|
In 1959, Doris’s record label
Columbia had contracted her to do a collection of festive-favourites
with arranger and producer Frank DeVol (responsible for her hit
singles: "Que Sera Sera" and "Everybody Loves a Lover"). Having only
previously recorded a handful of seasonal songs during her earlier
big-band and solo years, the proposed concept had a great deal of
scope. A mixture of traditional and pop tunes were selected for this
occasion including "The Christmas Song", "Winter Wonderland", "It’s
Beginning To Look Like Christmas", "The Secret Of Christmas", "Let It
Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", "The First Noel", "It Came Upon A
Midnight Clear" and "Deck The Hall With Boughs Of Holly".
Things then quickly advanced to the point of DeVol orchestrating all
the backing tracks in preparation for Doris’s vocals. However, for
some unknown reason, she never finished the project and it was
abandoned.
That was, until the Summer of
1964, when the idea was revived and Doris set to work on The
Doris Day Christmas Album, prior to the release that year of her
movie Send Me No Flowers. This time Dudley C. ‘Pete’ King was
drafted in to conduct - a man whose previous credits had included
collaborations with Fred Astaire, Vic Damone, Jack Jones, Julie
London and Dean Martin. Under his safe and watchful eye sessions
were completed on June 18th, after a mere two days of recording at
the legendary Columbia Records studio in Hollywood.
Amongst the 12 finished tracks was
a new version of "Silver Bells", a song Doris had previously recorded
in 1950, penned by the same writers as her global smash "Que Sera
Sera". She also took the opportunity to reprise "The Christmas Story",
which she had originally sung 18 years before whilst fronting the
Les Brown Orchestra. The other songs, all evergreens, may have
already been associated with countless singers but as ever Doris
adopted them as her own, giving magical performances of Garlands’s
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" from her film Meet Me in St.
Louis, "Winter Wonderland", "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" and
Crosby’s "White Christmas". Once released on the LP went on to peak at
#92 on America’s Billboard chart.
The 2003 British CD re-issue of
this delightful album features the original sleeve artwork and is
enhanced with some bonus tracks. These are the wintry "I’ve Got My
Love To Keep Me Warm" as well as two rarities previously unreleased
in the UK: "Deck The Hall With Boughs Of Holly", the only surviving
track from the unfinished 1959 Christmas album and "Let No Walls
Divide", a biblical ballad specially commissioned in 1961 for the
American compilation An All-Star Christmas We Wish You the
Merriest (HS-11351).
The sound, the feeling and the
warm atmosphere conveyed throughout The Doris Day Christmas Album
still to this day truly capture the heart and spirit of the season. |
m
