Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, actor, television producer, and businessman. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He 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. He made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. His 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 he 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.: 6 In 1948, Music Digest estimated that his 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 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. He was the number one box office attraction for five consecutive years, 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, Crosby received the first Grammy Global Achievement Award. He 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 a demonstration of a German broadcast quality reel-to-reel tape recorder brought to the United States by John T. Mullin, he invested $50,000 in the California electronics company Ampex to build copies. He then persuaded ABC to allow him to tape his shows. He became the first performer to prerecord his radio shows and master his commercial recordings onto magnetic tape. Crosby has been associated with the Christmas season since Irving Berlin's musical film Holiday Inn, in which he starred and famously sang "White Christmas". Through audio recordings, he 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, he helped finance 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). |
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 401-425 of 1149 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | DLA 1635 | 10-in. | 12/12/1938 | The lonesome road | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1636 | 10-in. | 12/12/1938 | When the bloom is on the sage | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1689 | 10-in. | 12/19/1938 | Between a kiss and a sigh | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1690 | 10-in. | 12/19/1938 | Just a kid named Joe | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1691 | 10-in. | 12/19/1938 | It's a lonely trail | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1692 | 10-in. | 12/19/1938 | Let's tie the old forget-me-not | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1718 | 10-in. | 3/10/1939 | East side of heaven | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1719 | 10-in. | 3/10/1939 | Hang your heart on a hickory limb | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1720 | 10-in. | 3/10/1939 | That sly old gentleman | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1721 | 10-in. | 3/10/1939 | Sing a song of sunbeams | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1722 | 10-in. | 3/15/1939 | Ida, sweet as apple cider | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1723 | 10-in. | 3/15/1939 | Poor old Rover | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1724 | 10-in. | 3/15/1939 | Down by the old mill stream | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1733 | 10-in. | 3/22/1939 | Deep purple | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1734 | 10-in. | 3/22/1939 | Stardust | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1739 | 10-in. | 3/27/1939 | God bless America | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1740 | 10-in. | 3/27/1939 | The star-spangled banner | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1742 | 10-in. | 3/31/1939 | If I had my way | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1743 | 10-in. | 3/31/1939 | Little Sir Echo | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1744 | 10-in. | 3/31/1939 | I surrender dear | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1745 | 10-in. | 3/31/1939 | I'm building a sailboat of dreams | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1752 | 10-in. | 4/3/1939 | Alla en El Rancho Grande | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1753 | 10-in. | 4/3/1939 | It must be true-2 | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1754 | 10-in. | 4/3/1939 | S' posin'-2 | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Decca | DLA 1757 | 10-in. | 4/5/1939 | Whistling in the wildwood | Bing Crosby | vocalist, baritone vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Crosby, Bing," accessed November 24, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101942.
Crosby, Bing. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 24, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101942.
"Crosby, Bing." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 24 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Bing Crosby
Discogs: Bing Crosby
Allmusic: Bing Crosby
Apple Music: Bing Crosby
Grove: Bing Crosby
IMDb: Bing Crosby
Britannica: Bing Crosby
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Crosby, Bing, 1903-1977 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50018853
Wikidata: Bing Crosby - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q72984
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/12394764
MusicBrainz: Bing Crosby - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/2437980f-513a-44fc-80f1-b90d9d7fcf8f
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