When Doris was 15, she may not have felt well enough to start training for dancing again, but she did decide to try her hand at professional music. First, she signed on to a local radio station as a female vocalist. But it was her on-air performances that caught the attention of big band artist, Barney Rapp.
It was with his band, Barney Rapp and his New Englanders, that her career really took off.
The accident happened when Day was just 13 years old. The car that she was in with her friends was struck by a train. Luckily, everyone managed to come out of the tragedy alive, but young Doris’ dancing career was halted.
Her right leg had been damaged so bad that doctors told her she wouldn’t walk for years - if ever again.
Can you imagine how this teenage girl was feeling, with all of her hopes and dreams for her future shattered by that one terrible moment? She spent a long time in the hospital, working on physical therapy to use her legs again.
While she was there, she started experimenting with her singing voice, singing along with music by Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington to pass the time during her stay, and discovered she actually had quite a talent for singing.
The young Doris looked up to another singer of her time, one she saw as somewhat of an idol. She really loved to listen to Ella Fitzgerald’s music during her early days in the industry.
She told journalist A.E Hotchner that, “there was a quality to her voice that fascinated me.” Soon, teenage Doris would be a thing of the past.
In 1941, Doris married trombonist Al Jorden – a move that would prove to be very unwise. As it turned out, Jorden was a violent schizophrenic and was very abusive towards her.
Nevertheless, the two had a son, Terry, who was born the year after they tied the knot. The couple met while working together in Barney Rapp’s band.