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Jon Oye keeps adding images to his site Contemplations on Classic Movies and Music
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| Member Introductions » Hello, Everyone! » 20/9/2013 1:37 pm |
- django5722
- Replies: 7
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No...but that's not an uncommon last name. What side of town are they on? We live over by Randolph AFB in the NE side...
| Fan Interests » What Bing listening or viewing has been improving YOUR mood lately? » 18/9/2013 8:59 pm |
- django5722
- Replies: 5
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I always have my day brightened by listening to episodes of the Bing Crosby-Rosemary Clooney radio show---a few years ago I downloaded 200+ of them and would put them on as we were doing things around the house, just like the listeners would have had the show on in the early 60s.
You can easily listen to them yourself at this link:
The mixture of music and friendly conversation and humor is always right to make me temporarily forget about the problems of the world and return to a simpler, more enjoyable time...what a pair they were!
| Member Introductions » Hello, Everyone! » 18/9/2013 4:05 pm |
- django5722
- Replies: 7
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Thanks, Steve.
I really don't think there is anyone comparable w/ Bing in 20th century American popular culture.
Yes, Frank Sinatra was a huge phenomenon as a singer and actor and cultural figure, but Crosby was there first and set the stage for Frank.
I think Bing Crosby was fortunate to come up at just the right time when his gifts could be put to use.
He emerged as a film star in the early days of sound--certainly, the silent screen would not have taken advantage of his gifts in the same way.
Also, he came along (as many others have pointed out better than I can) in the early days of electrical recording and microphones. In the acoustic era (and I have a lot of recordings from that era), you needed a loud and clear vocalist to cut through the band---subtlety and shading were not what it was about. Bing's great subtlety and shading, his caressing of a line, his under-stated vocalizing, were things that the microphone picked up. Bing seemed to be a quick study in many aspects of his career, and like Duke Ellington, he quickly sized up how to use the recording studio and the microphone to his best advantage. You can hear him coming to terms with this in his late 20s/early 30s recordings...once he found his own "voice" and knew how to capture that magic in the studio (and also capture that magical presence and wit and amiable persona on screen), he became the Bing we all know and love.
I should say that I'm really looking forward to some of those upcoming Bing releases, particularly the Johnny Mercer one...I'm glad the estate is so active. Add to that the fan oriented releases, and Bing is not being treated that badly in terms of available recordings. If someone is getting into Bing Crosby, there is really a lot to choose from representing many periods and styles...
BILL S.
| Member Introductions » Hello, Everyone! » 08/9/2013 3:35 pm |
- django5722
- Replies: 7
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Greetings to all fellow Bing Crosby fans.
…
This is Bill Shute, located in south Texas. I have been a lifelong Crosby fan--I'm old enough to have been around during the last decade or so of his career and do vividly remember seeing the Dr. Cook's Garden TV-movie, seeing his holiday specials, catching the occasional guest spot on TV (I just saw on You Tube that wonderful sequence with Dinah Shore and Phil Harris, where Bing is asked to remember the B-sides of various singles, and Dinah's band then plans them for him).
My parents had some of his records---some on LP, some on 78---but I really grew to discover his work by being a devoted record collector at used record stores, flea markets, etc. I built my own Crosby collection that way.
I have material from most parts of his career, and I must say I enjoy all of the phases he went through. How many people worked with both Bix Beiderbecke and David Bowie? I'd guess ONE.
I think the most under-rated body of work of Bing's is the radio sessions with Buddy Cole done throughout the 50s, some of which came out on the Mosaic box. I had a number of those on "collector" LP's so I did not buy that box, but I'm sure I probably will. I also downloaded many of the Bing and Rosie daily radio shows from the early 60s that feature more of those wonderful recordings. The fresh unrehearsed feel of those sessions make them precious to me. I need to get that recent Bing and Rosie set that has those in excellent sound.
Although I've always been a serious Bing fan, my excitement was re-kindled this summer when I was spending time in Pittsburgh and went to the legendary Jerry's Used Records. Jerry had a HUGE Bing Crosby section with dozens of obscure collector LP's on "private" labels and also compilations of rarities (for $5 each! they'd sat there for many years, I was told) and I picked up about 15 of those. Hearing all that material that was new and fresh to me really reminded me of what a great artist Bing Crosby was, so I started
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