Thursday, June 19, 2014

CAFFE` LATTE` 
TOP 1500 CHOICE TRACKS


#258 PERHAPS, PERHAPS, PERHAPS Doris Day
Doris Day was born Doris von Kappelhoff in 1922. At first, her ambition was to be a dancer. A car accident led to the abandonment of that pursuit. While recovering, young Doris began singing. Her vocal coach arranged for the teenager to perform on a local radio station. She chose to sing a song entitled "Day After Day". A regular radio broadcast led to her adopting Day as her new surname, inspired by the 1930s hit she had performed.
In 1939, she joined Bing Crosby's brother Bob's band. Day was fronting Les Brown's musicians 2 years later. Her profile grew, especially after the hit song "Sentimental Journey" while World War II raged. At the same time as she was gaining fame, Day saw 2 marriages end. Her son Terry, from her 1st marriage would, years later, produce The Byrds and co-write "Kokomo" for The Beach Boys. 
During the 1940s, the singer took on movie roles. By the 1950s, Day was a major box office draw, thanks to films that included 'Calamity Jane' (1953), Hitchcock's 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' (1956) and 'Teacher's Pet' (1958); many alongside Rock Hudson. Her music career prospered too, via singles such as "Secret Love" and the Oscar winning international #1 smash "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)".   
The following decade brought tragedy. Her 3rd husband died in 1968. Upon his death, it was discovered that he had misappropriated or lost her entire savings, leaving the superstar bankrupt. Day suffered a nervous breakdown. A TV sitcom turned her fortunes around. Following the end of her television series in 1973, Day has worked intermittently. She had a new show on cable TV in the 1980s and issued a new set of songs in 1994 entitled 'The Love Album'.
"Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" was released by Day in 1965, The original Spanish version was penned by Cuban Osvaldo Farres. The English lyrics were written by Joseph Davis. Day's version was featured on her 'Latin For Lovers' album. New audiences, including myself, became aware of the song due to its inclusion in the Australian film 'Strictly Ballroom' in 1992.

This is a list made up of the songs I enjoy the most, ranked in order of preference: the higher we go, the more I cherish them. Some were released as singles, others as album tracks. Some are obscure; others were worldwide hits or have universal appeal. They aren't always the most famous or popular, but simply a personal choice. I have excluded songs from the last few years in order to get a better idea of a song's lasting impression. I hope you find some new tracks to love, or re-discover some past favourites.
2 new instalments are added each day (every 12 hours) with 1 of the remaining 300 songs as well as moving down from #1201 to 1500, with 5 of those songs added daily.

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