That's one of my favorite lyrics (it comes from Wham's "Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)." But of course no one makes the sun shine brighter than Doris Day. She's always been an exceptional singer overshadowed by her cheery image. But still, I've never paid much attention to her. So what possessed me to buy The Love Album -- her final studio album which remained unrealeased for about 40 years? But darned if it isn't pretty great, with Day delivering subtle, engaging covers of standards like "For All We Know" and "All Alone." Her disarming approach reminds me of Peggy Lee, another singer who doesn't seem to be striving to do much at all until she breaks your heart. I can't agree with noted jazz vocalist expert Will Friedwald, who claims in the liner notes that Day's version of the Joni Mitchell classic "Both Sides Now" is the greatest version of that song ever recorded. (It's good, but the arrangement dates it a bit.) But when he compares Day to Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney and Lee, it's hard to argue.
5 comments:
She is long overdue for an Honorary Oscar. Are they waiting for her to be dead first?
Yes, Day's work with les brown is a lot of fun. Suddenly I'm listening to her and Jo Stafford and fulfilling every cliche in the book. Thank God I've got the new Arctic Monkeys to blast out of my boombox.
On a side note, Doris Day is often mistaken for a homeless woman in Monterey (I can't remember exactly which CA coastal town) as she digs through people's garbage for recyclables. Locals know her and leave her alone. I guess she has become a bit eccentric. Still love her though.
Maybe she's searching for homeless animals to take in.
Doris Day is NOT a homeless woman in Monterey. She resides in a beautiful 11-acre home in Carmel Valley, CA. That tabloid, The Globe, printed that factitious story about DD a number of years ago. Doris sued, won the case, and the paper printed an apology.
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