"I dig Doris Day." - Sarah Vaughan
"When I recorded for Columbia, I could usually do anything in one take...I would invariably want to use the first take because that would be the one that was spontaneous and fresh." - Doris Day
"When I recorded for Columbia, I could usually do anything in one take...I would invariably want to use the first take because that would be the one that was spontaneous and fresh." - Doris Day
All time honors are nothing new to Doris Day. She has retained the title as Biggest female box office draw of all time and is #6 among all actors on the Quigley list. "America's #1 Girl Next Door" and "Queen of the 50's Jukebox" are two others. There are many more.
One of those significant others has to do with the many albums she recorded in her tenure with Columbia Records. In one year (1955) she had the #1 Selling Album for the year, one that charted for 27 weeks on the Hit Parade, and became one of the longest charting albums for any female in the 1950's. In fact, she holds the title as Most Popular Female Album Artist of the 1950's and the highest paid Columbia Contract singer. "Love Me or Leave Me", the soundtrack album from the hit movie, is that significant album. It is also one of the longest selling albums by any female artist in music history and is still a good listen!
In 1949, Doris released her first (10") album "You're My Thrill" ( a collection of sensual love songs). Her last studio album came in 2011 with songs remastered from her TV show in 1986 ("Doris Day's Best Friends")...songs that remained unreleased till then. Thus, Doris became the oldest female singer ever to make the Best Selling Album List in history. As her 90th Birthday approached, still more album releases were on the way. (Note: Until 1955, all of Doris' albums were released as 78 rpm sets >4 records/8 sides< as well as on 45 rpm sets. They eventually were released as 10" vinyl long plays. By 1955, the releases were on the then new 12" LP . As the earlier albums were re-released in the mid 50's, they were put on 12" LPs, and other songs were added to allow the usual 12 or 13 songs.)
If the question is asked today: "How many albums did Doris Day record?", the answer "depends". If we mean how many albums contain her music, there are almost too many to count. Songs by Doris have appeared on countless collections over the years and continue to be a part of new ones coming out on a regular basis. If we mean how many albums are restricted to the music of Doris, the answer again "depends". There are hundreds and hundreds of compilations of her music all over the world, and these continue to be released every year. If we mean, how many albums by Doris were released by Columbia Records of Doris' music since 1948, once again the answer "depends". Columbia has released several compilations of her music over the years that had no newly recorded material by Doris. In 1958, it was "Doris Day's Greatest Hits"; In 1960, it was "Listen To Day" (but that one did include 4 songs previously unreleased). As late as 2013, Columbia/Sony released two more compilations of Doris Music: "The Ultimate Collection" and a two-CD set entitled "With A Smile and A Song" (not to be confused with an earlier "studio" album of the same name.) There was also The Complete Christmas Collection released in 2012, which supposedly contains every Holiday Song ever recorded by Doris.
So, the proper question should be "How many STUDIO albums were released by Columbia Records of Doris Day music? For that one, there is a specific answer. But first, we call on Wikipedia.org to define the term:
"A studio album is an album of audio recordings made up of tracks recorded in a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or live recording made at a performance venue. A studio album is usually planned and scheduled in advance, and may take anywhere from a few days to more than a year to complete. Some studio albums may include one or more covers, occasionally as live tracks within the studio album. Studio albums may also feature guest performers or session musicians that would not usually perform live with the artist. A studio album may also be released or re-released years after it has been recorded, or even posthumously, containing material recorded before the death of the artist."
In 1949, Doris released her first (10") album "You're My Thrill" ( a collection of sensual love songs). Her last studio album came in 2011 with songs remastered from her TV show in 1986 ("Doris Day's Best Friends")...songs that remained unreleased till then. Thus, Doris became the oldest female singer ever to make the Best Selling Album List in history. As her 90th Birthday approached, still more album releases were on the way. (Note: Until 1955, all of Doris' albums were released as 78 rpm sets >4 records/8 sides< as well as on 45 rpm sets. They eventually were released as 10" vinyl long plays. By 1955, the releases were on the then new 12" LP . As the earlier albums were re-released in the mid 50's, they were put on 12" LPs, and other songs were added to allow the usual 12 or 13 songs.)
If the question is asked today: "How many albums did Doris Day record?", the answer "depends". If we mean how many albums contain her music, there are almost too many to count. Songs by Doris have appeared on countless collections over the years and continue to be a part of new ones coming out on a regular basis. If we mean how many albums are restricted to the music of Doris, the answer again "depends". There are hundreds and hundreds of compilations of her music all over the world, and these continue to be released every year. If we mean, how many albums by Doris were released by Columbia Records of Doris' music since 1948, once again the answer "depends". Columbia has released several compilations of her music over the years that had no newly recorded material by Doris. In 1958, it was "Doris Day's Greatest Hits"; In 1960, it was "Listen To Day" (but that one did include 4 songs previously unreleased). As late as 2013, Columbia/Sony released two more compilations of Doris Music: "The Ultimate Collection" and a two-CD set entitled "With A Smile and A Song" (not to be confused with an earlier "studio" album of the same name.) There was also The Complete Christmas Collection released in 2012, which supposedly contains every Holiday Song ever recorded by Doris.
So, the proper question should be "How many STUDIO albums were released by Columbia Records of Doris Day music? For that one, there is a specific answer. But first, we call on Wikipedia.org to define the term:
"A studio album is an album of audio recordings made up of tracks recorded in a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or live recording made at a performance venue. A studio album is usually planned and scheduled in advance, and may take anywhere from a few days to more than a year to complete. Some studio albums may include one or more covers, occasionally as live tracks within the studio album. Studio albums may also feature guest performers or session musicians that would not usually perform live with the artist. A studio album may also be released or re-released years after it has been recorded, or even posthumously, containing material recorded before the death of the artist."
And so the answer is 31 studio recordings featuring newly recorded music by Doris Day (NOT including anything she recorded with Les Brown before 1948). Click on the video below to see the studio recordings.
NUMBER ONE TOP SELLING ALBUMS
1950 YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN
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TOP TEN SELLING ALBUMS
1949 YOU'RE MY THRILL (her first album)
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ALBUMS THAT CHARTED BELOW THE TOP 10
1954 YOUNG AT HEART
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SOME COMPILATIONS FROM COLUMBIA RECORDS
1954 DAY DREAMS (reissue of 1st album)
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