra

Originally from Wimbledon, Norma Deloris Egstrom - aka Peggy Lee - got her big break singing at KOVC in Valley City. This led to other singing jobs that eventually landed her with a gig as the star singer for Benny Goodman and his Orchestra from 1941 to 1943. It wasn’t long after that she was dubbed ‘Queen of the Airwaves.’

When WWII broke out, she and the Benny Goodman Band performed at various military camps and bases all over the United States as part of the USO tours. Her ensuing fame as a singer (coined by crooner Tony Bennett as ‘the female Frank Sinatra’), song writer, and actress didn’t stop her from flying out of Hollywood for a one-night guest performance in Jamestown for the first reunion of the North Dakota 164th Infantry following the war.

Valley City’s Clark Sisters Tour with the Tommy Dorsey Band

The Clark Sisters were the granddaughters of former Valley City resident and bandleader, D.W. Clark. Jean, Ann, and Peggy were born and raised in Valley City while Mary, the youngest, was born in Grand Forks. They joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in early 1943; Dorsey renamed them “the Sentimentalists.” The quartet toured with the Dorsey Band as part of the USO Tours, performing at military bases and camps throughout the United States. After Jean’s marriage in 1948, the remaining members formed a trio and had intermittent success, even having their own ‘Bob Hope’ moment when they backed Hope on his “Buttons and Bows” song from the movie of the same name.

Read more about WWII and Barnes County's contributions here.