Peggy March
A teenage pop sensation who conquered the charts with 'I Will Follow Him,' then reinvented herself as a durable and beloved star across Europe.
Born 1948 (age 78)·American pop singer·Birthday: March 8·Baby Boomers
Biography
Peggy March became a piece of American pop history almost overnight. At just 15 years old, her powerful, preternaturally mature voice carried 'I Will Follow Him' to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, making her the youngest female artist at the time to score a number-one single. The song's massive success could have typecast her as a fleeting teen idol. Instead, March pursued a different path. She focused her career across the Atlantic, where she found lasting popularity in Germany and other European markets. There, she evolved from the girl who followed him into a versatile entertainer, hosting her own television shows, recording in multiple languages, and consistently landing hits with Schlager music and disco-infused pop throughout the 1970s. Her story is one of savvy reinvention, trading the often-cruel spotlight of American pop for a sustained and rewarding career as a European mainstay.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Peggy was born in 1948, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Peggy Was Born
The biggest hits of 1948
#1 Movie
The Red Shoes
Best Picture
Hamlet
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Peggy's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1948Born
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1953Started school
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1961Became a teenager
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1964Could drive
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1966Could vote
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1969Turned 21
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1978Turned 30
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 40
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 50
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 60
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 70
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 78 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Became the youngest female artist to have a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 with 'I Will Follow Him' in 1963 at age 15.
- Achieved sustained chart success in Germany, with multiple top-ten hits including 'Mit siebzehn hat man noch Träume' and 'Lady Music'.
- Hosted her own popular television music show in Germany, 'Die Peggy March Show', in the early 1970s.
- Represented Germany in the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Hey, das ist Musik für mich'.
Did You Know?
Her real name is Margaret Annemarie Battavio; 'March' was suggested by her producer, taking the first three letters of her first name and the last three of her surname.
She recorded 'I Will Follow Him' in just two takes.
March is fluent in German and recorded much of her later material in the language.
She continues to perform regularly, particularly in Europe, maintaining a loyal fan base decades after her initial fame.
“I was just a kid from Lansdale who sang a little song.”
