The 1960s Singles

Performer: Doris Day
Distributor: Gotham Distributing Corp.

Notes: Recorded between 1959 & 1966. Just like Elvis Presley over at RCA, Doris Day's work for Columbia during the early and mid-'60s benefited from crack producers, the best session players in the business, and one of the purest, most distinctive vocalists of the century. Unfortunately, none of those positives made much of a difference when both singers were confronted with material of the poorest quality. This Collectables compilation focuses on Day's pop-slanted work of the '60s, and though she never reached the Top 40 after 1958, the songs will have a similarly curious attraction for a limited number of fans who appreciate great singers even when they're not singing great material. Unsurprisingly, Day's singles of the '60s are happy, breezy, universal-appeal stuff, filled with handclaps, vocal choruses, shuffling percussion, and accentuated brass -- all engineered and produced to the highest standards. Many of them were used as movie titles ("Please Don't Eat the Daisies," "Send Me No Flowers"). The earliest work (with Frank Devol) is the best here, and it slips slightly with a switch to Mort Garson in 1964. (During 1963-1964, though, she also recorded four interesting girl group fusions with Jack Nitzsche, known best for arranging most of Phil Spector's hits.) The 1960s Singles may be intriguing for the historically curious and those who appreciate a great vocalist, but it definitely has a limited appeal. ~ John Bush

Regarded as a beloved film icon, the effervescently blonde Doris Day was a sort of Betty to Marilyn Monroe's Veronica, and starred in a series of popular movie romps from the early 1950s through the early `60s. But before that, she'd had a flourishing career as a radio personality and vocalist, most notably with bandleader Les Brown. She enjoyed several big hits, including the sweet singalong "Que Sera Sera" and her signature tune "Sentimental Journey," which she recorded several times. For the most part, Day retired from moviemaking and recording on the cusp of the `70s, during which her appeal was not in step with the zeitgeist, and has only reemerged professionally a few times since.

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