Music, Movies & Memories

Although she is chiefly known for her movie career, which took off in the late '50s, and pop songs like "Secret Love" and "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" she recorded concurrently with her screen success, Doris Day was a consummate big-band vocalist in the '40s, and her musical legacy as a singer is ultimately based on those recordings, which will startle and amaze those who are only familiar with her later pop fare. But it is those subsequent pop hits, many of which came from the soundtracks of movies, that gave her career such an amazingly productive (and graceful) longevity. Make no mistake, she could sing, and she came from the first generation of singers to truly understand the nuance of singing on studio microphones, which gives her vocals depth, clarity, and an uncommon presence. This archival set sort of bridges the gap with tracks spanning the 1940s through the 1980s that have never appeared on an album before, including outtakes, performances on TV specials, five tracks from her last recording session in 1985, and other rarities.