Misplaced Pages

#305694

103-404: Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American actor, singer, television producer, television and radio personality, and businessman. 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

206-520: A 1975 interview, "During my days in the Navy in World War II , I remember walking the streets of Calcutta, India, on the coast; it was a lonely night, so far from my home and from my new wife, Gen. I needed something to lift my spirits. As I passed a Hindu sitting on the corner of a street, I heard something surprisingly familiar. I came back to see the man playing one of those old Vitrolas, like those of RCA with

309-695: A Bing memorabilia display at the library. Larry Crosby was president of Bing Crosby Enterprises (BCE). Bing and Larry invested in: Auroratone films, window-sash holders, automatic coffee dispensers, Minute Maid frozen orange juice, and the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball club, Del Mar Turf Club, Del Mar Racetrack , US Army Signal Corpsman Jack Mullin 's experimental magnetic audiotape (used on his show), 2-inch Quadruplex videotape , real estate, mines, oil wells, cattle ranches and many other investments. Bing Crosby also invested by buying Television stations . Bing Crosby Enterprises and Larry's office

412-502: A Christmas Day radio broadcast in 1941. A copy of the recording from the radio program is owned by the estate of Bing Crosby and was loaned to CBS Sunday Morning for their December 25, 2011, program. The song appeared in his films Holiday Inn (1942), and—a decade later—in White Christmas (1954). Crosby's record hit the charts on October 3, 1942, and rose to number 1 on October 31, where it stayed for 11 weeks. A holiday perennial,

515-508: A Five and Ten Cent Store) " were among the best-selling songs of 1931. Ten of the top 50 songs of 1931 included Crosby with others or as a solo act. A "Battle of the Baritones" with singer Russ Columbo proved short-lived, replaced with the slogan "Bing Was King". Crosby played the lead in a series of musical comedy short films for Mack Sennett, signed with Paramount, and starred in his first full-length film, 1932's The Big Broadcast (1932),

618-795: A Hot Time in the Town of Berlin (When the Yanks Go Marching In)", and "Is You Is or Is You Ain't (Ma' Baby?)" which helped the morale of the American public. In 1962, Crosby was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award . He has been inducted into the halls of fame for both radio and popular music. In 2007, Crosby was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame and in 2008 the Western Music Hall of Fame. Crosby's popularity around

721-460: A bad situation. Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Phil Harris, and also Crosby were masters at this, and the networks weren't about to give it up easily. Crosby's insistence eventually factored into the further development of magnetic tape sound recording and the radio industry's widespread adoption of it. He used his clout, both professionally and financially, for innovations in audio. But NBC and CBS refused to broadcast prerecorded radio programs. Crosby left

824-576: A bookkeeper, and Catherine Helen "Kate" (née Harrigan; 1873–1964). His mother was a second-generation Irish-American . His father was of Scottish and English descent; an ancestor, Simon Crosby, emigrated from the Kingdom of England to New England in the 1630s during the Puritan migration to New England . Through another line, also on his father's side, Crosby is descended from Mayflower passenger William Brewster ( c. 1567 – 1644). In 1917, Crosby took

927-651: A builder from County Cork , Ireland. Larry Crosby served in the United States Army during World War I. Larry Crosby attended an officers' training camp at the Presidio, San Francisco . After the training trains new troops at Camp Funston at Fort Riley , Manhattan, Kansas . Larry Crosby married Elaine Catherine Couper on May 4, 1926, in Wallace, Idaho . Ted and Larry Crosby wrote the 205 page book Bing , about their brother Bing Crosby, released in 1937. In 1946, Larry updated

1030-675: A chance to present an independent act, they were spotted by a member of the Paul Whiteman organization. Whiteman needed something different to break up his musical selections, and Crosby and Rinker filled this requirement. After less than a year in show business, they were attached to one of the biggest names. Hired for $ 150 a week in 1926, they debuted with Whiteman on December 6 at the Tivoli Theatre in Chicago. Their first recording, in October 1926,

1133-524: A clear vocal style. Crosby credited Kapp for choosing hit songs, working with many other musicians, and most important, diversifying his repertoire into several styles and genres. Kapp helped Crosby have number one hits in Christmas music , Hawaiian music , and country music , and top-30 hits in Irish music , French music , rhythm and blues , and ballads . Crosby elaborated on an idea of Al Jolson's: phrasing, or

SECTION 10

#1732845205306

1236-479: A contract with Paramount, and he began a pattern of making three films a year. Crosby led his radio show for Woodbury Soap for two seasons while his live appearances dwindled. Crosby's records produced hits during the Depression when sales were down. Audio engineer Steve Hoffman stated, "By the way, Bing actually saved the record business in 1934 when he agreed to support Decca founder Jack Kapp's crazy idea of lowering

1339-429: A degree. As a freshman, Crosby played on the university's baseball team. The university granted him an honorary doctorate in 1937. Gonzaga University houses a large collection of photographs, correspondence, and other material related to Crosby. On November 8, 1937, after Lux Radio Theatre 's adaptation of She Loves Me Not , Joan Blondell asked Crosby how he got his nickname: Crosby: "Well, I'll tell you, back in

1442-524: A demonstration of a German broadcast quality reel-to-reel tape recorder brought to the United States by John T. Mullin , Crosby invested $ 50,000 in the California electronics company Ampex to build copies. He then persuaded ABC to allow him to tape his shows and became the first performer to prerecord his radio shows and master his commercial recordings onto magnetic tape . Crosby has been associated with

1545-776: A fortune from the Minute Maid Orange Juice Corporation, in which he was a principal stockholder. During the Golden Age of Radio , performers had to create their shows live, sometimes even redoing the program a second time for the West Coast time zone. Crosby had to do two live radio shows on the same day, three hours apart, for the East and West Coasts. Crosby's radio career took a significant turn in 1945, when he clashed with NBC over his insistence that he be allowed to pre-record his radio shows. The live production of radio shows

1648-464: A jazz singer, he was not strictly only a jazz singer as he modeled the style and techniques to a broad scope of music that he performed, ranging from Jazz to Country to even such material as operetta arias. During the early portion of his solo career (about 1931–1934), Crosby's emotional, often pleading style of crooning was popular. But Jack Kapp, manager of Brunswick and later Decca, talked Crosby into dropping many of his jazzier mannerisms in favor of

1751-428: A kind of symbol of America, of the amiable, humorous citizen of a free land. Crosby, however, seldom bothers to contemplate his future. For one thing, he enjoys hearing himself sing, and if ever a day should dawn when the public wearies of him, he will complacently go right on singing—to himself." The biggest hit song of Crosby's career was his recording of Irving Berlin 's " White Christmas ", which Crosby introduced on

1854-431: A number of television series, including Crosby's own unsuccessful ABC sitcom The Bing Crosby Show in the 1964–1965 season (with co-stars Beverly Garland and Frank McHugh ). The company produced two ABC medical dramas, Ben Casey (1961–1966) and Breaking Point (1963–1964), the popular Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971) military comedy on CBS, as well as the lesser-known show Slattery's People (1964–1965). Crosby

1957-663: A partnership that produced four million-selling singles: " Pistol Packin' Mama ", " Jingle Bells ", " Don't Fence Me In ", and "South America, Take It Away". They made one film appearance together in Road to Rio singing "You Don't Have to Know the Language", and sang together on radio airwaves throughout the 1940s and 1950s. They appeared as guests on each other's shows and on Armed Forces Radio Service programming during and after World War II. The quartet's additional Top-10 Billboard hits from 1943 to 1945 include "The Vict'ry Polka", "There'll Be

2060-553: A performer and was in demand as a solo singer. Crosby became the star attraction of the Rhythm Boys. In 1928, he had his first number one hit, a jazz-influenced rendition of " Ol' Man River ". In 1929, the Rhythm Boys appeared in the film King of Jazz with Whiteman, but Crosby's growing dissatisfaction with Whiteman led to the Rhythm Boys leaving his organization. They joined the Gus Arnheim Orchestra, performing nightly in

2163-475: A pretty good boss, but I think he listens to too many people." Larry Crosby The seven Crosby children were the four elder brothers Larry, Everett (1896–1966), Ted (1900–1973), and Bing (1903–1977), two sisters Catherine (1905–1974) and Mary Rose (1907–1990), and the youngest sibling, brother Bob (1913–1993). His parents were English-American bookkeeper Harry Lillis Crosby Sr. (1871–1950) and Irish-American Catherine Helen "Kate" Harrigan (1873–1964), daughter of

SECTION 20

#1732845205306

2266-416: A profit, in part because of the cash spent signing bands and partly due to ill-made bets on the number of CDs the market requires for particular acts." In 2011, Amazon sold an estimated 440,000 digital copies of Lady Gaga 's Born This Way in its first two days at a price of 99 cents. This promotional campaign caused a loss of over $ 3 million for the company. In 2014, U2 's album Songs of Innocence

2369-483: A pseudonym coined in 1944 by Bob Musel, an American journalist based in London, after Crosby had recorded three 15-minute programs with Jack Russin for broadcast to Germany from ABSIE. According to Shoshana Klebanoff, Crosby became one of the richest men in the history of show business. He had investments in real estate, mines, oil wells, cattle ranches, race horses, music publishing, baseball teams, and television. Crosby made

2472-402: A summer job as property boy at Spokane's Auditorium, where he witnessed some of the acts of the day, including Al Jolson , who held Crosby spellbound with ad-libbing and parodies of Hawaiian songs . Crosby later described Jolson's delivery as "electric". Crosby graduated from Gonzaga High School in 1920 and enrolled at Gonzaga University. He attended Gonzaga for three years but did not earn

2575-458: A threat of divorce in March 1931, he applied himself to his career. On September 2, 1931, 15 Minutes with Bing Crosby , his nationwide solo radio debut, began broadcasting. The weekly broadcast made Crosby a hit. Before the end of the year, he signed with both Brunswick Records and CBS Radio . " Out of Nowhere ", "Just One More Chance", " At Your Command ", and " I Found a Million Dollar Baby (in

2678-468: A throat infection. Larry's son, Jack Crosby (1927–2015), was the art director on the ABC daytime drama General Hospital for 17 years. Jack also worked on Seven Keys Show , hosted by Jack Narz . After working for ABC, Jack was the art direction teacher at Loyola Marymount University and Pepperdine University . Larry Crosby's wife, Elaine died on January 28, 1973, at St. John's Hospital. Larry died of cancer in

2781-426: A week, if he chose, and then take a month off. But the networks and sponsors were adamantly opposed. The public wouldn't stand for 'canned' radio, the networks argued. There was something magical for listeners in the fact that what they were hearing was being performed and heard live everywhere, at that precise instant. Some of the best moments in comedy came when a line was blown and the star had to rely on wit to rescue

2884-402: A wonderful pie, but sang like a bird, and it was common gossip when she was out rowing on the lake, that either Katie Harrigan or an angel is out there singing." Larry Crosby I don't think anything has been a struggle for Bing. Everything comes easy, but he's not a detail man. Here at the office he thinks we can do everything in one day, when actually it takes weeks. He wants it right now! He's

2987-510: Is "White Christmas" 2,000,000 impressions of which have been sold in the U.S. and 250,000 in Great Britain." "Nine out of ten singers and bandleaders listen to Crosby's broadcasts each Thursday night and follow his lead. The day after he sings a song over the air—any song—some 50,000 copies of it are sold throughout the U.S. Time and again Crosby has taken some new or unknown ballad, has given it what

3090-494: Is 1986 the tournament moved from California to the Bermuda Run 's, Bermuda Run Country Club near Winston-Salem, North Carolina . Bing did not want to record the song " Silent Night , as he did not want money from a sacred song. So, Larry arranged for all the royalties from the recording to be given to charity. Bing used Larry's name in the 1938 film The Star Maker , about a songwriter called Larry Earl . Larry and Bing founded

3193-635: Is known in trade circles as the 'big goose' and made it a hit single-handed and overnight... Precisely what the future holds for Crosby neither his family nor his friends can conjecture. He has achieved greater popularity, made more money, attracted vaster audiences than any other entertainer in history. And his star is still in the ascendant. His contract with Decca runs until 1955. His contract with Paramount runs until 1954. Records which he made ten years ago are selling better than ever before. The nation's appetite for Crosby's voice and personality appears insatiable. To soldiers overseas and to foreigners he has become

Bing Crosby - Misplaced Pages Continue

3296-448: Is lower than most opera basses care to venture, and they tend to sound as if they were in the cellar when they get there. Crosby's was among the most popular and successful musical acts of the 20th century. Billboard magazine used different methodologies during his career, but his chart success remains impressive: 396 chart singles, including roughly 41 number 1 hits. Crosby had separate charting singles every year between 1931 and 1954;

3399-414: Is one of the most important tools to sell records. A research commissioned by one of major label groups stated that "four out of five music purchases can be traced to radio airplay. In 2007, Record Store Day was inaugurated to bring together fans, artists, and thousands of independent record stores across the world. The 2013 event of Record Store Day was credited with the highest U.S. vinyl sales, and

3502-462: The Billboard 200 chart during its corresponding week of each concert. This strategy led Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan tighten up their policy on how tickets bundled with albums would count for charting purposes. Travis Scott bundled his 2018 album Astroworld with his 28-piece merchandise line, which contributed to first-week sales exceeding 270,000 traditional units and a number-one debut on

3605-521: The Billboard 200. RIAA summary by format, in million copies per year. At times, labels overshipped records to retailers with too high expectations of commercial response. Records not sold to consumers may be returned to the label. In January 2008, media reported that over one million unsold copies of Robbie Williams 's album Rudebox were sent to China to be crushed. EMI owner Guy Hands said, "Roughly 85% of what EMI does get to release never makes

3708-607: The Century City area of Los Angeles on February 7, 1975, at the age of 80. Larry Crosby is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California. Larry Crosby published the book Crosby Genealogy about the Crosby family tree. Originally published privately, but now public. Along with being the manager of Bing, Larry was the manager of the Music Maids a vocal group started in 1939 by Trudy Erwin and Dottie Mesmer. Bing and

3811-520: The Christmas season since he starred in Irving Berlin 's musical film Holiday Inn and also famously sang " White Christmas " in the movie. Through audio recordings, Crosby produced his radio programs with the same directorial tools and craftsmanship (editing, retaking, rehearsal, time shifting ) used in motion picture production, a practice that became the industry standard. In addition to his work with early audio tape recording, Crosby helped finance

3914-757: The Coconut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel. Singing with the Arnheim Orchestra, Crosby's solos began to steal the show while the Rhythm Boys' act gradually became redundant. Harry Barris wrote several of Crosby's hits, including "At Your Command", " I Surrender Dear ", and " Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams ". When Mack Sennett signed Crosby to a solo film contract in 1931, a break with the Rhythm Boys became almost inevitable. Crosby married Dixie Lee in September 1930. After

4017-621: The Music Maids recorded songs in 1939 to 1947. Music Maids were some in of Bing's shows like: Broadway Melody of 1940 , Hit Parade of 1943 , Hoosier Holiday (1943), Girl Crazy (1943), Yolanda and the Thief (1945), and Riff Raff (1947). Larry Crosby was president of The Crosby Foundation established 1902. Bing Crosby, through Larry Crosby, the president of The Crosby Foundation, shared his wealth. Bing also used his stardom and popularity to help friends, acquaintances and strangers. He helped others both publicly and privately. Crosby managed

4120-610: The " belting " associated with Al Jolson and Billy Murray , who had been obligated to reach the back seats in New York theaters without the aid of a microphone. As music critic Henry Pleasants noted in The Great American Popular Singers , something new had entered American music, a style that might be called "singing in American" with conversational ease. This new sound led to the popular epithet crooner . Crosby admired Louis Armstrong for his musical ability, and

4223-767: The 1930s, Crosby starred with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour in six of the seven Road to musical comedies between 1940 and 1962 (Lamour was replaced with Joan Collins in The Road to Hong Kong and limited to a lengthy cameo), cementing Crosby and Hope as an on-and-off duo, despite never declaring themselves a "team" in the sense that Laurel and Hardy or Martin and Lewis ( Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ) were teams. The series consists of Road to Singapore (1940), Road to Zanzibar (1941), Road to Morocco (1942), Road to Utopia (1946), Road to Rio (1947), Road to Bali (1952), and The Road to Hong Kong (1962). When they appeared solo, Crosby and Hope frequently made note of

Bing Crosby - Misplaced Pages Continue

4326-471: The 1950s and into the 1960s, 45 rpm seven-inch single sales were considered the primary market for the recording industry, while albums were a secondary market. The careers of notable rock and roll performers such as Elvis Presley were driven primarily by single sales. Album sales reached its peak in English-language popular music from the mid-1960s to the mid-2000s (known as " album era ") in which

4429-452: The 2014 edition resulted in independent retailers recording the highest percentage of physical album sales, since the SoundScan system was introduced in 1991. In 2004, Prince became the first major artist to bundle his album, Musicology , with tour ticket purchases, giving copies of the album to each audience upon entrance to the venue. Those copies were counted as sales for the album on

4532-872: The Clemmer Theatre in Spokane (now known as the Bing Crosby Theater ). Crosby was initially a member of a vocal trio called The Three Harmony Aces with Al Rinker accompanying on piano from the pit, to entertain between the films. Crosby and Al continued at the Clemmer Theatre for several months, often with three other men—Wee Georgie Crittenden, Frank McBride, and Lloyd Grinnell—and they were billed The Clemmer Trio or The Clemmer Entertainers depending who performed. In October 1925, Crosby and Rinker decided to seek fame in California. They traveled to Los Angeles, where Bailey introduced them to her show business contacts. The Fanchon and Marco Time Agency hired them for 13 weeks for

4635-478: The Crosby Clambake golf tournament in California. The Crosby Clambake paired Hollywood stars with pro golfers. The event grew and provided donations to number of charities associated with golf and education. The CROSBY National Celebrity Golf Tournament was the United States longest running charity golf tournament. Bing died in 1977, but the tournament had continued in his honor by his wife Kathryn Crosby . In

4738-498: The Crosby Show, working with Jack Mullin as Chief Engineer. 3M had a new product black oxide plastic-backed magnetic tape that gave good recordings. The first radio show to broadcast from magnetic tape on 1 October 1947. BCE Electronic Division also was the first to do tape editing. On 11 November 1951 Ampex and Bing Crosby Enterprises demonstrated the first playback from the prototype BCE Mark I recorder at 360 ips . BCE Mark I used

4841-501: The Guinness Book, as it is not an organization that counts or audits artists' sales in the United States or worldwide. According to different sources, Bing Crosby's sales number varies between: 300 million, 500 million, or even 1 billion, making him one of the best-selling singers in history. The single "White Christmas" sold over 50 million copies according to Guinness World Records . For 15 years (1934, 1937, 1940, 1943–1954), Crosby

4944-429: The addition of pianist and aspiring songwriter Harry Barris made the difference, and The Rhythm Boys were born. The additional voice meant they could be heard more easily in large New York theaters. Crosby gained valuable experience on tour for a year with Whiteman and performing and recording with Bix Beiderbecke , Jack Teagarden , Tommy Dorsey , Jimmy Dorsey , Eddie Lang , and Hoagy Carmichael . Crosby matured as

5047-526: The album was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption. From the early 1980s, the CD became the dominant format for both albums and singles, due to factors such as higher audio quality, durability, ease of use, and longer playing time. In 1986, Dire Straits ' Brothers in Arms became the first album in history to sell over one million copies on CD. In October 2005, " Hollaback Girl " by Gwen Stefani

5150-594: The annual Bing Crosby National Pro-Amateur (also called the charity golf Crosby Clambake started in 1937; today known as the AT&;T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am ) at Pebble Beach, California , near Monterey . Starting in 1971, he was also the director of "Prisoners in Exchange for American Construction Enterprise (PEACE)", a group seeking better treatment of prisoners of war taken during the Vietnam War . In 1937 Bing founded

5253-446: The annual re-release of "White Christmas" extended that streak to 1957. He had 24 separate popular singles in 1939 alone. Statistician Joel Whitburn at Billboard determined that Crosby was America's most successful recording act of the 1930s and again in the 1940s. The number of Bing Crosby record sales varies. Organizations that audit record sales do not have an official tally, but some claim sales are notable, namely: In 1960, Crosby

SECTION 50

#1732845205306

5356-454: The art of making a song's lyric ring true. "I used to tell Sinatra over and over," said Tommy Dorsey, "there's only one singer you ought to listen to and his name is Crosby. All that matters to him is the words, and that's the only thing that ought to for you, too." Critic Henry Pleasants wrote in 1985: [While] the octave B flat to B flat in Bing's voice at that time [1930s] is, to my ears, one of

5459-533: The book Million Selling Records . The Recording Industry Association of America did not institute its gold record certification program until 1958 when Crosby's record sales were low. Before 1958, gold records were awarded by record companies. Crosby charted 23 Billboard hits from 47 recorded songs with the Andrews Sisters , whose Decca record sales were second only to Crosby's throughout the 1940s. They were his most frequent collaborators on disc from 1939 to 1952,

5562-510: The book to 239 pages and was released as The Story of Bing Crosby , Larry had the foreword done by Bob Hope for the new book. Larry Crosby's son, John, married Beatrice Turner Crosby on January 19, 1947. They had three children, Michael Dennis Crosby(1948–), Cynthia Lane Crosby (1952–), James Patrick Crosby (1955–). Larry Crosby has a daughter named, Molly Manning Crosby (1933–1953). On August 25, 1953, Larry Crosby's daughter, Molly Crosby, died at St. John's Hospital at age 19, from complications of

5665-517: The close of World War II, Crosby topped the list as the person who had done the most for G.I. morale, ahead of President Franklin D. Roosevelt , General Dwight Eisenhower , and Bob Hope . The June 18, 1945, issue of Life magazine stated, "America's number one star, Bing Crosby, has won more fans, made more money than any entertainer in history. Today he is a kind of national institution." "In all, 60,000,000 Crosby discs have been marketed since he made his first record in 1931. His biggest best seller

5768-524: The deck of an Ampex 200, a portable magnetic tape recorder and had a bandwidth of about 1 MHz (SDTV has about 4.5 MHz). Bing had used the Ampex 200 to make high quality recordings of his shows. BCE Mark II recorder had 12 tracks recorded on the 1 inch tape, with 10 of the tracks for the video, still with the modified Ampex 200 deck. Bing Crosby Enterprises recorders were used just for sound, video and to record telemetry data also. The Mark II produced

5871-510: The development of videotape, bought television stations, bred racehorses, and co-owned the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team, during which time the team won two World Series ( 1960 and 1971 ). Crosby was born on May 3, 1903, in Tacoma , Washington, in a house his father built at 1112 North J Street. Three years later, his family moved to Spokane in Eastern Washington state , where Crosby

5974-551: The early 20th century led to the development of the vinyl LP record as an important medium for recorded music. In 1948, Columbia Records began to bring out 33 1 ⁄ 3  rpm twelve-inch extended-play LPs that could play for as long as 52 minutes, or 26 minutes per side. Musical film soundtracks, jazz works, and thematic albums by singers such as Frank Sinatra quickly utilized the new longer format. Billboard launched its first regularly published weekly albums chart, Best Selling Popular Albums , on March 24, 1956. During

6077-421: The emergence of eBay , MusicMagpie , Alibris and other dedicated websites. Larry Crosby Laurence Earl Crosby (January 3, 1895 – February 7, 1975) was the long-serving publicity director of his younger brother, Bing Crosby , a manager, a philanthropist, an inventor and an author. He was the eldest of Bing's six siblings. Bing and Larry's mom: Katie (Catherine "Kate Crosby")... "not only baked

6180-565: The film High Society (1956). In Crosby's performances, the presence of jazz phrasing, jazz rhythm and jazz improvisation varied depending on the piece of music, but those were elements that Crosby frequently used. This can be observed particularly in his straight jazz work during the late 1920s/early 1930s, Crosby's recordings with Buddy Cole and His Trio from the mid-1950s, as well as in his numerous collaborations with such jazz musicians as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Venuti, or Eddie Lang. However, while Crosby can be called

6283-468: The first Grammy Global Achievement Award . Crosby is one of 33 people to have three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , in the categories of motion pictures, radio, and audio recording. He was also known for his collaborations with his friend Bob Hope , starring in the Road to ... films from 1940 to 1962. Crosby influenced the development of the post–World War II recording industry . After seeing

SECTION 60

#1732845205306

6386-490: The first of 55 films in which he received top billing. Crosby would appear in almost 80 pictures. He signed a contract with Jack Kapp 's new record company, Decca , in late 1934. Crosby's first commercial sponsor on radio was Cremo Cigars and his fame spread nationwide. After a long run in New York, Crosby went back to Hollywood to film The Big Broadcast . His appearances, records, and radio work substantially increased his impact. The success of his first film brought Crosby

6489-552: The flight or to meet Armstrong's "crude, mob-linked but devoted manager, Joe Glaser ". Crosby threatened to leave the film and refused to discuss the matter. Cohn gave in; Armstrong's musical scenes and comic dialogue extended his influence to the silver screen, creating more opportunities for him and other African Americans to appear in future films. Crosby also ensured behind the scenes that Armstrong received equal billing with his white co-stars. Armstrong appreciated Crosby's progressive attitudes on race, and often expressed gratitude for

6592-425: The genre to a wider audience. In the framework of the novelty-singing style of the Rhythm Boys , Crosby bent notes and added off-tune phrasing, an approach that was rooted in jazz. He had already been introduced to Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith before his first appearance on record. Crosby and Armstrong remained warm acquaintances for decades, occasionally singing together in later years, e.g. "Now You Has Jazz" in

6695-503: The history of recorded music. Michael Jackson 's 1982 album Thriller remains the best-selling album in history, with an estimated 70 million copies sold worldwide, recognized by the Guinness World Records . " White Christmas " (1942) performed by Bing Crosby is believed to be the best-selling single , with an estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide. Before the existence of recording medium and its player,

6798-477: The horn speaker. The man was listening to Bing Crosby sing, "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive". I stopped and smiled in grateful acknowledgment. The Hindu nodded and smiled back. The whole world knew and loved Bing Crosby." His popularity in India led many Hindu singers to imitate and emulate him, notably Kishore Kumar, considered the "Bing Crosby of India". Throughout Europe and Russia, Crosby was also known as "Der Bingle",

6901-788: The knee-britches day, when I was a wee little tyke, a mere broth of a lad, as we say in Spokane, I used to totter around the streets, with a gun on each hip, my favorite after school pastime was a game known as " Cops and Robbers ", I didn't care which side I was on, when a cop or robber came into view, I would haul out my trusty six-shooters, made of wood, and loudly exclaim bing ! bing !, as my luckless victim fell clutching his side, I would shout bing ! bing !, and I would let him have it again, and then as his friends came to his rescue, shooting as they came, I would shout bing ! bing ! bing ! bing ! bing ! bing ! bing ! bing !" Blondell: "I'm surprised they didn't call you "Killer" Crosby! Now tell me another story, Grandpa! Crosby: "No, so help me, it's

7004-641: The local paper called The Bingville Bugle which the young Harry liked. In time, Bingo got shortened to Bing. In 1923, Crosby was invited to join a new band composed of high-school students a few years younger than himself. Al and Miles Rinker (brothers of singer Mildred Bailey ), James Heaton, Claire Pritchard and Robert Pritchard, along with drummer Crosby, formed the Musicaladers, who performed at dances both for high school students and club-goers. The group performed on Spokane radio station KHQ , but disbanded after two years. Crosby and Al Rinker obtained work at

7107-416: The loveliest I have heard in forty-five years of listening to baritones, both classical and popular, it dropped conspicuously in later years. From the mid-1950s, Bing was more comfortable in a bass range while maintaining a baritone quality, with the best octave being G to G, or even F to F. In a recording he made of ' Dardanella ' with Louis Armstrong in 1960, he attacks lightly and easily on a low E flat. This

7210-550: The much younger Joan Collins and Peter Sellers . Collins was used in place of their longtime partner Dorothy Lamour, whom Crosby felt was getting too old for the role, though Hope refused to do the film without her, and she instead made a lengthy and elaborate cameo appearance. Shortly before his death in 1977, Crosby had planned another Road film in which he, Hope, and Lamour search for the Fountain of Youth. Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Going My Way in 1944 and

7313-491: The music industry earned profit through selling musical compositions on sheet music . The very first sales chart published by Billboard magazine in the United States was the Sheet Music Best Sellers chart. Following the invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison in 1877, the music industry began hiring singers to record songs made by composers. Due to the length limit of recording media, singles were

7416-494: The narration and song vocals for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow segment. In 1960, he starred in High Time , a collegiate comedy with Fabian Forte and Tuesday Weld that predicted the emerging gap between Crosby and the new younger generation of musicians and actors who had begun their careers after World War II. The following year, Crosby and Hope reunited for one more Road movie, The Road to Hong Kong , which teamed them up with

7519-449: The network and remained off the air for seven months, creating a legal battle with his sponsor Kraft that was settled out of court. Crosby returned to broadcasting for the last 13 weeks of the 1945–1946 season. Record sales Although an accurate worldwide sales figure is hard to determine, it is widely acknowledged that the Beatles have sold more records than any other artist in

7622-515: The non-profit organization Dixie Lee Crosby Memorial Foundation , which aids cancer research on December 27, 1952. Dixie Lee was the first wife of Bing; she died of cancer on November 1, 1952, at age 42. Gonzaga University opened a new library, the Crosby Library, now the Crosby Center, on November 3, 1957. Bing attended Gonzaga as a pre-law student. Larry, as Bing's business manager, set up

7725-599: The only available commercial releases. In 1900, the US record sales is estimated at 3 million copies. The music industry continued its growth, and by 1921 the value of record sales in the US reached $ 106 million with 140 million records being sold. Album sales were first reported by Billboard magazine on March 24, 1945. An album was then defined as a box containing a set of singles, such as Glenn Miller by Glenn Miller , as well as Selections from Going My Way and Merry Christmas by Bing Crosby . Technological developments in

7828-470: The original 1942 master had become damaged due to its frequent use in pressing additional singles. In 1977, after Crosby died, the song was re-released and reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. Crosby was dismissive of his role in the song's success, saying "a jackdaw with a cleft palate could have sung it successfully". In the wake of a solid decade of headlining mainly smash hit musical comedy films in

7931-419: The other in a comically insulting fashion. They performed together countless times on stage, radio, film, and television, and made numerous brief and not so brief appearances together in movies aside from the "Road" pictures, Variety Girl (1947) being an example of lengthy scenes and songs together along with billing. In the 1949 Disney animated film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad , Crosby provided

8034-457: The price of singles from a dollar to 35 cents and getting a royalty for records sold instead of a flat fee. Bing's name and his artistry saved the recording industry. All the other artists signed to Decca after Bing did. Without him, Jack Kapp wouldn't have had a chance in hell of making Decca work and the Great Depression would have wiped out phonograph records for good." His first son Gary

8137-685: The revue The Syncopation Idea starting at the Boulevard Theater in Los Angeles and then on the Loew's circuit . They each earned $ 75 a week. As minor parts of The Syncopation Idea , Crosby and Rinker started to develop as entertainers. They had a lively style that was popular with college students. After The Syncopation Idea closed, they worked in the Will Morrissey Music Hall Revue. They honed their skills with Morrissey, and when they got

8240-470: The role in later years. During World War II , Crosby made live appearances before American troops who had been fighting in the European Theater . He learned how to pronounce German from written scripts and read propaganda broadcasts intended for German forces. The nickname "Der Bingle" was common among Crosby's German listeners and came to be used by his English-speaking fans. In a poll of U.S. troops at

8343-547: The sales office for Ampex and 3M magnetic tape products (video and audio) in 1949. In 1948 Bing Crosby Enterprises was awarded the distributorship right for Ampex recorders and the 3M tape west of the Mississippi River . Bing and Larry set up a recording studio in Bing's ranch house in Elko, Nevada . Ampex and Bing Crosby Enterprises worked together on the first video tape recorder. Bing used two Magnetophon to audio record

8446-449: The song was repeatedly re-released by Decca, charting another 16 times. It topped the charts again in 1945 and a third time in January 1947. The song remains the bestselling single of all time. Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" has sold over 50 million copies worldwide. His recording was so popular that Crosby was obliged to re-record it in 1947 using the same musicians and backup singers;

8549-473: The trumpet maestro was a formative influence on Crosby's singing style. When the two met, they became friends. In 1936, Crosby exercised an option in his Paramount contract to regularly star in an out-of-house film. Signing an agreement with Columbia for a single motion picture, Crosby wanted Armstrong to appear in a screen adaptation of The Peacock Feather that eventually became Pennies from Heaven . Crosby asked Harry Cohn , but Cohn had no desire to pay for

8652-466: The truth, ask Mister De Mille." De Mille: "I'll vouch for it, Bing." As it happens, that story was pure whimsy for dramatic effect; the Associated Press had reported as early as February 1932—as would later be confirmed by both Bing himself and his biographer Charles Thompson—that it was in fact a neighbor—Valentine Hobart, circa 1910—who had named him "Bingo from Bingville" after a comic feature in

8755-458: The world was such that Dorothy Masuka , the best-selling African recording artist, stated that, "Only Bing Crosby the famous American crooner sold more records than me in Africa." His great popularity throughout the continent led other African singers to emulate him, including Masuka, Dolly Rathebe , and Míriam Makeba, known locally as "The Bing Crosby of Africa". Presenter Mike Douglas commented in

8858-540: Was "I've Got the Girl" with Don Clark's Orchestra, but the Columbia-issued record was inadvertently recorded at a slow speed, which increased the singers' pitch when played at 78 rpm. Throughout his career, Crosby often credited Bailey for getting him his first important job in the entertainment business. Success with Whiteman was followed by disaster when they reached New York. Whiteman considered letting them go. However,

8961-623: Was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII . In 1948, Music Digest estimated that Crosby's recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music in America. Crosby won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Going My Way (1944) and

9064-626: Was a frequent guest on the musical variety shows of the 1950s and 1960s, appearing on various variety shows as well as numerous late-night talk shows and his own highly rated specials. Bob Hope memorably devoted one of his monthly NBC specials to his long intermittent partnership with Crosby titled "On the Road With Bing". Crosby was associated with ABC's The Hollywood Palace as the show's first and most frequent guest host and appeared annually on its Christmas edition with his wife Kathryn and his younger children, and continued after The Hollywood Palace

9167-594: Was among the top 10 acts in box-office sales, and for five of those years (1944–1948) he topped the world. Crosby sang four Academy Award -winning songs—"Sweet Leilani" (1937), "White Christmas" (1942), " Swinging on a Star " (1944), "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" (1951)—and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Going My Way (1944). A survey in 2000 found that with 1,077,900,000 movie tickets sold, Crosby

9270-587: Was born in 1933 with twin boys following in 1934. By 1936, Crosby replaced his former boss, Paul Whiteman, as host of the weekly NBC radio program Kraft Music Hall , where he remained for the next decade. " Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day) ", with his trademark whistling, became his theme song and signature tune. Crosby's vocal style helped take popular singing beyond

9373-487: Was eventually canceled. In the early 1970s, Crosby made two late appearances on the Flip Wilson Show , singing duets with the comedian. His last TV appearance was a Christmas special, Merrie Olde Christmas , taped in London in September 1977 and aired weeks after his death. It was on this special that Crosby recorded a duet of " The Little Drummer Boy " and " Peace on Earth " with rock musician David Bowie . Their duet

9476-406: Was honored as "First Citizen of Record Industry" based on having sold 200 million discs. The Guinness Book reported some of the singer's worldwide sales on a few occasions: In 1973, Crosby had sold more than 400 million records worldwide, and by 1977 he had sold 500 million discs, being ranked as the most successful and best-selling musical artist in 1978. Some sources contradict these alleged sales to

9579-582: Was in a three-story building at 9028 Sunset Boulevard , West Hollywood, California , the office was built in 1936 as Bing's headquarters. Larry's office was on the second floor. California Historical Resources Commission voted to nominate the Bing Crosby Building for the listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. BCE Electronic Division grew and moved to 9030 Sunset Boulevard. The office at 9030 Sunset Boulevard later also became

9682-456: Was nominated for its sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), opposite Ingrid Bergman , becoming the first of six actors to be nominated twice for playing the same character. Crosby was the number one box office attraction for five consecutive years from 1944 to 1948. At his screen apex in 1946, Crosby starred in three of the year's five highest-grossing films: The Bells of St. Mary's , Blue Skies , and Road to Utopia . In 1963, he received

9785-507: Was nominated for the 1945 sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's . He received critical acclaim and his third Academy Award nomination for his performance as an alcoholic entertainer in The Country Girl . The Fireside Theater (1950) was his first television production. The series of 26-minute shows was filmed at Hal Roach Studios rather than performed live on the air. The "telefilms" were syndicated to individual television stations. Crosby

9888-418: Was one of the first global cultural icons . Crosby made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. Crosby's early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed, such as Frank Sinatra , Perry Como , Dean Martin , Dick Haymes , Elvis Presley , and John Lennon . Yank magazine said that Crosby

9991-407: Was one of the first singers to exploit the intimacy of the microphone rather than use the loud, penetrating vaudeville style associated with Al Jolson . Crosby was, by his own definition, a "phraser", a singer who placed equal emphasis on both the lyrics and the music. Paul Whiteman's hiring of Crosby, with phrasing that echoed jazz, particularly his bandmate Bix Beiderbecke 's trumpet, helped bring

10094-547: Was raised. In 1913, his father built a house at 508 E. Sharp Avenue. The house stands on the campus of Crosby's alma mater, Gonzaga University , as a museum housing over 200 artifacts from his life and career, including his Oscar. Crosby was the fourth of seven children: brothers Laurence Earl "Larry" (1895–1975), Everett Nathaniel (1896–1966), Edward John "Ted" (1900–1973), and George Robert "Bob" (1913–1993); and two sisters, Catherine Cordelia (1904–1974) and Mary Rose (1906–1990). His parents were Harry Lillis Crosby (1870–1950),

10197-506: Was reinforced by the musicians' union and ASCAP , which wanted to ensure continued work for their members. In On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio , John Dunning wrote about German engineers having developed a tape recorder with a near-professional broadcast quality standard: [Crosby saw] an enormous advantage in prerecording his radio shows. The scheduling could now be done at the star's convenience. He could do four shows

10300-459: Was released for free on iTunes . Apple's deal with U2 and the band's label, Universal Music, which stands to lose more than a million full-price sales because of the free download offer, guarantees $ 100 million worth of high-profile marketing for the album. The sale of second-hand albums and singles continues into the 2020s, with many record stores having a used section, as well as pawn shops such as CeX , Cash Generator , Cash Converters , and

10403-532: Was released in 1982 as a single 45 rpm record and reached No. 3 in the UK singles charts. It has since become a staple of holiday radio and the final popular hit of Crosby's career. At the end of the 20th century, TV Guide listed the Crosby-Bowie duet one of the 25 most memorable musical moments of 20th-century television. Bing Crosby Productions, affiliated with Desilu Studios and later CBS Television Studios , produced

10506-462: Was the first single ever to sell one million digital downloads. Downloads have been in decline since 2013 as consumers have moved away from a purchase/ownership model towards a subscription-based model ( streaming ). By 2018, total sales were at their lowest point since the 1970s, and continue to fall. In 2020, major UK retailers such as supermarkets started to stop selling music. Aside of paid advertising in print or broadcast media, radio airplay

10609-551: Was the third-most-popular actor of all time, behind Clark Gable (1,168,300,000) and John Wayne (1,114,000,000). The International Motion Picture Almanac lists Crosby in a tie for second-most years at number one on the All Time Number One Stars List with Clint Eastwood , Tom Hanks , and Burt Reynolds . His most popular film, White Christmas , grossed $ 30 million in 1954 ($ 340 million in current value). Crosby received 23 gold and platinum records, according to

#305694