Biography
Little Peggy March achieved her sole major success with RCA Records at the age of 15 when "I Will Follow Him" held the top position on the pop charts for three weeks and also claimed the R&B summit for one week. That track played a foundational role in shaping the initial wave of girl-group recordings, on a par with the later efforts by the Shangri-Las such as "Leader of the Pack" and "Great Big Kiss." Follow-up singles like "I Wish I Were a Princess," later spotlighted in John Waters’ period film Hairspray, and "Hello Heartache, Goodbye Love" registered only modest placements inside the Top 40. Although the label kept releasing March material for a full decade stretching into the early 1970s, she never again registered a meaningful American hit after the first months of 1964. Overseas, however, she remained a consistent commercial presence, particularly in Germany after relocating there in 1969.
Born Margaret Battavio, the future Little Peggy March had pursued a vocal career since childhood and collected first-place finishes in numerous talent competitions. RCA signed her in 1962 when she was 14; her initial single, a version of "Little Me" drawn from the Sid Caesar Broadway musical, disappeared quickly. Her second release would secure her lasting footnote in pop history. English singer Petula Clark, who had been active since the mid-1950s, had recently enjoyed success in France with the Vogue single "Chariot." Producers Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore, already noted for their collaborations with Sam Cooke, adapted the melody with streamlined English lyrics and assigned the new arrangement to March. Clark’s original rendition moved at a deliberate, introspective pace and lacked the doo-wop refrain “did-ip, da did-ip, da did-ip,” projecting the perspective of a mature woman. March’s treatment accelerated the tempo, introduced a male backing chorus in classic doo-wop style, and emphasized driving percussion beneath her airy, urgent delivery, evoking instead the viewpoint of an impassioned teenager and thereby helping codify the girl-group aesthetic alongside songs such as "Johnny Angel."
An album built around the chart-topping single followed, featuring "I Wish I Were a Princess," which climbed into the Top 40 in 1963, plus lighter teen-oriented numbers including "My Teenage Castle (Is Tumbling Down)" and "Johnny Cool." Subsequent U.S. releases yielded only limited returns: "Hello Heartache, Goodbye Love," whose rhythmic and instrumental profile closely echoed the earlier hit, reached the Top 30 and also charted in England, while the whimsical "The Impossible Happened" peaked inside the American Top 50. By early 1964 March could still be heard on the lower rungs of the charts with Paul Anka’s "(I'm Watching) Every Move You Make," yet the British Invasion quickly altered the musical landscape. Between 1964 and 1971 she issued eighteen singles and several albums on RCA, none of which registered significant domestic impact.
Her audience, it transpired, extended well beyond the United States. European listeners proved far more receptive, prompting March and her husband and manager, Arnie Harris, to settle in Germany, where she sustained an active schedule of recordings, variety-show appearances, and television work. Returning to America in the 1980s, she remained identified primarily with "I Will Follow Him" and the innocent early girl-group sensibility it embodied, decades after the record first appeared.
Born Margaret Battavio, the future Little Peggy March had pursued a vocal career since childhood and collected first-place finishes in numerous talent competitions. RCA signed her in 1962 when she was 14; her initial single, a version of "Little Me" drawn from the Sid Caesar Broadway musical, disappeared quickly. Her second release would secure her lasting footnote in pop history. English singer Petula Clark, who had been active since the mid-1950s, had recently enjoyed success in France with the Vogue single "Chariot." Producers Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore, already noted for their collaborations with Sam Cooke, adapted the melody with streamlined English lyrics and assigned the new arrangement to March. Clark’s original rendition moved at a deliberate, introspective pace and lacked the doo-wop refrain “did-ip, da did-ip, da did-ip,” projecting the perspective of a mature woman. March’s treatment accelerated the tempo, introduced a male backing chorus in classic doo-wop style, and emphasized driving percussion beneath her airy, urgent delivery, evoking instead the viewpoint of an impassioned teenager and thereby helping codify the girl-group aesthetic alongside songs such as "Johnny Angel."
An album built around the chart-topping single followed, featuring "I Wish I Were a Princess," which climbed into the Top 40 in 1963, plus lighter teen-oriented numbers including "My Teenage Castle (Is Tumbling Down)" and "Johnny Cool." Subsequent U.S. releases yielded only limited returns: "Hello Heartache, Goodbye Love," whose rhythmic and instrumental profile closely echoed the earlier hit, reached the Top 30 and also charted in England, while the whimsical "The Impossible Happened" peaked inside the American Top 50. By early 1964 March could still be heard on the lower rungs of the charts with Paul Anka’s "(I'm Watching) Every Move You Make," yet the British Invasion quickly altered the musical landscape. Between 1964 and 1971 she issued eighteen singles and several albums on RCA, none of which registered significant domestic impact.
Her audience, it transpired, extended well beyond the United States. European listeners proved far more receptive, prompting March and her husband and manager, Arnie Harris, to settle in Germany, where she sustained an active schedule of recordings, variety-show appearances, and television work. Returning to America in the 1980s, she remained identified primarily with "I Will Follow Him" and the innocent early girl-group sensibility it embodied, decades after the record first appeared.