The official Crosby social media accounts have started touting a new release. Here's what they posted on Instagram:

Rediscover the magic of @coleporter_official with Bing Crosby’s new album, “Bing Sings The Cole Porter Songbook,” available on streaming platforms May 10th! Featuring rare, never-before-released tracks and iconic Porter classics like “Night and Day,” “Anything Goes,” and “You’re The Top,” this album is filled with musical masterpieces.

Pre-save Bing’s newest unreleased single, “What is This Thing Called Love” available next Friday! Link in bio.

Anybody know anything about the "rare, never-before-released tracks" mentioned?

Just bumping this thread since it's Christmastime so people who've never heard these can listen!

David Lobosco wrote:

I think this is such a great record. It swings. I first heard it on The EP Collection decades ago.

Great sweater, Malcolm!

David Lobosco wrote:

I could have sworn that Bing recorded O Little Town Of Bethlehem for Decca in the 1940s. It seems like he just recorded a short version in for the 1957 album Christmas Sing Around The World With Bing. I really could have sworn he recorded the whole song. Am I going crazy?

Also have you ever sworn you heard a record by somebody but then you find out you were dreaming? LOL

Maybe because he did it so many times in the '50s! He managed to sing it five times that decade on radio and TV shows, according to the online discography. Perry Como recorded a somewhat Bing-like version in the '40s for RCA.

Over the years I've heard all sorts of different theories about why we have never gotten an official, licensed "White Christmas" soundtrack even though it seems like something that would be a big money-maker for whoever put it out.

I've read that there are issues with the rights. (Hence the business where they recorded the songs for Decca with Peggy Lee substituting for Columbia-contracted Rosemary Clooney.) I've read that the original soundtrack masters are either lost or destroyed.

But I still don't get it. They just found the soundtrack to "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" from 1966 so is it really so hard to believe there might be pristine versions of the "White Christmas" soundtrack recordings in a vault somewhere, waiting to be released?

What are the facts here? What do we actually know for sure?

Colin Bratkovich wrote:

This later stuff produced by people like Geoff Milne, Ken Barnes & Pete Moore found them good at mixing tracks & enhanced vocals, noting orchestrations in 'stereo'. Some of it good, some not. So at least the aging Bing was at least found some good product, they are not sloppy jobs, (as much other previous other Crosby stuff, especially on LP. Total embarrassments with Simon Rady's "Gang 101" & "EL Senor Bing". Bing also seems interested, which always helped him. My own ears, however, have problems with all this electronic mess. After 1960, the only FULL albums that find vocal & production value, without mistakes are "I Wish You A Merry Christmas ",(Warner Brothers), the Christmas (Daybreak) recordings, & some of the orchestration backings of the 2 Longines recordings LPs.  FULL albums with other artists-"Robin & The 7 Hoods LP" & "12 Songs Of Christmas LP", are also excellent.

I'm glad to hear someone else as disappointed as I am in the mastering of "El Señor Bing," which should be so much more fun considering Billy May did the arrangements. What the heck went wrong there?

And your overall point is a good one. The album with Buddy Bergman also seems like it could desperately use a top-notch remastering job, even though I know many fans feel the arrangements themselves are rather iffy.

Now there's a "Latin" one which just looks to be "El Señor Bing" and associated bonus tracks, and a "Hawaiian" one that's the same using "Return to Paradise Islands."

My fear is that there's more incentive for Primary Wave to just repackage the same recordings, over and over, with different cover art to attract streaming listeners -- rather than release anything new from the vaults.

I still think the TV soundtracks are such an unmined treasurer. How about everything Nelson Riddle arranged for him on TV, for example?

I wonder if the Bing Crosby Enterprises folks read this message board?

I'm a little disappointed - was hoping they'd gotten more from the TV soundtracks rather than just Mosaic retreads.

Where is "Raindrops" from?

After discovering "Bingo Viejo" I decided to dip back into some of Bing's other 1970s recordings. I put on the Complete United Artists set, and was struck by just how intense the "echo" is around his vocals.

Is that how those tracks sounded on the original LPs, or was that a decision by the people who did the digital remastering? Personally I think it makes the tracks less enjoyable.

Thank you!

David Lobosco wrote:

Call me an old man but I miss having them issues on a CD.

Understandable - though on the other hand, if the lower cost of a digital-only release means we get more music, that's a "win" in my view. I wonder what the comparative economics of CD releases vs. digital-only releases are.