Hi Carmela
I have a privately-produced CD in my collection entitled, "Dedicated To All The Girls I've Sung About". 24 tracks as follows:-
1. Louise
2. Dinah
3. Sweet Georgia Brown
4. Sweet Sue, Just You
5. The House Jack Built For Jill
6. Sweet Leilani
7. Darling Nellie Gray
8. Ida, Sweet As Apple Cider
9. Cynthia
10. Marcheta
11. I Dream Of Jeannie With The Light Brown Hair
12. Sierra Sue
13. Dolores
14. Clementine
15. Sweetly She Sleeps My Alice Fair
16. Mary's A Grand Old Name
17. Nell And I
18. Mandy Is Two
19. Lily Of Laguna
20. Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie
21. Conchita, Marquita, Lopez
22. Evelina
23. Betsy
24. I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen

I hope that gives you a bit of inspiration..!
Jeremy

Apologies for getting the year wrong in my last post…
I suppose the other chaps in the photo could be the other members of ‘The Goofers’.

That is a mystery... One thing's certain - Bing doesn't exactly look overjoyed to be there! Given Doddy's dressing-gown, I wonder if it could have been taken in his dressing-room after one of his shows? What on earth Bing was doing there, though, is anybody's guess. Apart from Phil Harris and Rosemary Squires I don't recognise any of the other people in the photograph. Anybody know who Tommy Terry is..?

David Lobosco wrote:

I've tried to get in touch with David Kiner since Remond closed and no luck.
I should have bought more Redmond Nostalgia issues when I had the chance!

I feel your pain, David..! I managed to acquire app. 200 of the Redmond Crosby CDs but - rather stupidly in hindsight - I started with with the KMH, Philco and Chesterfield releases. Having completed those series, I was making good headway into the rarer stuff when Redmond ceased trading. Like you, I tried to contact David Kiner but with absolutely no success. I still have the Redmond catalogue and - when I'm in the mood for kicking myself - occasionally cast a glance over all the titles I failed to buy!
 

After more than half a century of listening to 'our kind of music' (with Bing very much at the forefront, of course), I'm still occasionally delighted by a 'new' discovery which I can't believe has evaded me for all that time. The latest addition to the list is the discovery a few months ago of the 1960 album, 'Two Of A Kind', from Bobby Darin and Johnny Mercer, with arrangements and backing by the great Billy May. On every track, Darin and Mercer sound like they're having an absolute ball and Billy May's arrangements are (dare I say it..?!) even more effective than those he provided for Bing and Rosie on 'Fancy Meeting You Here.' I listen to this album a lot, and it never fails to elicit an ear-to-ear grin from beginning to end. Bobby Darin was a great song stylist and Mercer's more overtly 'jazz chops', together with Billy May's arrangements and backing make for a very satisfying listen. 

Has anyone else got any 'left-field' entries into their play-lists..?

Another Crosby connection is that in the late 30s Bea Wain led a vocal quartet called, 'Bea and The Bachelors', whose personnel included former 'Rhythm Boy' Al Rinker.

Bear with me - there is a Bing connection here..! 

April 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of the first issue of Gramophone magazine - the UK’s premier journal dedicated to reviews of classical recordings. I have been subscribing to Gramophone for more years that I have been an ICC member! The centenary issue contains a series of articles dedicated to each of the decades since the magazine’s founding. That for the 1940s naturally concentrates largely on the war years and contains extracts from a number of letters to Gramophone from classical music loving servicemen who were being held prisoner in POW camps in Germany. For example, in October 1941, Driver MC Moore, writing from Stalag XXB POW camp, told how gramophones and records were supplied to working camps of 100 men or more, 30 records being the average. More often than not, the discs were of Beethoven, Bach and Mozart. However, writes Driver Moore, woe betide, ‘…the POW who wanted to listen to Bach. I personally have been told in no uncertain terms, just where to go when attempting it. The war cry was, “Give us Bing!”’ 

I sympathise with Driver Moore, but can’t help smiling at the thought of a sublime Bach fugue being shouted down in favour of Bing singing San Antonio Rose!

Many thanks to John and David for identifying the sources of the tracks. I subscribe to the Qobuz streaming service so I've lined up this and the Valentine's album for streaming in CD quality. Qobuz allows me to 'import' tracks for offline listening, but only within the Qobuz app, so I couldn't burn a CD from them. To do that you have to purchase the album from Qobuz and download the tracks. You can then do what you like with them! Current price for the album in CD quality is £13.99. Amazon's tracks are mp3 quality and the album is £10.29.

I think David Krayden's article neatly sums up what we all feel about Bing's inexplicable neglect today, but I agree with Ron that he misses an essential point about Bing's unsurpassed influence on popular singing in the 20th century. 

I have always thought that one of the most significant examples of this sincerest form of flattery is that of Al Jolson, whose style of singing Bing single-handedly rendered obsolete, but who affected numerous Crosby vocal mannerisms in his later years.

Dean Martin summed it up nicely in his tribute at the time of Bing's death. 'Any singer who approaches a microphone has to pass through Bing Crosby's shadow first'.

Archiefit wrote:

So right.  And can you imagine with that minimalist piano style of Gordon Jenkins if Bing had made some beautiful recordings with him.   I think if Bing had made an album similar in style to Godon's  "Jimmy Durante's Way of Life".   What a fine Bing album it would be. 

I agree with Archiefit. One of my favourite ever albums - Bing or otherwise - is Harry Nilsson's 1973 release A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, a selection of 'Golden Age' standards with wonderfully lush arrangements by the great Gordon Jenkins. Although Nilsson very occasionally brings a contemporary 70s 'pop' touch to a couple of the tracks, I nevertheless think that the whole concept of the album would have suited Bing to a tee and a similar project would have made a wonderful addition to that amazing late flowering of his recording career.

Very grateful to Archiefit for the link to 'The Star Maker' but - er - the thread concerns a hi-def copy of the 1936 'Anything Goes'..!

The 1936 version of 'Anything Goes' has always been at the top of my list of Bing's movies that I would love to see in re-mastered HD versions rather than ropey old YouTube transfers, so it's amazing that David has managed to track down just a version! I know that a lot of the wonderful Cole Porter songs were ditched, but I love the on-screen chemistry between Bing and Ethel Merman.

Blonde56 wrote:

David, That's a Great song for Bing. It got me thinking. How many songs does Bing Whistle on? Maybe someone can compose a list? Also, love If I Had My Way. I was playing the song one day, back in good old Brooklyn when mom heard it and started crying. She told me her favorite uncle use to sing it all the time. She made me play it again and she knew all the words!

Hi Carmela, and a belated welcome back to the board..!

Regarding songs on which Bing whistled, I'm pretty sure someone has compiled a list! I can't quite put my finger on who at the moment, but I'm sure Malcolm will know!

Great to hear the story about your mum and 'If I Had My Way'...