She’s not up for a Brit, hasn’t been to the VMA’s and doesn’t have any music videos on YouTube, but she is in the Top 10…who? Doris Day, that’s who.
I would say “I have a confession to make” but it’s not really a confession, and it’s certainly no secret. I love Doris Day. I love love love her. Nothing in the world can make you feel quite so safe or happy or so warm inside, as a Doris Day film can. From her impeccable comedy timing to her flawless hair and sparkling smile she was the original ‘girl next door’.
Doris Day was the biggest box office star of her time; in fact she was still the biggest female box office star of all time in 2009. Having started her career in 1939 fronting ‘big bands’ it wouldn’t be until 1945 that she got her first taste of success and recognition with hit song "Sentimental Journey". But singing is only one of Day’s talents and in the late 1950s and early 1960s she would star in hit after hit film, defining the romantic comedy genre, sharing the screen with the likes of Cary Grant, James Garner and Rock Hudson, to name but a few.
Doris Day’s star began to wane in the late '60s when free love and the sexual revolution turned the tide of public opinion on sex, and Day’s entire persona fell out of vogue. Plagued with personal problems her whole life, Day found her husband had squandered her entire fortune and took to the TV screens with her eponymous show in order to make ends meet. In later years although by no means a hermit Day has been completely out of the public eye.
Having devoted her life to animal welfare Day works hard but rarely steps into the spotlight. That is until now. My Heart the 87-year-old's new album entered the UK charts at number 9. The album is comprised of songs produced by Day’s late son, Terry Melcher. Melcher wrote many songs for his Mother including "Move Over Darling" one of Day’s biggest hits. So with 39 films and 28 other albums to her name it seems the Day’s legacy is not yet over.
It’s been 62 years since Doris Day’s debut and her new album has outsold the likes of Jessie J, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga. She is now the oldest ever artist to enter the Top 10 with an album of new material. The 12 previously unheard tracks on My Heart were recorded between 1951 and 1994, and are a testament to Day’s love for her son and her love for animals.
It’s a welcome return for the star, in an era where bearing flesh in raunchy videos or saturating the market with branded merchandise seems to be de rigueur, it’s refreshing to see that a star can sell records on the strength of their own untarnished image. Day comes from an era that predates the irony and pessimism that the self -aggrandising stars of today trade on. I for one hope we’ll see a lot more of Doris Day, it’s clear the public still love her, and living legends are thin on the ground nowadays. All together now, Que Sera Sera…
Doris Day’s My Heart is Available now.
Follow me @Warren Beckett