Graham Pascoe wrote:

As we know, the lyrics of many  popular songs include a reference to Bing. I just heard a recording by Al Bowlly which does that but Al interpolated something I'd not heard before: 'direct from Crosby we give it to you' I believe the recording was made in 1940 with Jimmy Messene's orchestra. I wonder what Johnny Burke thought of that.

Graham,  You're referring to "Only Forever" sung as a duet with Jimmy Messene, with both playing guitars. There's no orchestra there. One of Al's last recordings and complete with Crosby "boo-boo-boo" imitations.

 

This week's edition of SSRH includes 

KAY KYSER AND HIS ORCHESTRA

Command Performance 31
War Department Bureau of Public Relations
Washington Special Program
August 30, 1942
Constitution Hall
Washington, DC
(SSD)
Paul Douglas, announcer
Bing Crosby, host
With Kay Kyser and his Orchestra, Ish Kabibble, Harry Babbitt, Ginny Simms, Hedy Lamarr, Connee Boswell, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Dr. Frank Black and the NBC Orchestra.

Apart from his hosting role Bing sings Basin Street Blues with Connee Boswell and Star Dust.

The usual links
https://cruisin1430.radio.com/…/po…/star-spangled-radio-hour if outside Europe,  or at Dennis Spragg's mirror site at 
https://www.dennismspragg.com/star-spangled-radio-hour/ 
 

What a year. A year I am sure many will wish to forget. A year that for some contained sorrow, illness, and problems in greater measure than most normal years. 

I can't imagine what Bing would have made of it but I'm sure he would have a sombre but comforting message about the past and attempt to lighten matters with more cheery wishes for the future. 
Would he have managed a merry quip? "Mr Christmas" himself was a master of the most appropriate turn of phrase and would have found something I'm sure.

Despite all, may I just express the wish that all manage to do their best to celebrate Christmas in the best possible way. I trust that the New Year might bring improvements and new hope for all.

Meantime, stay well.

Richard Baker

jeremyrose wrote:

I recently downloaded a new radio-player app, and when I typed "Bing Crosby" into the search box I discovered a radio channel called “Exclusively Bing Crosby”, which seems to be based in Dubai! It’s apparently one of any number of “Exclusively…” channels from the same source devoted to various singers. There are some annoying computer-voiced announcements in between the tracks, but they play a pretty varied selection. So far this morning I’ve heard  “Some Of These Days”, “The Preacher” from Bing & Satchmo and the Bing/Chevalier medley from the March ’61 Oldsmobile TV Special!

Just Google "Exclusively Bing Crosby"...

Quite a find Jeremy.
A straight search on Google in the way you describe finds them embedded in a number of internet radio servers, though the direct link to the Dubai base will not work for me. The three servers that I tried all worked well though.

https://uk.radio.net/s/exclusivelybingcrosby
https://mytuner-radio.com/radio/exclusively-bing-crosby-474345/
https://www.radio.pl/s/exclusivelybingcrosby/app

For those not yet familiar with the concept such servers act as gateways to internet radio all over the world, sorting by language, musical genre, etc.

The Bing material includes all eras and both radio and record.
They do keep proclaiming free of commercials only to offer commercials for themselves, sometimes just the one whispered word "Exclusive" and otherwise to make comparisons between themselves and Spotify.




 

I remember a quick browse through her autobiography at the library some years ago. As I remember it, she says something to the effect that when she was a young struggling actress she met Gary whilst he was in the US forces based in Germany during a trip he made to London on leave for a week or two. He took her on some sort of whirlwind trip around London restaurants that up to that time she could not have afforded. At the end of his leave he proposed to her. I don't remember any confirmation that there was any firm conclusion one way or other. They exchanged letters for a time but things just faded out.

Others might have her book or a better memory than mine and can add to or correct this. So far I have not seen any reference in on line obituaries.
 

Ron Field wrote:

Just followed your instructions Richard and clicked on Peter and his death date is there.
Talk about quick.

That is the Wiki entry. Wikipedia often catch such thinks almost the instant it happens. Quite extraordinary.

I'm sure that is a very good point, Archiefit. I fear however that there are a few practical obstacles, one of which is the matter of rights. Wig had significant collection but he, and those who acquire it, have no greater right to disseminate it freely to all than you and I have.



 

"Radio Times" covering listings for all major TV and radio channels in the UK, for the edition covering the week of 28 November to 4 December, has chosen "High Society" as it's "Film of the week", a regular feature. The article appears to start out to compare the film with Philadelphia Story but that aspect largely fades. The film itself is to be shown on BBC2 today, Saturday 28th November at 11:30 BST, and on BBC4 on Thursday 3 December at 20:00.

Several British newspapers have picked up an item.
Apparently a Mr White and a Miss Christmas have married and agreed to merge their names to White-Christmas.
They come from the small coastal town of Bridport, Dorset, where snowfall is pretty light at any time of the year and a white Christmas would be very rare!.
https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2096488579372/bridport-couple-become-mr-and-mrs-white-christmas
I wonder what music was played?

 

ModernBingFan0377 wrote:

It seems like Robert Parker’s stereo conversions are a mix of these current ones and the slapping reverb on mono tracks in the LP era. His certainly sound more like a hifi mono recording with reverb and a good amount of recording separation, albeit I can’t tell much actual stereo separation. Whereas with these new ones it is more of separating stereo wise to create stereo, but not as much give that similar to hifi recording separation as Robert Parker did. If only we could get a good mix of both.

I think you are mixing ideas and concepts. Parker was adding reverberation to very old recordings because they were originally made in very acoustically "dead" studios. It was necessary to give the same feeling to recordings as those made in later conditions which had a more natural reverberation from the more lively studios. He was not just after creation of stereo but bringing the overall sound up to modern standards.

Addition of the reverberation to later "HiFi" mono recordings was an early crude attempt to give a stereo feel in the hope that sales life would be prolonged at a time when the buying public wanted stereo and nothing but! 

Not only was the motivation and concept different but the methods were miles apart.



 

These days, promotion of smoking maybe not such a good idea.
 

To some extent I suspect your confusion might arise because of the fact that the songs were used repeatedly in Christmas shows over successive years and a few might have actually been the same recordings.

The shows on the records (and there were several issues - see the list here https://www.discogs.com/Bing-Crosby-The-Greatest-Christmas-Shows/release/6158738).

were drawn from the two shows of 14th December 1949 and 19th December 1951, though edited.
It may be that a few of the songs originated from other earlier shows.

Go the the discography here http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/Crosby2dChesterfield.html
and the radio show listing here http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/chesterfield.htm
for full details with the record issues shown for the shows and individual songs.

Either scroll down to the dates or search on AMERICAN RETROSPECTIVES.

Ethel Barrymore was in the show on 21st December 1949 which does not feature on the record.


.
 

I'd be interested to know if anyone has ideas about such counting.

Whilst I know next to nothing about this particular aspect of Bing's popularity, I'd think that Decca were counting the two "main" recordings of White Christmas as one. After all, to a great extent they preserved the fiction that the '47 re-recording was the original, showing the incorrect earlier date on all LP and CD issues despite usage of the '47 version into the 1990s.

In addition there was no need for them to keep different counts for any rights purposes.
As to the other titles  - -   ?