I would encourage anyone to look deeper into the Judy Garland ones, those are in my view some of his best radio episodes ever made. 

The KMH April 6 1944 episode is also one of my favorites, Bing and Marilyn Maxwell blended with a unique chemistry and I think she was the best chanteuse in all his radio years. 
KMH is the best radio show Bing ever did, although I am big on the Chesterfield years as well.

Very nice points.
Star Dust is (I read it somewhere) the song that has the more different recordings, it is sung by hundreds of artists and it is indeed a masterpiece.

My Isle of Golden Dream seems as you pointed out to be his favorite of his own recordings, although it is great, it seems an odd choice as an all time favorite.

Of course neither of them was selected for his Dessert Island discs which seems strange. 

Bing's version of Star Dust (although I agree with you Aaron that he must have been talking about the song and his recording) is my favorite, Bing is in fine vocal shape and gives it a sublime treatment. This alongside Louis Armstrong's version must be the best.

Yes, My Isle of Golden Dreams was the one that I had also in mind as his favorite, yet while I heard again the musical autobiography set he mentioned Star Dust as being his favorite in the intro.

Can't Wait!

As always it is an absolute delight to read your well-written observations Ian, and I will have to agree with many of them. 

But if I may gently pull you out from under Father Conroy’s cassock to point out that it is too definite to judge a film by its soundtrack? 

Say One For Me, the title song is not a Billboard material, no objections from me here. Yet as it is played in the opening scene, it is very fitting, it serves as a gentle opener and introduces the main characters dynamics. Debbie Reynolds dances a little around the number, while Bing is sitting relaxed, out of his Priest clothes, humming it. It humanizes the characters, in a relaxed moment before introducing the barriers of their roles in society.

I agree about the Rock ‘n’ Roll satire and of your criticism toward Porters attempt, yet Say One For Me isn't blindly panicking about Rock 'n' Roll; it’s a Hollywood studio lampooning the theatrics of the era's teenage idols. When Judy Harriet performs it, it’s supposed to feel a bit campy and burlesque. It’s a showbiz movie poking fun at showbiz trends. 

Its inclusion in the album makes no sense, it doesn’t have enough value to holds its place there. The same is true with other enjoyable numbers, such as Hoot Moon, on Road to Bali, although I adored them in the film performing it in their kilts, in the album half the magic was lost, and I couldn’t see any point in it being there. The same is true for the first solo recording of Road to Morocco title song, even Bing couldn’t recreate the film scene with a s solo recording, and ended up doing it again with Bob this time.

The Fifty Worst Movies of All Time is famous for its hyperboles. Leaving Say One For Me in that category alongside actual cinematic disasters is nonsense.

I do have my own fair share of criticism to offer, it's not a flawless masterpiece. The core issue is that Say One For Me often feels uninspired, with its central message getting drowned out because the subpar songs

Greg Van Beek informed me about a colorized version being available in YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AB45TmpdeU&t=4247s

It is a fair project, although in general I do not mind. 

Even being born in 2004 I was exposed in BW pictures early on and I can appreciate as well teh BW cinematography.

Top O' The Morning is quite enjoyable, the music is very nice and the chemistry between Bing and Ann is indeed rare.

Blonde56 wrote:

Wow! When I started this post I had no idea how many would respond and how interesting it would become. I love the choices and the great stories.

Welcome Back Carmela! We missed you!
Indeed a very interesting thread.

I own a 1983 copy  that also says "This book is part of a limited pre-publication edition available to Bing's friends at the 1983 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am Golf Tournament."
I do think the language is the same, and it is a nice point Aaron. The book was republished in 2004 with a new title (My First Years with Bing), I have seen it in ebay and amazon, that happened just after the release of My Last Years with Bing. 

I adore this story Ian about the book, it is indeed very nice to have this signed by Kathryn, my copy is not signed but the Last Years with Bing is a signed one, and I have some of Dr. Sullivan's books with the signature of her as the illustrator and of course the author's.

Let me rephrase the questions this way, does anyone have a 2004 edition of the book?

I am guessing that it has only black and white photos but I am not certain.

I would think that naming it a bad picture is objectively a bit too much. 

It is not a masterpiece and it might be in the lower quarter of the Crosby films ranked, and justifiably unfavorably compared with his other Priest films (both masterpieces of much higher quality than Say One for Me) yet it has some nice songs, the dialogues are clever, some jokes are funny, Bing is giving warmth to his character, it has a nice opening scene, he works nicely with Debbie Reynolds.
Frank Tashlin is a good director in the light comedy genre, also director of films like Lemon Drop Kid, and my all time favorite Martin and Lewis film Hollywood or Bust.

The critics were mixed to negative but the hard to please critic Bosley Crowther gave it a mostly positive review calling it "pleasant show-world entertainment...​As for Bing—well, he's just about as usual, a little less lively, perhaps, a little older looking, but still casual and sincere. He'll never make Monsignor. He'll always be a parish priest, whenever he turns his collar backward, because you always sense a sport shirt underneath".

 

I am positive that the sows survives and optimistic that the Crosby estate has a copy. I don't know what happened with the basement but I would guess that everything would be stored, afterall the estate has a lot of financial interest in preserving it's content and the children will also have sentimental reasons as well to ensure the preservation of the basements content.

The Kathryn Crosby Show is indeed a very rare gem, I haven't been able to see any of the episodes although I have tried, they do not seem to be available anywhere. One day when I will have some time I am planning to try harder and send requests at local foundations and archives. Kathryn interviewed Peter Falk an US Senator Ted Kennedy and dozen of other high profile guests in her morning show. That made her for few years a full time worker with much fuller scedule than her husband Bing. Bing appeared also often but there is only one clip available from his time in the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSp9JYbgPRs&t=64s
 

Yes, I agree that it is not a masterpiece but it is cute and easy to watch if you have time to spare. I haven't seen the most famous episodes with Kathryn Crosby and Joan Fontaine, I must one day find all episodes of it but from what I have seen it seems like a nice tv sitcom (not more nor less).
 

I was listening to some of Bing's tracks a lot these days, Again (Bing and Peggy duet), Getting to Know You, My Heart Stood Still, The Nearness of You (the recent BCE release), I 'll Be Seeing You, Nevertheless, Once in a While, With Every Breath I Take, plus due to my recent presentation I am also stuck with the Top O The Morning and Emperor Waltz tunes.