Bing Crosby Album Guide and Biography

Classic Rock and Roots

Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. Crosby was a leader in record sales, network radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. He was one of the first global cultural icons. Crosby made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs

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00:00Bing Crosby was among the most important singers in the history of American popular music.

00:07His bass baritone was immediately recognizable on even his earliest pop-chazz recordings.

00:16His relaxed, crooning style influenced just about every white pop singer who came after

00:22him, including Elvis Presley, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin.

00:30Fortunately, Crosby's early career coincided with the development of the microphone and

00:36electronic recordings.

00:38The jazz singers who preceded him were required to shout and project their vocal performances,

00:45whereas Crosby's softer crooning delivery could be amplified with microphones and heard

00:52amid the din of a band.

00:55Crosby was born Harry Crosby in Tacoma, Washington in 1903.

01:01His brother Bob Crosby would also become a notable jazz figure.

01:06In the summer of 1917, while witnessing a performance by Al Jolson in Spokane, Washington, Crosby was

01:14bitten by the music bug and decided that a career in music was for him.

01:21In 1923, Crosby formed a band with some high school chums called the Music Allelers, featuring

01:29himself on vocal and drums.

01:32The band played shows in clubs and at high school dances.

01:36After two years, the band broke up, and in 1925, Crosby's musical connections led him

01:43to Paul Whiteman, the leader of the most successful jazz orchestra in America.

01:49By 1926, Whiteman had hired Crosby.

01:53Crosby would eventually be featured in Whiteman's touring band, with two other singers as the Rhythm

02:00Boys.

02:01As one of the Whiteman fold, Crosby would work with some of the best white jazz musicians

02:06in the country, including Big Spiderbeck, Jack Teagarden, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, and

02:14Eddie Lang.

02:16Crosby's magnetic voice quickly made him the star of the Rhythm Boys, and he would record

02:22a number one pop single with the Whiteman Orchestra with Old Man River in 1928.

02:30Eventually, Crosby's love of alcohol, in good times, put him at odds with Whiteman, and

02:36he left Whiteman with the Rhythm Boys to join the Gus Arnheim Orchestra.

02:41While, with Arnheim, the two singers in the Rhythm Boys were increasingly pushed out of

02:47the spotlight, leading to inevitable bitterness and the eventual dissolution of the trio.

02:54Crosby was now on his own, but by 1931, he had signed a recording deal with Brunswick

03:01Records and a performance deal with CBS Radio.

03:05Crosby performed for 15 minutes every week on CBS, giving him a national audience for

03:11the material he had recorded for Brunswick.

03:15The songs Out of Nowhere, At Your Command, and Just One More Chance all became huge hits

03:22for Crosby in 1931.

03:26As the 30s progressed, Crosby would become the leading singer in America, placing more hits

03:32on the charts than any other singer.

03:35He also made the transition to movie star, appearing in a number of short musical films by director

03:43Max Sennett.

03:45He signed a new recording deal with Decca Records and appeared in his first full-length film,

03:51The Big Broadcast, in 1932.

03:56Crosby would ultimately appear in 79 films.

04:00During World War II, Crosby was one of the most dedicated of the performers who traveled

04:06into the European theater of war to entertain American troops.

04:12Crosby's dedication to the fighting men did not go unnoticed and only served to increase

04:18his popularity.

04:20On Christmas Day 1941, Crosby introduced what would become his most famous song, White Christmas,

04:27in a radio broadcast.

04:29By the following year, Crosby had recorded the song, and that recording of White Christmas

04:34went on to become the biggest-selling single in recording history, with worldwide sales

04:40of over 100 million copies.

04:44After a career that lasted for more than 50 years, Crosby collapsed and died of a heart

04:49attack while playing golf in Spain in 1977.

04:54Of the myriad of Bing Crosby collections available, the multi-volume The Chronological Bing Crosby

05:01from 1999 is the most comprehensive, being his legendary years 1931-1957 from 1993 and Gold from 2008,

05:15are also worthy collections of Crosby songs.

05:20of the

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