Peggy March: She was 4-foot-10 and packed a punch

Title: If You Loved Me

Label: Ace

She had a massive hit on RCA with a soulful original that was speeded up and doo-wop tweaked called I Will Follow Him under the moniker, Little Peggy March. It hit the nation’s Billboard chart in 1963 and stayed there for three weeks. March was only 15 years old. She was the youngest female teen-pop artists to hit the top spot at that time.

“I was small when I signed with them, 4-foot-10 but at that age I didn’t want to be considered little anymore, not did I want to be reminded of iron a daily basis. But hey, now I make a big joke out of it.”

While she never had another No.1 hit, she did have a long career at RCA and would experience tremendous overseas success to boot.

Oddly enough, socially, March admitted that success isolated here. Dates dried up, invitations to dances ceased, “Of course, it didn’t dawn on me until somebody said they’re probably afraid to ask you to dance. I felt left out of a lot of things.”

Her globetrotting eased things a tad. On this compilation you’ll find version of her songs from different territories, in addition to home grown tracks. Hence, Male Night Den Teufel An Die Wand from Germany (1967; she would move to that country in 1969), the Japanese release, Itsuwari No Koi and Ne Jose Pas Les Enfants from French.

The mastering here is top notch, wonderful in fact for CD disc format. March’s confident and strongly projected voice is not only focused and controlled but finely modulated. The stereo image is pushed back to offer a 3D effect, adding a rather epic edge to the arrangement. There is a strong bass presence that adds a welcome tonal balance to the music. Often pop from this area is too forward in the midrange. Not here. A well researched and thorough compilation.