Christmas Music: Doris Day

Doris Day's PERSONAL CHRISTMAS COLLECTION has long been one of my favorite Christmas albums. It's a compilation which includes 10 tracks from her 1964 DORIS DAY CHRISTMAS ALBUM, which was her only Christmas album; the other 5 songs were recorded at various times, including a 1946 recording of "The Christmas Song" with Les Brown and His Orchestra.

The album includes some songs which are familiar but not recorded with the frequency of other Christmas music, including "Toyland," "Christmas Story," and "Be a Child at Christmastime." There are also old favorites like "White Christmas," "Silver Bells," and "The Christmas Waltz." My favorite track is "Snowfall."

This year Collector's Choice has released Doris Day's COMPLETE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION, which contains an additional 7 tracks of Doris's Christmas music -- all the Christmas songs she recorded which are known to exist. The tracks include two more songs from her 1964 album, previously unreleased tracks (including one recorded for her '60s TV show), and a track from a 1961 all-star album. I'm especially looking forward to a 1959 recording she made of "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm." I bought the CD but haven't had time to play it yet!

If you enjoy Doris Day and Christmas music as much as I do, I highly recommend picking up at least one of these albums.

Previous Christmas Music 2008 Posts: Kristin Chenoweth, Harry Connick Jr., Sarah Brightman, and Amy Grant.