Peggy March remembers taking her mother to see the movie “Sister Act” back in the early 1990s.
“I didn’t know much about the film but a friend called and said I had to see it,” said March, who in her early singing career was called “Little” Peggy March.
Near the climax of the movie, everyone – from an actor playing the Pope to Whoopi Goldberg — gets together and sings “I Will Follow Him.” That’s the same song March turned into a No. 1 hit in 1963, when she was only 15.
“I had my eyes on the screen and I thought, ‘look at that, that’s my song,” March said.
On the way out of the show, March’s mother kept stopping people and pointing to her daughter, saying “She’s the woman who first made ‘I Will Follow Him’ a big hit.”
Now, more than a half-century after the record’s release, March is still singing the song and will be at Savannah Center on Thursday at 5:30 and 8 p.m. She is part of “Rocky’s Lady Legends,” which also features The Dixie Cups (“Going to the Chapel”), Dee Dee Sharp (“Mashed Potato Time”), Barbara Harris of the Toys (“Lovers Concerto”) and Merrilee Rush (“Angel in the Morning).” Rocky and the Rollers will open the show.
March wasn’t thrilled about recording “I Will Follow Him,” so long ago.
“I really didn’t like it at first,” March said, “to me it sounded too repetitive. But after I heard it a couple of times, it sounded better.”
At the time, March was a student at Lansdale Catholic High School in Pennsylvania.
“It was really weird having that kind of success at that age,” March said.
March knew she had made it one day while listening to a New York City radio station WABC and the disc jockey said “I Will Follow Him” was No. 1.
“I was washing dishes at the time,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it. It was surreal.”
Despite the fame and travel, March said she had a relatively normal teenage life.
“My parents kept me in line. I had to do everything from scrub the floors to take out the garbage.”
But she was never able to match the success of that record. Although she had other hit singles, including “I Wish I Were A Princess,” which is in the original movie “Hairspray.”
“I didn’t like that song, I felt it was too childish,” March said.
By 1964, the Beatles came along with the English invasion and she was soon forgotten in the United States.
“Everything changed for me,” March said.
She eventually moved to Germany and became a recording star touring Europe and Japan. She also wrote music.
“I was always busy,” March said. “I liked the people over there and I liked performing on stage.”
Eventually, she came back to the states and “Sister Act” helped revive her career here. “The movie introduced the song to a whole new generation,” March said. “The song never really went away. It never ceases to amaze me how many younger people come up to me and say they love that song.”
March was a rarity early in her career, a solo female singer. There were many female groups in the early days, and although Connie Francis was a big star there were relatively few solo women on the charts.
“I think Brenda Lee, Lesley Gore and myself were rare because we sang alone,” March said. “It was harder for a woman to make it by herself in those days.”
Show business, “is a cruel business,” March said. “There is no recipe for success, you just have to work hard. And the older you get, the harder it gets.”
Still, every time she gets on stage to sing, “I Will Follow Him,” March creates a special feeling on and off stage.
“That song is part of my identity and it has a way of touching people. I never expected to last this long. It’s a universal song.”
One more thing – don’t call her “little” Peggy March. The nickname was created as a gimmick by the record company.
“I always hated that name,” Ms. March said.
