Nice story, Judy. I had a reunion with some old friends last night and after people offered commiserations and asked how I was feeling, one of them said, when the wine arrived,
"Let's drink a toast to Doris Day." So eight of us solemnly clicked our glasses together and said: "To Doris". It was a nice moment.
Here's a BBC tribute to Doris the singer from earlier this week:
Doris Day: Big band star
By Mark Savage I BBC Music reporter
"For all of her acclaim as an actress, Doris Day said her days as a big band singer were "the happiest times in my life".
Born Mary Ann Von Kapplehoff in Cincinnati, her stage name was even derived from a song - Helen Forrest's Day After Day. Her father was a music teacher and church organist, while her mother loved popular music - but the youngster initially aspired to become a dancer.
It was only when a car accident left her with two broken legs that the 13-year-old turned to singing. "I couldn't walk for almost three years," Day recalled. "That was the greatest thing that happened. Instead of dancing, I sang. They carried me three times a week up a stairway to my music teacher."
After winning a radio station talent contest (singing, naturally, an arrangement of Day After Day), she left home to launch a career as a dance-band vocalist, aged just 16, touring with Bob Crosby, brother to jazz superstar Bing.
While most people know her voice from clean-cut pop hits like Secret Love and the Oscar-winning Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be), Day's earlier records showcase a more sultry and inventive performer.
"Doris had a wonderful jazz vibrato voice and could have been one of the top jazz singers," said Frankie Laine, who sang a duet with Day on Sugarbush.
"Her breath control, her diction, her dynamic control are all flawless," acknowledged Voice Council magazine in 2016. "She had a masterful command of the different colours in her voice. She could sing light or strong in any part of her range."
"Make no mistake, she could sing," agreed Steve Leggett on Allmusic.com, "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."
Here is a completely non-definitive list of 5 standout Doris Day songs:
Read more and listen to the 5 songs:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48255755
You'd probably choose 5 different songs as your own expert on her recording? I would too.
