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| Bing with Judy Garland |
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| Bing with Grace Kelly |
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| Bing with wife Dixie Lee |
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| One of Bing's last photos on the day he died |
Showing posts with label Judy Garland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judy Garland. Show all posts
Saturday, September 7, 2019
PHOTOS OF THE DAY: MORE BALD BING
My daughter is six, and I have her fascinated with Bing Crosby. Afterall, she is named after the Bing song "I Love You. Samantha" from 1956's High Society. For some reason though she loves to look at pictures of Bing without his toupee. I originally did a photo story on Bing's baldness in 2011, which is one of the most popular photo blog entries I've done. So I combed my photos and found some more pics of a bald Bing Crosby...
You can see the original post here: PHOTOS OF THE DAY: A BALD BING
Saturday, August 17, 2019
BING'S TEN FAVORITE PERFORMERS - PART TWO
Here are the rest of Bing Crosby's choices for his favorite performers that he picked in 1977...
6. LOUIS ARMSTRONG (1901-1971)
Bing once said “I’m proud to acknowledge my debt to the ‘Reverend Satchelmouth’ … He is the beginning and the end of music in America”
It is impossible to overstate the influence and importance of Louis Armstrong to the development of jazz and popular music. Indeed, it is the subject of books and documentaries, not of blog entries. Such was Armstrong’s fame and incredible impact as a performer and musician, that I did find a surfeit of quotes by people much more qualified than I to add something meaningful to the dialogue about Armstrong’s legacy.
“(Armstrong was) the key creator of the mature working language of jazz. Three decades after his death and more than three-quarters of a century since his influence first began to spread, not a single musician who has mastered that language fails to make daily use, knowingly or unknowingly, of something that was invented by Louis Armstrong.” – Dan Morgenstern, Oxford Companion to Jazz
7. NAT “KING” COLE (1919-1965)
Nat “King” Cole remains one of the most beloved entertainers and recording artists of the 20th-century. He rose to fame as a jazz pianist in the 194os as the leader of the Nat “King” Cole Trio, before becoming one of the most successful singers of the 1950s and early-1960s and a cornerstone of Capitol Records roster. He died tragically from cancer at the age of 45 in 1965, but not before becoming the first black man to host a TV show and introducing a stunning string of hit songs, including “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” “When I Fall in Love,” “Too Young,” “Nature Boy,” “Route 66,” “L-O-V-E,” and “Unforgettable.”
8. MEL TORMÉ (1925-1999)
Mel Tormé was a jack of many trades but a master of them all: preeminent vocalist of standards (known as “The Velvet Fog”), composer (“The Christmas Song,” a.k.a. “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”), musical arranger, actor, and author of five very well-written books.
9. JUDY GARLAND (1922-1969)
Judy Garland was a child prodigy who was performing from the time she could walk. So much has been written about Judy Garland that it is hard to separate fact from fiction. No matter what your feelings about the entertainer, one thing is certain: she meant (and to some extent, continues to mean) a great deal to many people. Though she never had the hip factor of a Sinatra, or the mystery of a Peggy Lee, Garland’s gifts were undeniable and. In terms of raw talent, Judy Garland was inarguably in the most elite group of all-time greats, an opinion shared by most all of her peers, including Mr. Crosby.
10. VICTOR BORGE (1909-2000)
Victor Borge is not well-remembered today, but the Danish comic, conductor, and pianist was a major star of radio and television. He lived a very long life and died in his 90s, after 75 years of entertaining. In addition to his musical accomplishments, he wrote several books and was a shrewd businessman. He was apparently responsible for popularizing rock Cornish game hens, a business in which he invested. Who knew?
SOURCE
Bing once said “I’m proud to acknowledge my debt to the ‘Reverend Satchelmouth’ … He is the beginning and the end of music in America”
It is impossible to overstate the influence and importance of Louis Armstrong to the development of jazz and popular music. Indeed, it is the subject of books and documentaries, not of blog entries. Such was Armstrong’s fame and incredible impact as a performer and musician, that I did find a surfeit of quotes by people much more qualified than I to add something meaningful to the dialogue about Armstrong’s legacy.
“(Armstrong was) the key creator of the mature working language of jazz. Three decades after his death and more than three-quarters of a century since his influence first began to spread, not a single musician who has mastered that language fails to make daily use, knowingly or unknowingly, of something that was invented by Louis Armstrong.” – Dan Morgenstern, Oxford Companion to Jazz
7. NAT “KING” COLE (1919-1965)
Nat “King” Cole remains one of the most beloved entertainers and recording artists of the 20th-century. He rose to fame as a jazz pianist in the 194os as the leader of the Nat “King” Cole Trio, before becoming one of the most successful singers of the 1950s and early-1960s and a cornerstone of Capitol Records roster. He died tragically from cancer at the age of 45 in 1965, but not before becoming the first black man to host a TV show and introducing a stunning string of hit songs, including “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” “When I Fall in Love,” “Too Young,” “Nature Boy,” “Route 66,” “L-O-V-E,” and “Unforgettable.”
8. MEL TORMÉ (1925-1999)
Mel Tormé was a jack of many trades but a master of them all: preeminent vocalist of standards (known as “The Velvet Fog”), composer (“The Christmas Song,” a.k.a. “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”), musical arranger, actor, and author of five very well-written books.
9. JUDY GARLAND (1922-1969)
Judy Garland was a child prodigy who was performing from the time she could walk. So much has been written about Judy Garland that it is hard to separate fact from fiction. No matter what your feelings about the entertainer, one thing is certain: she meant (and to some extent, continues to mean) a great deal to many people. Though she never had the hip factor of a Sinatra, or the mystery of a Peggy Lee, Garland’s gifts were undeniable and. In terms of raw talent, Judy Garland was inarguably in the most elite group of all-time greats, an opinion shared by most all of her peers, including Mr. Crosby.
10. VICTOR BORGE (1909-2000)
Victor Borge is not well-remembered today, but the Danish comic, conductor, and pianist was a major star of radio and television. He lived a very long life and died in his 90s, after 75 years of entertaining. In addition to his musical accomplishments, he wrote several books and was a shrewd businessman. He was apparently responsible for popularizing rock Cornish game hens, a business in which he invested. Who knew?
SOURCE
Friday, September 26, 2014
PHOTOS OF THE DAY: BING READING
You often hear about Bing Crosby - the crooner, the hunter, the movie star, the golfer - but you never really hear or see stories about Bing reading. I looked through the picture files and found some great photos of Bing reading. He read a lot from sheet music to the newspaper...
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| With Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland |
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| With Gary Crosby |
Friday, February 24, 2012
PHOTOS OF THE DAY: BING AND JUDY GARLAND
Bing Crosby not only could hold a tune better than any other crooner, but he could recognize great talent as well. He truly appreciated girl singers, and one of his favorites was the great Judy Garland (1922-1969). They recorded some really great duets for Decca Records in the 1940s, and when Judy was down and out in the 1950s, she appeared numerous times on Bing's radio show. She even filled in for Bing on the air when his wife died in 1952. Reportedly after Judy died tragically in 1969, Bing helped pay for the funeral bill along with Frank Sinatra and Ray Bolger. Here are some happy moments that Bing and Judy shared...
Friday, April 8, 2011
PHOTOS OF THE DAY: BING AND FEMALE SONGBIRDS
During Bing's 50 year career, he sang with great jazz artists, talented musicians, and accomplished fellow singers. Unlike Sinatra, Bing excelled in duets and could sing with nearly anyone. I collected a few photos that I thought would be interesting, showing Bing appearing with some of the truly great female songbirds...
This is my favorite picture of Bing with The Boswell Sisters. It is great he recorded with Connee Boswell often throughout his career, but it is a shame he did not record with the Boswell Sisters more:
Bing and Dinah Shore never recorded together, but they did do some USO tours together during World War II:
Bing and Judy Garland made a handful of recordings together while they both were at Decca, and Bing helped out Judy often when she was down by getting her to appear on his radio show. This picture shows both of them at the top of their game:
Another great duet pair was Bing and Peggy Lee. They had a long history of working together on radio, on records, and they even appeared together in the movie MR. MUSIC, which this picture is taken from:
This final picture is Bing and the great Dame Vera Lynn. It is from 1975 when he appeared on Vera's variety show. They sang the popular song of the time "Sing", and I wish they had recorded together:
This is my favorite picture of Bing with The Boswell Sisters. It is great he recorded with Connee Boswell often throughout his career, but it is a shame he did not record with the Boswell Sisters more:
Bing and Dinah Shore never recorded together, but they did do some USO tours together during World War II:
Bing and Judy Garland made a handful of recordings together while they both were at Decca, and Bing helped out Judy often when she was down by getting her to appear on his radio show. This picture shows both of them at the top of their game:
Another great duet pair was Bing and Peggy Lee. They had a long history of working together on radio, on records, and they even appeared together in the movie MR. MUSIC, which this picture is taken from:
This final picture is Bing and the great Dame Vera Lynn. It is from 1975 when he appeared on Vera's variety show. They sang the popular song of the time "Sing", and I wish they had recorded together:
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