There is nothing quite like an old love song to stir a memory or two and for our delightful trip down memory lane we have chosen 21 classic, romantic ballads. Our programme takes you on a tuneful trip back in time.back through three decades of original artist recordings. Featuring such time-honoured greats as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Nat King Cole and Perry Como, these are stars who set us singing and the songs that will never die.

Each track will stir a memory or two. From the 1930s, who could be more fitting than one of the decade s most iconic figures, Marlene Dietrich, who recalls Falling in love again , from the film The Blue Angel ? Bing Crosby s contribution to popular music is immense. He defined the art of crooning and was the first popular singer who sang, intimately and persuasively, to each of us. His 1930s souvenir is the great George Gershwin classic Somebody loves me .

In the war years, romantic songs took on an even more personal and emotional involvement. Many songs told a tale of parting and longing with heartfelt lyrics. One of the most memorable is I ll be with you in apple blossom time . The Andrews Sisters discard their usual bouncy and swinging style and bring warmth and sentiment to this ballad. Bing Crosby reappears with the touching Moonlight becomes you which was featured as a restrained musical interlude in the first of the riotous Road films, The road to Morocco . The pretender to Crosby s throne was Frank Sinatra who was responsible for the mass hysteria which became so commonplace from the mid-1950s onwards. His I ll never smile again remains one the most poignant mementos of the early 1940s. At the end of the decade, a new voice would emerge and would become a major star for more than thirty years: Perry Como s relaxed style would usher in a coterie of warm-voiced, easy-listening ballad singers.

To the 1950s, and for the first five years at least, the music saw an extension of the two previous decades, although the arrival of the anarchic Rock n Roll would change all that. New stars arrived, each of them destined to be household names. Nat King Cole was one of the 40s leading jazz pianists until he was persuaded that his velvet voice could attract a much wider audience. From the late 1940s to his untimely death in 1965, he was one of the most prolific and much-loved of performers. One star that everyone took their hearts was the endearing Doris Day who could equally be at home with energetic and uproarious numbers as well as tender ballads such as Secret love , from the film Calamity Jane . A singer whose influence was far-reaching was Mario Lanza. His big, operatic voice provided a dramatic contrast to the prevailing softer sounds.

1. These Foolish Things Lew Stone
2. Somebody Loves Me B Crosby
3. Falling In Love Again MDietrich
4. There! I ve Said It Again Issy Bonn
5. Long Ago And Far Away Crosby
6. I ll Never Smile Again Sinatra
7. Moonlight Becomes You Crosby
8. They Say It s Wonderful P Como
9. I ll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time Andrews Sisters
10. You d Be So Nice To Come Home To Hutch
11. I ll String Along With You D Day & B Clark
12. Almost Like Being In Love Jo Stafford
13. Red Sails In The Sunset Crosby
14. But Beautiful Margaret Whiting
15. Stranger In Paradise T Bennett
16. Secret Love Doris Day
17. Mona Lisa N K Cole
18. Tennessee Waltz Patti Page
19. Be My Love M Lanza
20. On The Street Where You Live Vic Damone
21. No Other Love R Hilton