NYT Peggy Mellon Hitchcock, Who Helped Timothy Leary Turn On, Dies at 90
Friend of Charles Mingus who was a frequent visitor to the Millbrook estate and the scene Tim Leary created there.
Mingus wrote “Peggy’s Blue Skylight”
“on the piano at Peggy Hitchcock's house. We were friends. She wanted to take the blue plastic shield from the cockpit of a fighter plane and replace her skylight with it so the sky would always be blue. The government wouldn't let her do it.”
-Charles Mingus
(We think he meant local zoning laws not the military.)
The song was first recorded in Nov 1961 sessions for Oh Yeah with Mingus playing piano, but didn’t make the cut. Then it was recorded at Birdland in May 1962 with Richard Williams, Charles McPherson, Booker Ervin, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Mingus. It was performed in the British film All Night Long which Mingus appeared in with Dave Brubeck.
Next came the song's performance and recording at Mingus' Town Hall concert in October 1962. The 1961 version was released on on Tonight at Noon in 1964 and on the extras on the later CD release for Oh Yeah.
Mingus playing solo piano at Tim Leary’s wedding. Mingus at 3:45