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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 1-25 of 1149 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BVE-37285 | 10-in. | 12/22/1926 | Wistful and blue | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Orchestra, with male vocal duet | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-37286 | 10-in. | 12/22/1926 | Pretty lips | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Orchestra, with male vocal duet | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-37764 | 10-in. | 2/10/1927 | Shanghai dream man | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal chorus | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-38118 | 10-in. | 2/25/1927 | That saxophone waltz | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal chorus | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-38124 | 10-in. | 2/28/1927 | Pretty lips | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-38135 | 10-in. | 3/3/1927 | I'm coming, Virginia | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal chorus | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-38143 | 10-in. | 3/7/1927 | Muddy water | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-38378 | 10-in. | 4/29/1927 | Side by side | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-38392 | 10-in. | 5/6/1927 | Missouri waltz | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal chorus | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-38394 | 10-in. | 5/9/1927 | I'm in love again | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal chorus | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-38779 | 10-in. | 5/24/1927 | Magnolia (Mix the lot, what have you got?) | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-39271 | 10-in. | 6/20/1927 | Mississippi mud | Rhythm Boys | Male vocal trio, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-39272 | 10-in. | 6/20/1927 | Sweet L'il | Rhythm Boys | Male vocal trio, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-39569 | 10-in. | 8/16/1927 | Five-step | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-39575 | 10-in. | 8/19/1927 | The Calinda | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal chorus | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-39627 | 10-in. | 7/6/1927 | My blue heaven | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal chorus | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-40846 | 10-in. | 11/11/1927 | That's Grandma | Rhythm Boys | Male vocal trio, with piano | songwriter, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-40894 | 10-in. | 11/17/1927 | Miss Annabelle Lee | Rhythm Boys | Male vocal trio, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-40937 | 10-in. | 11/23/1927 | Changes | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-40945 | 10-in. | 11/25/1927 | Mary (What are you waiting for?) | Bing Crosby ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-41470 | 10-in. | 1/27/1928 | Make believe | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-41607 | 10-in. | 1/11/1928 | Ol' Man River | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-41612 | 10-in. | 1/12/1928 | From Monday on | Rhythm Boys | Male vocal trio, with piano | lyricist, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-41680 | 10-in. | 2/7/1928 | Poor Butterfly | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quintet | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BVE-41681 | 10-in. | 2/8/1928 | There ain't no sweet man that's worth the salt of my tears | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and chorus | vocalist, baritone vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Crosby, Bing," accessed September 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101942.
Crosby, Bing. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved September 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101942.
"Crosby, Bing." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 September 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
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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