"Secret Love," by Doris Day
Calamity Jane (film)
Theatrical poster
Calamity Jane is a 1953 American Technicolor western musical film loosely based on the life of Wild West heroine Calamity Jane, and explores an alleged romance between Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok in the American Old West. The film starred Doris Day as the title character and Howard Keel as Hickok. It was devised by Warner Brothers in response to the success of
Annie Get Your Gun.
Secret Love (Doris Day song)
"
Secret Love" is a song composed by Sammy Fain (music) and Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) for
Calamity Jane, a 1953 musical film in which it was introduced by Doris Day in the title role. Ranked as a number 1 hit for Day on both the
Billboard and
Cash Box, the song also afforded Day a number 1 hit in the UK. "Secret Love" has subsequently been recorded by a wide range of artists, becoming a C&W hit firstly for
Slim Whitman and later for
Freddy Fender, with the song also becoming an R&B hit for Billy Stewart, whose version also reached the Top 40 as did Freddy Fender's. In the U.K., "Secret Love" would become the career record of Kathy Kirby via her 1963 remake of the song. The melody bears a slight resemblance to the opening theme of Schubert's A-major piano sonata, D.664.