My favourite is Gary Giddins' second volume because its coverage of Bing's wartime life was revealing and fascinating. He acknowledged the access he had to material which was unavailable when he wrote his first Bing book. What a difference that made

David, I don't remember the first Crosby song I heard on the radio (we called it the wireless) but it may have been one of them. In the 1940s Aussies couldn't avoid hearing Bing on the radio. I lived in Melbourne (Australia's second-largest city) and in 1947 there were almost seven hours of programs each week which played only Crosby records.

Years ago Helen gave me the package of Ella Fitzgerald's Verve Song Books so last night I listened to one of the Rodgers and Hart discs. Marvellous songs and singing and accompaniment by Buddy Bregman's orchestra, I've always been intrigued by the reference to My Fair Lady in the 'Manhattan' lyric so I decided to  discover what the original reference was. Apparently it was 'Abie's Irish Rose', which Gary Giddins' second volume informs us that it was a 1920's Broadway phenomenon and a disastrous Crosby movie production.

David, by coincidence I'm listening to my Jonzo CDs in chronological order (again) and that's the disc that I'm about to hear again. It's a great way for me to spend an hour or two on a quiet afternoon.

When Phillip came to Australia in 1965, the Sydney newspaper The Sun-Herald gave special attention to his visit. The Chevron Hotel's advertisement introduced him a 'one of the Crosby boys' and printed an article headlined 'Being Bing's son only opens the door', describing his career and interest in football. Gary had performed here in 1956 on the same bill as Louis Armstrong. The promoter's right-hand-man later wrote a book on the local music business and alleged that Gary demanded top billing because Louis was a coloured performer. That request was refused. He described Gary's performance as 'pleasant and adequate'.

Australians were able to watch The Bing Crosby Show from October 1964. It had been publicised for  months beforehand, one article headlined 'BING CROSBY HAS ANOTHER WIFE'. After the second episode was shown, one newspaper critic wrote described it as  a good, safe vehicle, pleasant and innocuous. That series was scheduled for Friday evenings until April 1965 and repeated on weekday afternoons the following year.

Welcome TACOMA from a Crosby fan in Bathurst, Australia. I suppose you have some connection with Tacoma which I was pleased to visit in 1983 to attend a Crosby Tribute by the then Bing Crosby Historical Society. Great memories.

Hullo Utopia from a Crosby fan in Bathurst, Australia, about 130 miles west of Sydney.

In 1941, 1942 and 1944 Vera Lynn had more hit records than Bing in Australia. Her record of 'Auf Wiedersehn Sweetheart' sold more than one hundred thousand thousand copies, which was a monumental figure, not achieved by any of Bing's singles. She performed here in 1963 (but I didn't see her).

Yes, David, it's a beaut disc.

Yes David, The Four Aces were in fine form when they made that recording and the fact that it's a very good song also also helps.

Australians were spared  the opportunity to buy Bing's record of 'Pinetop's Boogie Woogie' as it wasn't released here as a single.

I like to hear other versions of songs associated with Bing. I don't think I've heard of Joey Nash before but he was OK.