Your Hit Parade was an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco 's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During its 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or groups.
158-425: When the show debuted, there was no agreement on its title. The press referred to it by several names, with the most common being "Hit Parade", "The Hit Parade", "The Lucky Strike Hit Parade", and "The Lucky Strike Parade". The program title officially became "Your Hit Parade" on November 9, 1935. Every Saturday evening, the program offered the most popular and bestselling songs of the week. The earliest format involved
316-449: A 1955 Emmy Award ) directed with associate director Bill Colleran. Tony Charmoli won a 1956 Emmy for his choreography, and the show's other dance directors were Tom Hansen (1957–58), Peter Gennaro (1958–59) and Ernie Flatt (uncredited). Paul Barnes won an Emmy in 1957 for his art direction. In 1953, the show won a Peabody Award "for consistent good taste, technical perfection and unerring choice of performers." The seven top-rated songs of
474-520: 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
632-502: 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,
790-509: 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),
948-797: 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
1106-463: 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
1264-583: 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
1422-526: A chance to gain popularity. In contrast to Western popular music, genres of music that originated outside of the West are often categorized as world music . This label turns otherwise popular styles of music into an exotic and unknown category . The Western concept of 'World Music' homogenizes many different genres of popular music under one accessible term for Western audiences. New media technology has led urban music styles to filter into distant rural areas across
1580-676: 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,
1738-526: 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
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#17330856466661896-479: 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
2054-595: A cross-promotion, Rolfe made recordings for Edison Records credited as "B.A. Rolfe and his Lucky Strike Orchestra". Beginning in April 1930, the show became known as The Lucky Strike Dance Hour , as a second hour-long show began airing Wednesday nights on the NBC Blue network (9:30 to 10:30 pm). During the fall, the Wednesday show was replaced by Tuesday and Thursday night broadcasts, also on NBC Red. During its first three years,
2212-523: A culture regarding music. Popular music in Indonesia is often categorized as hybrid forms of Western rock to genres that originated in Indonesia and are indigenous in style. The genre of music Dangdut is a genre of popular music specifically found in Indonesia . Dangdut formed from two other genres of popular music: indo pop and underground music coming together to create a new fusion genre. Dangdut takes
2370-433: 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
2528-524: 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
2686-527: A drop in the use of major keys and a rise in the use of minor keys since the 1960s; 85% of songs were in a major key in that decade, while only around 40% of songs are in a major key now. The subject matter and lyrics of popular music have also undergone major change, becoming sadder as well as more antisocial and self-centered since the 1960s. There has also been an increasing trend of songs' emotional content, key, and tempo not following common associations; for example, fast songs with sad subject matters or in
2844-778: 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
3002-614: A good example for us - they show great respect for themselves and their arts. Wherever they are, they wear their native dress and their music is known throughout the world. This is the right way." She discussed this to explain why Egypt and the Arab world needed to take pride in the popular music styles originating in their culture so the styles were not lost in the modernization. Local musicians learned Western instrumental styles to create their own popular styles including their native languages and indigenous musical features. Communities in throughout
3160-622: A guest female vocalist each week; the guest vocalist was called the "Lucky Star of the Week". Guy Lombardo was host of the show until January 16, 1953, when the Hit Parade radio program aired for the last time. The success of the radio show spawned a spin-off series, Your All-Time Hit Parade , sponsored by Lucky Strike and devoted to all-time favorites and standards mixed with some current hits. The program began on NBC February 12, 1943, airing Fridays at 8:30 pm until June 2, 1944, and then Sundays at 7 pm as
3318-447: A hit record during his stint on the show – "Cinco Robles (Five Oaks)" (# 22 / 1957) The line-up of the show's other singers included Eileen Wilson (1950–52), Sue Bennett (1951–52), June Valli (1952–53), Alan Copeland (1957–58), Jill Corey (1957–58), Johnny Desmond (1958–59), Virginia Gibson (1957–58), and Tommy Leonetti (1957–58). All were performers of standards , show tunes or big band numbers. Featured prominently were
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#17330856466663476-465: 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
3634-430: 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
3792-495: A larger number of music lovers to hear the new popular piano tunes. By the early 1900s, the big trends in popular music were the increasing popularity of vaudeville theaters and dance halls and a new invention—the gramophone player . The record industry grew very rapidly; "By 1920 there were almost 80 record companies in Britain, and almost 200 in the USA". The availability of records enabled
3950-451: A larger percentage of the population to hear the top singers and bands. Radio broadcasting of music, which began in the early 1920s, helped to spread popular songs to a huge audience, enabling a much larger proportion of the population to hear songs performed by professional singers and music ensembles, including individuals from lower income groups who previously would not have been able to afford concert tickets. Radio broadcasting increased
4108-434: A level of stability within societies to characterize historical periods, distribution of music, and the patterns of influence and continuity within the popular styles of music. Anahid Kassabian separated popular music into four categories: A society's popular music reflects the ideals that are prevalent at the time it is performed or published. David Riesman states that the youth audiences of popular music fit into either
4266-527: A majority group or a subculture . The majority group listens to the commercially produced styles while the subcultures find a minority style to transmit their own values. This allows youth to choose what music they identify with, which gives them power as consumers to control the market of popular music. Music critic Robert Christgau coined the term "semipopular music" in 1970, to describe records that seemed accessible for popular consumption but proved unsuccessful commercially. "I recognized that something else
4424-404: A minor key, or slow songs with happier content or in a major key. There are multiple possible explanations for many of these changes. One reason for the brevity of songs in the past was the physical capability of records . Vinyl record singles, which were heavily favored for radio play, only had room for about three minutes of music, physically limiting the possible length of popular songs. With
4582-522: A more globalized culture. The second reason is that the Chinese television and music industry since the 1980s has broadcast television shows from their neighboring Asian societies and the West. The third reason is the impact of the internet and smartphones on the accessibility of streaming music. In 2015, students in China accounted for 30.2% of China's internet population and the third and fifth most popular uses of
4740-431: 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
4898-664: 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
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5056-554: 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
5214-425: A pianist to reproduce popular songs and pieces. In addition to the influence of sheet music, another factor was the increasing availability during the late 18th and early 19th century of public popular music performances in "pleasure gardens and dance halls , popular theatres and concert rooms". The early popular music performers worked hand-in-hand with the sheet music industry to promote popular sheet music. One of
5372-593: A popular underground subculture through the Middle East . Just like their Western counterparts, Middle Eastern metal followers expressed their feelings of alienation. But their thoughts came from war and social restrictions on youth. In interviews of Iranian teenagers between 1990 and 2004, the youth overall preferred Western popular music, even though it was banned by the government. Iranian underground rock bands are composed of members who are young, urban-minded, educated, relatively well-off, and global beings. Iranian rock
5530-402: A presentation of the top 15 songs. Later, a countdown with fanfares led to the top three finalists, with the number one song for the finale. Occasional performances of standards and other favorite songs from the past were known as "Lucky Strike Extras". Listeners were informed that the " Your Hit Parade survey checks the best sellers on sheet music and phonograph records, the songs most heard on
5688-427: A record company's singing star could be cross-promoted by the conglomerate's television talk shows and magazine arms. The "introduction of digital equipment (mixing desks, synthesizers, samplers, sequencers)" in the 1980s resulted in what Grove Dictionary of Music dubbed the creation of "new sound worlds", as well as facilitating DIY music production by amateur musicians and "tiny independent record labels ". In
5846-422: A return of the verse in one last A section (AABA). Verse-chorus form or ABA form may be combined with AABA form, in compound AABA forms. Variations such as a1 and a2 can also be used. The repetition of one chord progression may mark off the only section in a simple verse form such as the twelve bar blues. "The most significant feature of the emergent popular music industry of the late 18th and early 19th centuries
6004-440: A song or piece becomes known to listeners mainly from hearing the music (in contrast with classical music , in which many musicians learn pieces from sheet music); its appeal to diverse listeners, its treatment as a marketplace commodity in a capitalist context, and other factors. Sales of 'recordings' or sheet music are one measure. Middleton and Manuel note that this definition has problems because multiple listens or plays of
6162-403: 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
6320-401: A summer replacement for Jack Benny, continuing until September 24, 1944. The regular vocalists were Marie Green, Ethel Smith , Martha Stewart, Bea Wain and Jerry Wayne. Lyn Murray led the chorus, and the orchestra was conducted by Mark Warnow . On December 6, 1948, Lucky Strike introduced yet another musical series, the daytime Your Lucky Strike , aka The Don Ameche Show , since the host
6478-461: 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
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6636-426: 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
6794-476: A wide appeal within the culture of their origin. Through the mixture of musical genres, new popular music forms are created to reflect the ideals of a global culture. The examples of Africa , Indonesia , and the Middle East show how Western pop music styles can blend with local musical traditions to create new hybrid styles. Some sort of popular music has existed for as long as there has been an urban middle class to consume it. What distinguishes it above all
6952-400: A wide variety of genres of music that appeal to the tastes of a large segment of the population, whereas pop music usually refers to a specific musical genre within popular music. Popular music songs and pieces typically have easily singable melodies . The song structure of popular music commonly involves repetition of sections, with the verse and chorus or refrain repeating throughout
7110-431: A wider range of people. Although due to the significance and strong position of culture in traditional African music, African popular music tends to stay within the roots of traditional African Popular Music. The genre of music, Maskanda , is popular in its culture of origin, South Africa. Although maskanda is a traditional music genre by definition, the people who listen to it influence the ideals that are brought forth in
7268-511: 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
7426-491: Is a cross-bred concentration of fashionable modes." In his mind, a liking "for the nasty, brutish, and short intensifies a common semipopular tendency in which lyrical and conceptual sophistication are applauded while musical sophistication— jazz chops or classical design or avant-garde innovation—is left to the specialists." American folk singer Pete Seeger defined pop music as "professional music which draws upon both folk music and fine arts music". Form in popular music
7584-412: Is a niche genre of music. In South India, Carnatic is a niche genre of music people enjoy listening to. Music genre popularity changes greatly over time. This can be influenced by a number of factors such as current trends or even historical events. In the 19th and 20th century, Classical music was far more popular than it is in modern times. This can be attributed to a wide variety of changes, including
7742-519: Is also disseminated through recordings . Traditional music forms such as early blues songs or hymns were passed along orally, or to smaller, local audiences. The original application of the term is to music of the 1880s Tin Pan Alley period in the United States . Although popular music sometimes is known as "pop music", the two terms are not interchangeable. Popular music is a generic term for
7900-701: Is described by the traits that these band members possess. The youth who take part in underground music in the Middle East are aware of the social constraints of their countries, but they are not optimistic about social change. Iranian rock bands have taken up an internationalist position to express their rebellion from the discourses in their national governments. 44. HeadphonesAddict. "20+ Music Genre Statistics: Most Popular Music Genres (2022)". HeadphonesAddict , 8 July 2022, https://headphonesaddict.com/music-genre-statistics/. Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977)
8058-635: 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
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#17330856466668216-449: 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;
8374-439: Is most often sectional , the most common sections being verse , chorus or refrain , and bridge . Other common forms include thirty-two-bar form , chorus form , and twelve-bar blues . Popular music songs are rarely composed using different music for each stanza of the lyrics (songs composed in this fashion are said to be " through-composed "). The verse and chorus are considered the primary elements. Each verse usually has
8532-423: Is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry . These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training . As a kind of popular art , it stands in contrast to art music . Art music was historically disseminated through the performances of written music , although since the beginning of the recording industry , it
8690-495: Is popular in Indonesia is punk rock . This genre was shaped in Indonesia by the local interpretations of the media from the larger global punk movement. Jeremy Wallach argues that while Green Day was seen as the " death of punk ," in Indonesia they were seen catalyst for a larger punk movement. Punk in Indonesia calls on the English-speaking world to embrace the global sects of the punk subculture and become open-minded to
8848-584: Is the aesthetic level it is aimed at. The cultural elite has always endowed music with an exalted if not self-important religious or aesthetic status, while for the rural folk , it has been practical and unselfconscious, an accompaniment to fieldwork or to the festivals that provide periodic escape from toil. But since Rome and Alexandria , professional entertainers have diverted and edified city dwellers with songs, marches, and dances, whose pretensions fell somewhere in between." Scholars have classified music as "popular" based on various factors, including whether
9006-459: The 1960s . One major change is that popular music has gotten slower; the average BPM of popular songs from the 1960s was 116, while the average of the 2000s was 100BPM. Additionally, songs getting radio play in the 1960s were, on average, only about three minutes long. In contrast, most of the songs in the Billboard Top 5 in 2018 were between 3:21 and 3:40 minutes long. There has also been
9164-521: 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
9322-757: 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
9480-488: The Nielsen ratings at #29 in the 1950–51 season, #30 in 1953–54, #15 in 1954–55 and #23 in 1955–56. The show faded with the rise of rock and roll when the performance became more important than the song. The need for visual performances to accompany the songs on television resulted in skits that became more ludicrous as the songs repeated each week. Those issues, along with the growing popularity of rock and roll, contributed to
9638-610: 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
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#17330856466669796-767: 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
9954-646: The 1950–1951 season, Bob Fosse appeared as a guest dancer on several episodes, with partner Mary Ann Niles. From 1950 until 1957, the orchestra was led by well-known bandleader and musician Raymond Scott (who married Dorothy Collins in 1952); the show's other music supervisors were Dick Jacobs (1957–58) and Harry Sosnik (1958–59). During the 1957–58 season, sponsor American Tobacco pitched Hit Parade filter cigarettes instead of Lucky Strikes. Alternate sponsors included Avco Manufacturing's Crosley division (1951–54), Richard Hudnut hair care products (1954–57), and The Toni Company (1957–58). Your Hit Parade finished in
10112-571: The 1970s, the trend towards consolidation in the recording industry continued to the point that the "... dominance was in the hands of five huge transnational organizations, three American-owned ( WEA , RCA , CBS ) and two European-owned companies ( EMI , Polygram )". In the 1990s, the consolidation trend took a new turn: inter-media consolidation. This trend saw music recording companies being consolidated with film, television, magazines, and other media companies, an approach which facilitated cross-marketing promotion between subsidiaries. For example,
10270-445: The 1990s, the availability of sound recording software and effects units software meant that an amateur indie band could record an album—which required a fully equipped recording studio in previous decades—using little more than a laptop and a good quality microphone . That said, the audio quality of modern recording studios still outstrips what an amateur can produce. There are many genres of music worldwide, over 300. Leading for
10428-450: The Arab world place high value on their indigenous musical identities while assimilating to new musical styles from neighboring countries or mass media. Through the 1980s and 1990s, popular music has been seen as a problem for the Iranian government because of the non-religious meanings within the music and the bodily movements of dancing or headbanging. During this time period, metal became
10586-873: 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
10744-585: The European education system that the early nationalistic leaders grew up in. Not all African political songs were based on Western styles. For example, in South Africa, the political songs during the Anti-Apartheid Movement were based on traditional tribal styles along with hybrid forms of imported genres. Activists used protest and freedom songs to persuade individuals to take action, become educated with
10902-510: 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
11060-504: The Hit Parade dancers and the Hit Paraders, the program's choral singers. The vocal arranger and choral director of the Hit Parade was Ray Charles (1950–57). He started with the pilot shows in 1949, but did not receive billing until 1955 because he was simultaneously working with a choir on a show sponsored by a competing brand (Chesterfield cigarettes). The Hit Paraders sang the opening commercial jingle (composed by Raymond Scott ): During
11218-574: The Seventies (1981): "In popular music, embracing the '70s meant both an elitist withdrawal from the messy concert and counterculture scene and a profiteering pursuit of the lowest common denominator in FM radio and album rock ... In the '70s the powerful took over, as rock industrialists capitalized on the national mood to reduce potent music to an often reactionary species of entertainment—and to transmute rock's popular base from audience to market." In
11376-618: The TV series, vocalists Dorothy Collins (1950–57, 1958–59), Russell Arms (1952–57), Snooky Lanson (1950–57) and Gisèle MacKenzie (1953–57) were top-billed during the show's peak years. During this time, MacKenzie had her own hit record in 1955 with "Hard to Get" which climbed to the #5 ranking in June 1955 and stayed on the charts for 16 weeks. She also starred in her own NBC variety program, The Gisele MacKenzie Show from 1957 to 1958, produced by her mentor, comedian Jack Benny . Russell Arms also enjoyed
11534-480: The TV show was seen from 10:30–11:00 pm. Both shows featured the Lucky Strike Orchestra, led by Raymond Scott. In the fall of 1951, the radio show moved to Thursday nights, and its personnel and format were changed. The show, still sponsored by Lucky Strike, now starred Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians. Vocalists from Lombardo's orchestra sang on the new version of the radio show, which also featured
11692-544: The US during the late 19th century was in New York's ' Tin Pan Alley ' district. The Tin Pan Alley music publishers developed a new method for promoting sheet music: incessant promotion of new songs. One of the technological innovations that helped to spread popular music around the turn of the century was player pianos . A player piano could be used to record a skilled pianist's rendition of a piano piece. This recorded performance could be "played back" on another player piano. This allowed
11850-556: The WWII years, Your Hit Parade returned to NBC in 1947. The show's opening theme, from the musical revue George White's Scandals of 1926 , was " This Is Your Lucky Day ", with music by Ray Henderson and lyrics by Buddy G. DeSylva, Stephen W. Ballantine and Lew Brown. Orchestra leaders over the years included Al Goodman , Lennie Hayton, Abe Lyman , Leo Reisman, Harry Salter, Ray Sinatra , Harry Sosnik, Axel Stordahl , Peter Van Steeden, Mark Warnow and Raymond Scott (1949–1957). The chorus
12008-405: The ability of songwriters, singers and bandleaders to become nationally known. Another factor which helped to disseminate popular music was the introduction of "talking pictures"— sound films —in the late 1920s, which also included music and songs. In the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s, there was a move towards consolidation in the recording industry, which led several major companies to dominate
12166-429: 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
12324-535: The air March 4, 1949. During the early 1980s, André Baruch and Bea Wain hosted a syndicated radio version of Your Hit Parade , reconstructing the list of hits of selected weeks in the 1940s and playing the original recordings. André Baruch continued as the announcer when the program arrived on NBC television in summer 1950 ( Del Sharbutt succeeded him in the 1957–58 season), written by William H. Nichols, and produced, in its first years, by both Dan Lounsbery and Ted Fetter. Norman Jewison and Clark Jones (nominated for
12482-429: The air and most played on the automatic coin machines, an accurate, authentic tabulation of America's taste in popular music ." However, the exact procedure of this "authentic tabulation" remained a secret. Some believe song choices were often arbitrary due to various performance and production factors. The show's ad agencies—initially Lord and Thomas and later Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne —never revealed
12640-447: 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
12798-455: 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
12956-536: The bands were picked up from diverse points across the US instead of originating entirely from New York, which was a novelty at the time. The "variety" segments included dramatizations of cases from the New York Police Department , society gossip by Walter Winchell (then a gossip columnist for Hearst's tabloid New York Daily Mirror , featuring a style different from the one Winchell is more remembered for), and comedy by Bert Lahr and Jack Pearl . During
13114-534: 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,
13272-518: 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
13430-429: The contemporary United States, one of the most popular forms of music is rap. DJ Kool Herc, is famously known for creating hip-hop itself in the 1970s. With the technique he created when mixing two identical records back and forth, he was able to make unique-sounding sounds that later gave birth to rap itself. In modern times, rap is used to bring awareness to a problem such as: racism, sexism. It developed communities in
13588-450: The countdown format was introduced, with the number of songs varying from seven to 15. Vocalists in the 1930s included Buddy Clark , Lanny Ross , Kay Thompson and Bea Wain (1939–1944), who was married to the show's announcer, French-born André Baruch . Frank Sinatra joined the show in 1943, which gave the show even more popularity. By 1944 however, Sinatra's move to Hollywood led to a conflict with American Tobacco as it determined that
13746-457: The decade that followed. CBS also brought it back for a brief summer revival in 1974 and 1975. That version featured Kelly Garrett, Sheralee and Chuck Woolery . The 1974 version of Your Hit Parade also featured hit songs from a designated week in the 1940s or 1950s. Milton DeLugg conducted the orchestra and Chuck Barris packaged this series. The show's familiar closing theme was "So Long for A While": Popular music Popular music
13904-572: 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
14062-403: The difference in songs' subject matter and emotional content, popular music since the late 1960s has increasingly been used to promote social change and political agendas. Artists since that time have often focused their music on current events and subjects relevant to the current generations. Another theory is that globalization makes audiences' tastes more diverse, so different ideas in music have
14220-427: The early popular music performers to attain widespread popularity was a Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind , who toured the US in the mid-19th century. In addition to living room amateur music-making during the 19th century, more people began getting involved in music during this era by participating in amateur choirs, joining brass bands or playing in amateur orchestras. The center of the music publishing industry in
14378-417: The fast-growing genre's ability to communicate, educate, empower, and entertain. Artists who would have started in traditional music genres, like maskanda, became hip hop artists to provide a stronger career path for themselves. These rappers compare themselves to the traditional artists like the griot and oral storyteller, who both had a role in reflecting on the internal dynamics of the larger society. In
14536-565: 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
14694-471: 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
14852-490: 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
15010-552: 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
15168-427: 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
15326-467: The globe. The rural areas, in turn, are able to give feedback to the urban centers about the new styles of music. Urbanization, modernization, exposure to foreign music and mass media have contributed to hybrid urban pop styles. The hybrid styles have also found a space within Western popular music through the expressions of their national culture. Recipient cultures borrow elements from host cultures and alter
15484-447: 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
15642-679: The internet were respectively, internet music and internet video use. The youths described being able to connect to the emotions and language of the Chinese music, but also enjoyed the melodies found within Anglo-American music. The students also believed that listening to the English music would improve their English language skills. Modernization of music in the Arab world involved borrowing inspiration from Turkish music and Western musical styles. The late Egyptian singer, Umm Kulthum , stated, "We must respect ourselves and our art. The Indians have set
15800-456: The invention of CDs in 1982, and more recently with streaming , music can be as long or short as both writers and listeners wish. However, songs have shortened again, partially due to the ubiquity of streaming. The average song length in 2018 was 3 minutes and 30 seconds, 20 seconds shorter than the average in 2014. The most probable cause of this is that artists are now paid per individual stream, and longer songs could mean fewer streams. As for
15958-788: 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
16116-648: 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
16274-416: 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
16432-518: The meaning and context found in the host culture. Many Western styles, in turn, have become international styles through multinational recording studios. Popular African music styles have stemmed from traditional entertainment genres, rather than evolving from music used with certain traditional ceremonies like weddings, births, or funerals. African popular music as a whole has been influenced by European countries, African-American and Afro-Latin music, and region-specific styles that became popular across
16590-480: The most popular genres worldwide, pop music takes the first spot. In countries like the United States, rock, rap and hip-hop, blues and R&B have a long history of taking the leading spots. The most popular genres of music rank differently throughout the world. However, there are also very niche genres of music. For example, in Canada the most popular niche genre of music is video game soundtracks. In Sweden, black metal
16748-551: 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
16906-597: The music. A popular maskandi artist, Phuzekhemisi, had to lessen the political influence within his music to be ready for the public sphere. His music producer, West Nkosi, was looking for the commercial success in Phuzekhemisi's music rather than starting a political controversy. Political songs have been an important category of African popular music in many societies. During the continent's struggle against colonial rule, nationalistic songs boosted citizens' morale. These songs were based on Western marches and hymns reflecting
17064-494: 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
17222-439: The noisy instrumentation from underground music, but makes it easier to listen to, like indo pop. Dangdut attempts to form many popular music genres like rock, pop, and traditional music to create a new sound that lines up with the consumers' tastes. This genre has formed into a larger social movement that includes clothing, youth culture, the resurgence of Islam, and the capitalist entertainment industry. Another music scene that
17380-472: 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
17538-419: 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
17696-458: 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
17854-403: The public, who merely buy or reject what music is being produced. He claims that the listeners in the scenario would not have been able to make the choice of their favorite music, which negates the previous conception of popular music. Moreover, "understandings of popular music have changed with time". Middleton argues that if research were to be done on the field of popular music, there would be
18012-892: The record industry. In the 1950s and 1960s, the new invention of television began to play an increasingly important role in disseminating new popular music. Variety shows regularly showcased popular singers and bands. In the 1960s, the development of new technologies in recording, such as multitrack recorders gave sound engineers and record producers an increasingly important role in popular music. By using multitrack recording techniques, sound engineers could create new sounds and sound effects that were not possible using traditional "live" recording techniques, such as singers performing their own backup vocals or having lead guitarists play rhythm guitars behind their guitar solo . The next decade saw moves away from these sensibilities, as Robert Christgau noted in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of
18170-685: 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
18328-441: The rise of technology. In America during the 1980s, rock music was at its peak and then slowly lost its top spot as pop music began to climb the charts. Since the early 2000s, pop music has charted number one in American music charts, but since 2017, RnB and Hip Hop have taken that spot. In addition to many changes in specific sounds and technologies used, there has been a shift in the content and key elements of popular music since
18486-471: 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
18644-404: The same melody (possibly with some slight modifications), but the lyrics change for most verses. The chorus (or "refrain") usually has a melodic phrase and a key lyrical line which is repeated. Pop songs may have an introduction and coda ("tag"), but these elements are not essential to the identity of most songs. Pop songs that use verses and choruses often have a bridge, a section which connects
18802-430: The same song or piece are not counted. Evaluating appeal based on size of audience (mass appeal) or whether audience is of a certain social class is another way to define popular music, but this, too, has problems in that social categories of people cannot be applied accurately to musical styles. Manuel states that one criticism of popular music is that it is produced by large media conglomerates and passively consumed by
18960-505: The show featured Rolfe's band playing popular songs and novelty tunes interspersed with plugs for Lucky Strikes by the announcer, whose other role was introducing each number. During the fall of 1931, the program was revamped as The Lucky Strike Magic Carpet Show , a variety show hosted by Walter O'Keefe featuring the orchestras of Rolfe, Anson Weeks , Jack Denny , George Olsen , Abe Lyman , Phil Harris and others supplied exclusively by Jules Stein 's Music Corporation of America , and
19118-428: The show to revert to New York and black-and-white in 1958 (sponsorship also reverted to Lucky Strike, as the Hit Parade brand was quietly retired late that year due to low sales), switching to CBS before being cancelled during the spring of 1959. While Your Hit Parade was unable to deal with the rock revolution, the show's imaginative production concepts had an obvious influence on the wave of music videos that began in
19276-463: The show was heard on the NBC Red network Saturdays between 10 and 11 pm beginning in September 1928. The program was devised by American Tobacco's George W. Hill, an attempt to popularize the consumption of tobacco products, which were increasingly used by young people and women. For the latter demographic group, the company also launched the slogan "Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet" at the same time. In
19434-468: The show's eventual cancellation. In the fall of 1957, the show was revamped: production was moved to Hollywood with a new cast and was now broadcast in color, being the first TV show to be introduced by the animated version of the "Living Color" peacock (introduced one year earlier and nowadays the logo of NBC). American Tobacco also switched sponsorship to its new upscale "Hit Parade" filter brand that had been launched that spring. However, low ratings caused
19592-476: The singer was the one to pay the production costs (including the telephone hook-up to New York) and was fired for messing up the No. 1 song, " Don't Fence Me In " by interjecting a mumble to the effect that the song had too many words and missing a cue. An AFRS transcription survives of this show. As Sinatra zoomed in popularity, he was rehired, returning (1947–49) to co-star with Doris Day . Hugely popular on CBS through
19750-426: The solo may be improvised based on the chord progression . A solo usually features a single instrumental performer (e.g., a guitarist or a harmonica player) or less commonly, more than one instrumentalist (e.g., a trumpeter and a sax player). Thirty-two-bar form uses four sections, most often eight measures long each (4×8=32), two verses or A sections, a contrasting B section (the bridge or "middle-eight") and
19908-492: The song and the bridge providing a contrasting and transitional section within a piece. From the 1960s through the mid-2000s, albums collecting songs were the dominant form for recording and consuming English-language popular music, in a period known as the album era . In the 2000s, with songs and pieces available as digital sound files, it has become easier for music to spread from one country or region to another. Some popular music forms have become global, while others have
20066-450: 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;
20224-417: The songs were more important than the singers, so a stable of vocalists went uncredited and were paid $ 100 per episode, equal to $ 2,222 in 2023. In 1936–37, it was carried on both NBC and CBS. Script continuity in the late 1930s and early 1940s was written by Alan Jay Lerner before he found fame as a lyricist. The first number one song on the first episode was "Soon" by Bing Crosby . Some years passed before
20382-546: The specific sources or the methods that were used to determine top hits. They made a general statement that it was based mainly on "readings of radio requests, sheet music sales, dance-hall favorites and jukebox tabulations"; Radio Guide claimed "an endless popularity poll on a nationwide scale." The origins of the format can be traced back to the Lucky Strike Saturday Night Dance Party sponsored by Lucky Strike cigarettes. Led by Benjamin A. Rolfe ,
20540-516: The spring and summer of 1933, the Tuesday and Thursday broadcasts were phased out and the show reverted to the original Lucky Strike Saturday Night Dance Party format with Rolfe's orchestra and the Men About Town trio, running until early 1934. Your Hit Parade began on NBC April 20, 1935, as a 60-minute program with 15 songs played in a random format before presenting the number 1 song. Initially,
20698-584: The struggle, and empower others to be politically conscious. These songs reflected the nuances between the different classes involved in the liberation struggle. One of the genres people of Africa use for political expression is Hip hop . Although hip hop in Africa is based on the North American template, it has been remade to produce new meanings for African young people. This allows the genre to be both locally and globally influential. African youth are shaped by
20856-424: The summer of 1950 to the start of summer of 1951 (the first year of the Hit Parade television show), the stars of the TV show—Eileen Wilson, Snooky Lanson, and Dorothy Collins—also starred on the Hit Parade radio show. (Wilson had sung on the radio show since 1948.) Beginning in the fall of 1950, the radio show and the TV show both aired on Saturdays; the radio program was heard from 9:00–9:30 pm, Eastern time, and
21014-601: The transnational genre. In a 2015 study involving young students in Shanghai , youths stated they enjoyed listening to both Chinese, other Asian nationalities, and Anglo-American popular music. There are three ways that young people of China were able to access global music. The first reason was a policy change since the late 1970s where the country was opened up to the rest of the world instead of being self-contained. This created more opportunities for Chinese people to interact with people outside of their country of origin to create
21172-473: 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
21330-468: 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
21488-446: The verse and chorus at one or more points in the song. The verse and chorus are usually repeated throughout a song, while the bridge, intro, and coda (also called an "outro") tend to be used only once. Some pop songs may have a solo section, particularly in rock or blues -influenced pop. During the solo section, one or more instruments play a melodic line which may be the melody used by the singer, or, in blues- or jazz-influenced pop,
21646-425: The week were presented in elaborate TV production numbers requiring constant set and costume changes. However, because the top songs sometimes stayed on the charts for many weeks, it was necessary to continually find ways of devising a new and different production number of the same song week after week. After the show was revamped in September 1957, the top songs were reduced to five, while "extras" were increased. On
21804-410: 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
21962-555: Was Don Ameche . This 30-minute show, airing weekdays at 3:30 pm on CBS, was a talent competition with little-known and unknown professional vocalists, backed by Al De Crescent on organ or Bill Wardell on piano. The performers were judged by a trio of random housewives casting votes via long-distance phone calls. Winners were booked into the Mocambo, Earl Carroll's or other night clubs. Produced by Bernard Schubert and directed by Harlan Dunning, this show also featured auctioneer Riggs. It went off
22120-541: 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,
22278-628: 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
22436-626: 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
22594-516: Was also known as "Der Bingle", 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
22752-595: 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
22910-760: 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 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
23068-587: 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
23226-488: 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
23384-450: Was going on—the distribution system appeared to be faltering, FM and all", he later wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), citing that records like The Velvet Underground and The Gilded Palace of Sin (by Flying Burrito Brothers ) possessed populist qualities yet failed to impact the record charts . "Just as semiclassical music is a systematic dilution of highbrow preferences, semipopular music
23542-412: 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
23700-579: Was led by musical director Lyn Murray . Dozens of singers appeared on the radio program, including "Wee" Bonnie Baker , Dorothy Collins , Beryl Davis , Gogo DeLys , Joan Edwards (1941–46), Georgia Gibbs , Dick Haymes , Snooky Lanson , Gisèle MacKenzie , Johnny Mercer , Andy Russell , Dinah Shore , Ginny Simms , Lawrence Tibbett , Martha Tilton , Eileen Wilson , Barry Wood , and occasional guest vocalists. The show featured two tobacco auctioneers, Lee Aubrey "Speed" Riggs of Goldsboro, North Carolina and F.E. Boone of Lexington, Kentucky . From
23858-458: 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
24016-508: 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
24174-409: 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
24332-552: 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),
24490-506: 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
24648-533: 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
24806-489: Was the extent of its focus on the commodity form of sheet music". The availability of inexpensive, widely available sheet music versions of popular songs and instrumental music pieces made it possible for music to be disseminated to a wide audience of amateur, middle-class music-makers, who could play and sing popular music at home. Amateur music-making in the 19th century often centred around the piano , as this instrument could play melodies , chords and basslines, thus enabling
24964-554: 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
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