Fever

A-side label of 1958 Peggy Lee single

**"Fever"** is a song written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell, first recorded by American R&B singer Little Willie John for his 1956 debut album of the same name. A 1958 rendition by jazz singer Peggy Lee became the most well known version, peaking at No. 8 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 chart, and would become Lee's signature song.

In the mid-1970s, "Fever" was performed by Margaret Smyk as the fictional night club singer Peggy Honeydew for The Residents' unfinished film *Vileness Fats.* The song is not mentioned in The Residents' official synopsis of the film, however it is likely that the song was intended for a scene depicting Arf and Omega's entry into Willy's Hot Spot and their first sighting of Honeydew.

Footage of Honeydew performing the song (apparently filmed from a monitor by video archivist Peter Conheim) was later released as a Free! Weird! on The Residents' website around 2020. The footage shows Honeydew performing the first and last verses and the chorus (twice) to a minimal synth rhythm, however the full song (if it was ever completely recorded by The Residents) remains unreleased.

## Lyrics

### Original version (1956)

```
You never know how much I love you
Never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me
I get a feelin' that's so hard to bear

```

```
You give me fever
When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
Fever all through the night

```

```
Listen to me, baby
Hear every word I say
No one can love you the way I do
'Cause they don't know how to love you my way

```

```
You give me fever
When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
And fever all through the night

```

```
Bless my soul, I love you
Take this heart away
Take these arms I'll never use
And just believe in what my lips have to say

```

```
You give me fever
When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
And fever all through the night

```

```
Sun lights up the daytime
Moon lights up the night
My eyes light up when you call my name
'Cause I know you're gonna treat me right

```

```
You give me fever
When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning (Fever, burn through)
And fever all through the night

```

## See also

* *Vileness Fats*
* Scene 25 (Vileness Fats)
* Peggy Honeydew
* "Lonely At The Top"

## External links and references

* *Vileness Fats* at The Residents Historical
* "Fever" at Wikipedia
* "Fever" (Little Willie John version) at Genius
* "Fever" (Peggy Lee version) at Discogs

1. ↑ "...While I was transferring *[*Vileness Fats*]*, I was laughing so hard that I... I took my iPhone and I filmed off the screen... several clips... and I sent them to Homer Flynn. *[...]* I also think I sent *["Fever"]* to him." Peter Conheim, interviewed by Miss Doop of The Mysterious Spanish Ladies, May 18th 2021

**Scene by scene**
1: Arf and Omega · 2: Bellboys & Townspeople Battle 1 · 3: Town 1 · 4: Mother's House 1 · 5: Weescoosa & Ninnie 1 · 6: Cave 1 · 7: Weescoosa & Ninnie 2 · 8: Weescoosa's Flashback · 9: Weescoosa & Ninnie 3 · 10: Bellboys & Townspeople Battle 2 · 11: Town 2 · 12: Desert 2 · 13: Lonesome Jack & Peggy · 14: Desert 1 · 15: Mother's House 2 · 16: Town 3 · 17: Banquet Hall · 18: Cave 2 · 19: Bridge 1 · 20: The Master Plan · 21: Cave 3 · 22: Desert 3 · 23: Night Club 1 · 24: Desert 4 · 25: Night Club 2 · 26: Desert 5 · 27: Cave 4 · 28: Night Club 3 · 29: Desert 6 · 30: Night Club 4 · 31: Cave 5 · 32: Night Club 5 · 33: Mother's House 3 · 34: Night Club 6 · 35: The Window of Never
**Cast and characters**
Saint Steven / Lonesome Jack (Jay Clem) · Weescoosa (Sally Lewis) · Arf and Omega Berry (Palmer Eiland and George Ewart) · Ninnie (Danny Williams) · Steve's Mother (Marge Howard) · Peggy Honeydew (Margaret Smyk) · Weenie (Danny Williams) · Uncle Willy (Hardy Fox)
with
Irene Dogmatic · J. Raoul Brody · Barry "Schwump" Schwam · Hugo Olson · Bill Dewalt · Diane Flynn · Homer Flynn · Tony Logan · Dennis Sealy · The Mysterious N. Senada as himself

**Crew**
The Residents: direction, screenplay, music, sets, costumes · Graeme Whifler: lighting, sets, second unit direction · Diane Flynn: costumes · John Kennedy: editing
**Settings**
Vileness Flats (Mother's House · Ninnie's House · Banquet Hall · Willy's Hot Spot) · Motel · The Cave · The Desert · The Window of Never
**Soundtrack music**
"Aircraft Damage" · "The Importance of Evergreen" · "Eloise" · "Kamikaze Lady" · "Lonely At The Top" · "**Fever**" · "Russian Love Song" · *X Is For Xtra* ("Theme From X" · "Slow Texture" · "Asonarose" · "Soundtrack Music Piece 17")
**Related works**
The Boarding House performance · *Santa Dog* · *Meet The Residents* · *Not Available* (*X Is For Xtra*) · *The Third Reich 'n Roll* (video) · "March de la Winni" · Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! performance · *Fingerprince* · *Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?* (soundtrack · *PAL TV LP*) · *Video Voodoo* · *Twenty Twisted Questions* · *Icky Flix* (soundtrack · "The Knife Fight" · *RZ VF*) · *Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents* · *Double Trouble* ("Junior's Double Trouble Nightmare" · trailer) · *Triple Trouble* (soundtrack)
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Atomic Shopping Carts · The Bell Boys · Residents, Uninc. · "My Mammy"· Sycamore St. studio · Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · The Ugly Grey Theater