Monday Serenade: Big Band Doris Day

Here a very young Doris Day sings My Lost Horizon with Les Brown and the Band of Renown in 1946. On first impression, she may be almost unrecognizable, more obviously because of her hair, but also because her early performance style is much more sensual than the wholesomely perky verve she favored in her Hollywood years. However, with closer attention, it is easy to recognize the tender vocal and expressive quirks that were uniquely hers. Day got her first taste of fame with a hit recording of Sentimental Journey that she made with the Les Brown band in 1945. By 1948, she was starring in her first movie, Romance on the High Seas, and on her way to box office-topping fame. Les Brown and the Band of Renown continued to prosper through the years as well. The band still plays today, led by Les Brown, Jr.