her family was a singing one, if not formally musical. her father sang old tin pan alley songs at home, and her mother sang russian ballads and american standards. at church she sang songs of the civil rights era and the folk revival, and some songs such as "up, up and away". she was a fan of fred astaire, and her disparate musical tastes included standards written by cole porter, irving berlin, and johnny mercer, as well as country music by artists like loretta lynn.