This is a one stop place to find news and stories about the greatest singer of all-time, Bing Crosby. From his days with Paul Whiteman to his final performances in 1977, we will examine this remarkable entertainer's life and times!
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Sunday, November 24, 2024
GUEST REVIEWER: THE BELLS OF ST. MARYS
Bing repeated his Father O'Malley character and in doing so got a second Oscar nomination. Until Al Pacino was nominated for Michael Corleone in both Godfathers One and Two, Crosby was the only performer ever to have been nominated twice for the same role. Because of Father O'Malley, Bing Crosby became probably the most well known Catholic lay person on the planet. And for better or worse it's the Crosby that is remembered when the knives came out for him after he died.
With Ingrid Bergman the damage was more immediate. Today if you asked the average movie goer to quickly name the part Bergman is best known for it would be Ilsa Lund from Casablanca. Back in the late 40s however the answer would be Sister Benedict. How a Swede who is identified as Swedish in the film could be a Catholic, let alone a nun is a mystery to me. But that's how good an actress Ingrid Bergman was. She became the personification of holiness so when Ingrid Bergman announced she was pregnant with Roberto Rosellini's child the reaction of the public was swift and terrible. Banish her from Hollywood and she was. Such is the power of the mass media. Consider folks like Errol Flynn and Robert Mitchum who had reputations as hell-raisers before scandal hit them. Such is the power of the silver screen and the images it creates.
Bing has some good songs here, he sings the title tune with different lyrics for the screen then for his record. It's the school anthem and he sings it with a chorus of nuns to back him. Those nuns do sing well and in key. I wonder if it was the inspiration for Sister Act.
Crosby also has two of his patented philosophical numbers, Aren't You Glad You're You and In The Land Of Beginning Again. And in keeping with the nature of the film, he sings Adeste Fideles and O Sanctissima.
The Bells of St. Mary's is what we would deem fine family entertainment. It's also how the Catholic Church likes to see itself. It's a milestone movie for the careers of its stars. But what a cost...
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
CD REVIEW: BING CROSBY - RARITIES FROM HOLLYWOOD
The two-CD set Rarities From The Hollywood Studios 1933-1959, which was compiled by Crosby fanatic John Newton from his collection, has its good (CD #2) and bad (CD#1) points. The first disc can be thought of as an endless infomercial for Crosby’s movies in the 1930s. The initial transcription is actually for a film (42nd Street) that Bing was not in. However in 1933 he had recorded two songs from the movie (“You’re Getting To Be A Habit With Me” and “Young And Healthy”) and excerpts from those recordings are used on that brief commercial. The other seven tracks on the first disc (three are around 4 1/2 minutes apiece while the last four clock in at 12-14 1/2 minutes each) are long advertisements for various Crosby movies. There are brief excerpts of Bing singing some of the songs from the films, bits of dialogue from the movies, and plenty of endless cheerleading for the movies by the announcers. These commercials were made for the radio with the goal of boosting the attendance of such then-current films as College Humor, We’re Not Dressing, Here Is My Heart, Double Or Nothing, Paris Honeymoon, and Rhythm On The River. It all gets boring very fast and few will want to hear this twice.
The second CD is a different story altogether. Dating from 1934-58, one gets to hear Crosby performing songs originally recorded for the movies that include alternate versions, lengthier renditions before they were cut for the films, numbers that were discarded and not used at all, and some of his singing at rehearsals. None of this music was available before. Some of the performances are jazz-oriented while others are ballads with strings. Among the highlights are “Takes Two To Make A Bargain,” “Smarty,” “It’s Always You,” an alternate rendition of “By The Light Of The Silvery Moon,” “Say It Isn’t So,” and “Blue Moon.”
Bing Crosby fans will find much of value on the second CD which I wish had been released by itself...
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
COMING SOON: BING CROSBY WINTER WARMER BEER
The holiday season is here and we’re bringing back a fan favorite... our White Christmas Winter Warmer!
The holiday season is here and we’re bringing back a fan favorite... our White Christmas Winter Warmer! Inspired by Bing Crosby’s timeless classic, this winter brew pairs perfectly with chilly evenings by the fire or joyful gatherings with friends and family. With its rich, malty sweetness and warm spice notes, it’s crafted to keep your spirits bright throughout the season.
Whether you're enjoying it alongside a holiday meal or simply sipping while wrapped up in your favorite blanket, this delightful brew adds an extra touch of joy. Rush to the nearest store and bring home a taste of Christmas magic. Cheers to a warm and wonderful holiday season!
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Thursday, October 17, 2024
REMEMBERING MITZI GAYNOR (1931-2024)
I am sad to have to report that Mitzi Gaynor, Bing's co-star in 1956's Anything Goes has passed away. She appeared with Bing in that movie and on television. She was a talented all around entertainer and will be missed...
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Monday, October 14, 2024
BING: 47 YEARS LATER
It has been 47 years since Bing Crosby died now. I was three. Some people my age only know Bing as the Christmas carol singer if at all. Bing in my fifty years has meant so much more to me. Bing is what brought my Grandfather, and I together. Our love of music not only helped me to have a good relationship with my Grandfather, but it helped me to overcome a lot in my early years.
Bing to me represented a simpler time in the world. It was not neccessarily a better time, but a more laid back and relaxing time. 2024 is so busy and hectic, that I still listen to Bing to relax me. After a long day of work stress, nothing soothes me more than to listen to Bing Crosby on the way home. If more people listened to Bing that I think there would be a drop in anxiety, stress, and maybe even violence!
In 2024, Bing Crosby still means the world to me. Yes Bing has been dead since 1977, but his memory is very much alive to me!
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Friday, September 27, 2024
BING'S DISCOGRAPHY: SEPTEMBER 27, 1929
Here is what Bing was recording on this day in the early years of his career some 95 years ago...
Date: 9/27/29
Location: Union Square, New York, NY
Label: COLUMBIA (US)
INSTRUMENTAL GROUP
Bing Crosby (voc), Charles Margulis (tr), Chester (Chet) Hazlett (cl), Roy Bargy (pno), Matty Malneck (vln)
a. W149066-3 Can't We Be Friends? (Paul James, Kay Swift) - 2:59
PROPER RECORDS (UK) CDP1233 — BING CROSBY: IT'S EASY TO REMEMBER (The Rhythm Boy) (2001)
NAXOS (UK) CD8120697 — THE EARLIEST BING CROSBY Vol 2 Rhythm King 1927 - 1931 (2003)
b. W149067-3 Gay Love (Sidney Clare, Oscar Levant) - 3:00
Both titles on:
CBS SPECIAL PRODUCTS (US) (CBS) CDA2 201 A203 — THE BING CROSBY STORY Volume 1: The Early Jazz Years 1928-1932 Disc 2 (1990)
JONZO (UK) CDJZCD-07 — THE CHRONOLOGICAL BING CROSBY VOLUME 07 (1999)
COLLECTORS' CHOICE (US) CDCCM-216-2 — LOST COLUMBIA SIDES: 1928-1933 (CD2) (2001)
Saturday, September 21, 2024
REMEMBERING KATHRYN CROSBY (1933-2024)
The death was announced in a statement by publicist B. Harlan Boll, who did not note a cause.
Throughout her childhood and adolescence, Kathryn Grant — as she was then known — dominated the Texas beauty contest circuit between Houston and Corpus Christi. A 5-foot-3, auburn-haired stunner, she was crowned “Golden Girl of the Texas Baseball League,” “Miss Buccaneer-Navy” (dressed in pirate motif) and “Queen of the Houston Rodeo and Fat Stock Exposition,” for which she was teased among rivals and friends alike as “Miss Fat Stock.”
She had met Crosby in 1953, a year after she was named first runner-up in the Miss Texas pageant and landed a Paramount studios contract. She was 20 at the time and was on the studio lot, breathlessly ferrying a load of petticoats to the wardrobe department, when she rushed past Crosby, then 50 and a recent widower. He was leaning against the doorjamb of his dressing room, casually whistling a tune.
"Howdy, Tex,” he asked with bemusement. “What’s your hurry?”
Crosby had been a box-office juggernaut on the lot for two decades, an audience favorite not only for his vaudeville-style “Road” movies with Bob Hope but also for his Oscar-winning turn as a singing priest in “Going My Way” (1944). In her spare time between walk-on roles, the starstruck young Kathryn filed dispatches for newspapers back home under the title “Texas Gal in Hollywood” and soon returned to Crosby to request an interview.
“You a reporter?” Crosby asked.
“I’m a columnist,” she said.
“The dickens you are,” he replied. “I didn’t know they came so pretty.”
Crosby agreed to the interview, then invited her to tea and later to dinner. She described an instant and mutual infatuation between herself and Crosby, who exuded a languorous sex appeal with his piercing blue eyes and the virile romantic baritone voice that had sold hundreds of millions of records, among them “Please” and “Pennies From Heaven.”
Their courtship lasted nearly four complicated years. Crosby disappeared from her life for months at a time and jilted her twice, only to emerge with reinvigorated ardor. As he pursued other on-set romances, including with actresses Grace Kelly and Inger Stevens, Kathryn was determined to focus on her own pursuit of stardom.
After being dropped by Paramount, she was picked up by Columbia studios and promoted as a versatile leading lady. She had a featured role as a card dealer in the anti-corruption drama “The Phenix City Story” (1955) and co-starred opposite Audie Murphy in the western “The Guns of Fort Petticoat,” Jack Lemmon in the military comedy “Operation Mad Ball” and Tony Curtis in the drama “Mister Cory,” all in 1957.
She was a princess in “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad” (1958), a trapeze artist in “The Big Circus” (1959) and, in perhaps her best performance, a surprise witness in “Anatomy of a Murder” (1959), holding her own in a cross-examination showdown with a slick attorney played by George C. Scott.
By the time Bing Crosby eloped with her to Las Vegas in 1957, Kathryn, a Methodist, had converted to Catholicism at his insistence but extracted a promise that she could continue her career after their marriage. But he soon reneged, preferring she stay at home as he wound down into semi-retirement and managed his many business interests and investments, ranging from baseball teams to thoroughbred horses to real estate.
By the early 1960s, Bing and Kathryn had left Southern California and settled in a 24-room Norman-style mansion in Hillsborough, an upscale suburb of San Francisco. She had three children with Bing — including actress Mary Frances Crosby, whose character shot J.R. on the TV series “Dallas” — and spent five years completing a degree in registered nursing. She also was a public-school teacher, host of a morning TV talk show in San Francisco, and the author of a rosy 1967 memoir (“Bing and Other Things”).
She modeled clothes for designer Jean Louis, did occasional summer stock with Bing’s approval, accompanied her husband and children on bird-hunting and fishing expeditions and helped him manage his constellation of properties across the West and in Mexico. She vivaciously sang duets with Bing on TV specials, including his annual Christmas show, and appeared with their children in Minute Maid frozen orange juice commercials, a product Bing endorsed.
As a more contented spouse and father, Bing spent a great deal more time with his second family than he had with his first, Mrs. Crosby said. Nevertheless, she said, he could be a controlling and mercurial perfectionist at home, even as he tried to live up to the laid-back Mr. Lucky persona he had long cultivated — the charming and carefree all-American fellow who just happened to have a voice of peerless emotional resonance.
“He doesn’t exactly lose his temper in the traditional way,” Mrs. Crosby told an interviewer. “He just gets very quiet. That’s when I start wondering what I’ve done. You see, Bing will never say what is bothering him.”
In October 1977, he was on a golfing trip in Spain with friends when he died suddenly, at age 74 after a heart attack, just after completing a round of play.
Mrs. Crosby gradually restarted her acting career, mostly with touring theater companies and also in a cabaret act that paid tribute to Bing.
To tell her own story, Mrs. Crosby wrote “My Life With Bing” (1983) and “My Last Years with Bing” (2002). Of all the roles she would play — on screen and stage and in private life — she said there was one that made all the others possible. “I want you to understand,” she once told People magazine, “that my position in this world rests on being Mrs. Bing Crosby.”
Sunday, September 8, 2024
NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS: BING MELLOW AS EVER
Here is an interesting clipping from August 11, 1974 - when Bing missed a performance because of surgery...
Sunday, August 18, 2024
BING ON REDDIT
I am not an avid reader to Reddit, but it is an online forum for questions and comments. I found a thread regarding what people think of Bing. Here's a few interesting comments...
Sunday, August 4, 2024
BING AND WOODBURY SOAP
Sunday, July 28, 2024
BING'S GOLD RECORDS
1937: Sweet Leilani
1941: San Antonio Rose
1942: White Christmas
1942: Silent Night
1943: I'll be Home for Christmas
1943: Sunday, Monday or Always
1943: Pistol Packin Mama (w Andrews Sisters)
1943: Jingle Bells (w Andrews Sisters)
1944: Swinging on a Star
1944: Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ra
1944: Don't Fence Me In (w Andrews Sisters)
1945: I Can't Begin to Tell You
1946: McNamara's Band
1946: South America, Take it Away (w Andrews Sisters)
1947: Alexander's Ragtime Band (w Al Jolson)
1947: Whiffenpoof Song
1948: Now is the Hour
1949: Galway Bay
1949: Dear Hearts and Gentle People
1950: Sam's Song / Play a Simple Melody (w Gary Crosby)
1956: True Love (w Grace Kelly)
1956: High Society soundtrack
1970: Merry Christmas (an album anthology)
1977: Seasons (Bing's last album went gold in England)
Sunday, July 14, 2024
OSCAR FLASHBACK - 1944
Actually, “Going My Way” had a special “Fighting Front” premiere on April 27th: 65 prints were shipped to battle fronts and shown “from Alaska to Italy, and from England to the jungles of Burma.” The sentimental comedy-drama-musical arrived in New York on May 3rd.
And it was just the uplifting film audiences needed. Bing Crosby starred as Father O’Malley, a laid-back young priest who arrives at a debt-ridden New York City church that is run by the older, set-in-his ways Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald). The elder priest initially isn’t happy with O’Malley’s newfangled ways, but soon he and the rest of the parish realize O’Malley is someone special.
Though not specifically a musical, Crosby does sing the title tune as well as “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral,” “The Day After Tomorrow” and duets on “Ava Marie” with his co-star, Metropolitan Opera soprano Rise Stevens. The fun “Swinging on a Star” by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke, which Crosby sings with Robert Mitchell Boy Choir, became a huge hit for Crosby. The ending was a real four-hankie weepie moment as O’Malley reunites Fitzgibbon with his elderly mother.
The New York Times’ Bosley Crother was besotted with “Going My Way” calling it a “tonic delight,” adding that Crosby “is giving the best show of his career” …” he has been beautifully presented by Mr. McCarey.” The top box office attraction of 1944, “Going My Way” turned Crosby into the No. 1 box office star and proved he was more than comedic actor playing “pat-a-cake” with Bob Hope in the popular “Road” films.
“Going My Way” had strong competition at the Academy Awards most notably from Billy Wilder’s crackling film noir “Double Indemnity,” which earned seven nominations. But “Going My Way” won by a knockout leaving “Double Indemnity” in the dust. “Going My Way” earned seven Oscars including best film, director, song, actor for Crosby and supporting actor for Fitzgerald. And for the first and only time in Oscar history, Fitzgerald was also nominated for best actor.
Crosby would be the first actor to earn an Oscar nomination for reprising a role. The following year, he returned to the Academy Awards’ race in the beloved sequel “The Bells of St. Mary’s,” which earned eight Oscar nominations winning for best recording. Ironically, Wilder’s dark “The Lost Weekend” was the big winner at the 1946 ceremony...
Sunday, June 30, 2024
A LETTER FROM BING: FEBRUARY 28, 1945
In recent years, letters from Bing to soldiers fighting in World War II have been discovered, and it shows what a caring man Bing was. The war and the plight of these brave men affected Bing greatly...
Sunday, June 16, 2024
BING'S MOVIE SHORTS
Sennett was impressed enough with Bing's performance at the Grove that he signed him to do a short musical-comedy film that month in which Bing would play himself. The film, I Surrender Dear, was named after Bing's first solo hit recording and was filmed in March, 1931, and released in Los Angeles the following June. The film was so successful that it led to 5 more with Sennett. Bing was paid $750 for each 20-minute picture.
Sennett was more famous for his slapstick and special effects than his dialogue. Crosby worked without formal scripts for these movies ... only outlines. During the filming Crosby found himself dunked in water tanks, chased by lions and half-baked in quick-rising dough. Bing's success with Sennett helped convince him that the time was ripe to leave the Rhythm Boys and get on with his solo career. The Rhythm Boys dissolved following the release of "I Surrender Dear."
The six Sennett two-reelers in the order of their filming were:"I Surrender Dear" (March 1931)
"One More Chance" (June-July 1931)
"Dream House"
"Billboard Girl"
"Sing, Bing, Sing" (Summer 1932)
"Blue of the Night"
"Sing, Bing, Sing" and "Blue of the Night" were released in 1933...
Sunday, June 2, 2024
BING AND INGRID BERGMAN
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Friday, May 10, 2024
NEW CD: BING CROSBY - RARITIES FROM THE HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
Artist: Bing Crosby
Catalogue No.: SEPIA 1388
Barcode: 5055122113881
Release Date: June 2024
CD 1
1. 42nd STREET: You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me; Young And Healthy
2. COLLEGE HUMOR: Learn To Croon; Moonstruck
3. WE'RE NOT DRESSING: Once In A Blue Moon; Love Thy Neighbor; It's A New Spanish Custom
4. WE'RE NOT DRESSING: I Positively Refuse To Sing; May I?
5. HERE IS MY HEART: Love Is Just Around The Corner; June In January; With Every Breath I Take
6. DOUBLE OR NOTHING: It's The Natural Thing To Do; Smarty; All You Want To Do Is Dance; The Moon Got In My Eyes; After You
7. PARIS HONEYMOON: I Have Eyes; You're A Sweet Little Headache; The Funny Old Hills; Joobalai
8. RHYTHM ON THE RIVER: Rhythm On The River; What Would Shakespeare Have Said; When The Moon Comes Over Madison Square; I Don't Want To Cry Any More; That's For Me; Ain't It A Shame About Mame
CD 2
1. I'm Hummin', I'm Whistlin', I'm Singin'
2. Old Folks At Home
3. I Wished On The Moon
4. Takes Two To Make A Bargain
5. Empty Saddles
6. Our Last Hawaiian Moon
7. Blue Hawaii
8. In A Little Hula Heaven
9. Smarty
10. Small Fry
11. A Man And His Dream
12. Music from 'The Star Maker': Medley: "Go Fly A Kite" - "If I Was A Millionaire" - "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" "School Days" - "Go Fly A Kite"(reprise)
13. It's Always You
14. By The Light Of The Silvery Moon
15. Swinging On A Star
16. In The Land Of Beginning Again
17. Say It Isn't So
18. Get Yourself A Phonograph
19. Camptown Races
20. You've Been Looking Thru My Dreams
21. You're The Top
22. Blue Moon
SOURCE
Sunday, May 5, 2024
FLASHBACK: 1952
Monday, April 29, 2024
JOHNNY HOLIDAY: NOT RELATED TO BING
“Aunt Mary Rose had two children, cousin Carolyn who is 89 and lives in Las Vegas, and her son Bill Miller who died many years ago. Carolyn had 6 children, the Quinns, 5 of whom are still with us. I know them all...”
“This guy is NOT one of our relations, that's for sure!”
Sunday, April 21, 2024
BING AND MINUTE MAID
Here is another great advertisement Bing did for Minute Maid. This looks to be from the 1950s. It is interesting that they were giving away orange juice too...
Sunday, April 7, 2024
PHOTOS OF THE DAY: BING AND FRANK SINATRA
Here are some wonderful photos of the two blue eyes - Bing and Frank Sinatra. They appeared together many times during their careers...
Sunday, March 31, 2024
BING AND HIS FAITH
In 1916, Bing became an an altar boy for St. Aloysius Church. Every third week, he attended and served mass at 6:30 a.m., Monday through Friday.
One of Bing’s friends asked him if he would like to sing at the church. Bing was hesitant, but ended up singing with the choir, and also doing a solo. Crosby impressed the other boys and many attending the church service.
St. Aloysius and Gonzaga were very important to Crosby. Both institutions played a big role in his upbringing and life. Crosby would later star in a movie that was based on his friendship with one of the priests at Gonzaga.
The Spokane neighborhood where Bing Crosby lived was mainly Catholic and was sometimes referred to as the “Little Vatican,” or the “Holy Land.”
Sunday, March 17, 2024
Friday, March 15, 2024
BING'S DISCOGRAPHY: MARCH 15, 1957
Here is a quick recording session that Bing had 67 years ago!
Date: 3/15/57Location: Los Angeles
Label: CAPITOL (US)
"Man On Fire" film title
Bing Crosby (voc), Nelson Riddle and his Orchestra (orc)
a. 16694-1 Man On Fire(Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster) - 2:54
EMI (UK) (EMI) CD7243 5 2281527 — LEGENDS OF THE 20th CENTURY - BING CROSBY (1999)
b. 16693-1 Seven Nights A Week(Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn) - 2:31
Both titles on:
HARRY LILLIS (UK) CDHLYCD-001 — HARRY LILLIS - STEP TO THE REAR (limited circulation) (1993)
JASMINE (UK) CDJASCD 495 — NELSON RIDDLE - LET'S FACE THE MUSIC AND DANCE (2008)
March 15, Friday. Records “Man on Fire” and “Seven Nights a Week” for Capitol Records with an orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle. Bing’s record of “Man on Fire” is heard by the producers of the Man on Fire movie and is brought in to be used in the opening titles of the film.