Dear all,

Malcolm has been kind enough to send me a 45-minute-long video including some very interesting footage that he himself shot at the 2002 Hofstra conference. It's mostly snippets of many of the panels and of many of the contributors who participated and/or performed at the conference, but it offers a great picture of what the conference was like for those of us who weren't lucky enough to be there. The video is now available on YouTube, and you may watch it here:

https://youtu.be/V-XBAWcx5t0 

Thanks, Malcolm, for making this fantastic audiovisual document available to everyone!

Best,

AGF

Dear all,

This is the seventh year in a row that at the beginning of December, Malcolm and I sit down (via Zoom) and discuss an aspect of Bing's life and career. This time around we've tackled the topic of Bing Crosby's career as an actor. What made him special on screen? In what ways did he evolve as an actor? What was our introduction to Bing as an actor? What lesser-known Bing films are worth checking out? If you're interested, you may access the podcast (it is a videocast this time, with both sound and image) by clicking on the link below:

https://youtu.be/PYDYfzaPLh8 

Once again, we've had a great time chatting about Bing, and we hope you all enjoy this episode! If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for future podcasts, please let us know!

Happy holidays everyone! 

Anton.

Dear all,

I have recently written an article for BING Magazine in which I discuss my favorite Bing Crosby books. It will appear in the upcoming issue of the magazine, which Malcolm tells me has been sent to the printer recently.

Today I used some of the research that I did for that article to record a video in which I talk about what I consider to be the best books on Bing, and I show my copies of some of them to the camera. If you're interested, here it is:

https://youtu.be/ZPZmJC4NQGw 

As always, thanks for your attention and for your interest in all things Bing!

AGF

As part of my series of Jazz Flashes podcasts, today I had the pleasure to talk for more than an hour and a half with singer and broadcaster Arne Fogel, who is also an ICC member. We spend a bunch of time discussing Bing and his contributions to American music and culture, among many other things, so I thought perhaps this would be interesting to members of this forum. If so, here's the link to the entire conversation:

https://youtu.be/yO-WKMtYrx8 

Thanks everyone for your attention and please stay safe and healthy wherever you may be!

AGF

Thanks for the information, Richard. I will definitely pick this one up!!!

Happy holidays!

AGF

One of my favorite books about the art of crooning and its origins is The Rise of the Crooners (Scarecrow Press, 2002), by Michael Pitts and Frank Hoffmann et al, with a very good introduction by Ian Whitcomb. It's a book I usually don't hear much about, even though I come back to it often when writing about crooning and crooners. It has a chapter about Bing, as well as chapters on pioneering crooners such as Gene Austin, Russ Columbo, Nick Lucas, Johnny Marvin, and Rudy Vallee. I have recently uploaded a video to my YouTube channel in which I review this very valuable book. You may find it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bENBgGu3qS0 

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it. But most of all, if you haven't already done so, I recommend you read this book when you get a chance.

Best,

AGF

After the podcast episode I recently recorded about Dixie Lee Crosby's life and career, I've written a brief article in which I discuss the two songs Bing and Dixie recorded together in the summer of 1936. If anyone is interested, the piece is available in my blog, The Vintage Bandstand, here:

http://vintagebandstand.blogspot.com/2019/07/bing-crosbys-duets-with-dixie-lee.html

I hope it will seem interesting to forum members! If you would like to, please let me know what you all think about their two duets.

Best,

AGF
 

Here is an article by college professor Lane Demas about a very special golf tournament that transcended the color barrier. Bing Crosby, among other celebrities, was a part of it. I found it very interesting, so I thought I'd share it. Enjoy!

https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2019/03/07/color-blind-golf-tournament-brought-joe-louis-bing-crosby-charlie-sifford-greens/ideas/essay/ 

My friend Kevin Bartholomew, who was my former student of Spanish at the university, gave me the chance yesterday to talk about Bing Crosby and Irving Berlin on his radio show on WCMT Radio (Martin, TN). The idea was to commemorate the 77th anniversary of Bing's classic recording of "White Christmas." My entire appearance on the show can be heard by clicking on the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2b5bzZR0qQ 

I hope you enjoy it! It was a very last-minute deal, because I was having breakfast when Kevin called me, and five minutes later I was appearing on the show by phone, so I didn't have any time at all to prepare... 

Lobosco wrote:

Great review! Could I share it on my blog? 

David,

Thank you so much for your kind words about the video. Of course, I would be honored if you could share it on your blog! 

Thanks again!

AGF

Lobosco wrote:

Anton G.-F. wrote:

Lately I've been listening to Bing's 1960s album Sings the Great Country Hits, because I've been thinking about writing a piece for BING Magazine about it. It finds Bing embracing the Nashville Sound that was very popular in country music at the time, and it's a surprisingly effective album that hasn't gotten too much recognition.

AGF

I heard a rumor that Bing had a cold when he recorded the album. I'm not sure where I read that. I'll see if I can find the info out. I'll have to give a listen to it.
 

I know I've read that somewhere, too, but I am not sure where. I suppose it'll come up at some point as I keep doing some research for my article on the album. And yes, I do encourage you to give the album a listen. It's a pretty good one, though often overlooked!

Lately I've been listening to Bing's 1960s album Sings the Great Country Hits, because I've been thinking about writing a piece for BING Magazine about it. It finds Bing embracing the Nashville Sound that was very popular in country music at the time, and it's a surprisingly effective album that hasn't gotten too much recognition.

AGF

Though most people don't remember George Hall today, he was a fine bandleader who made many records in the '20s, '30s, and '40s. He is very under-represented as far as reissues go, and this is the only CD I have by him, long out of print and with several Bing-related numbers:

https://www.amazon.com/Uncollected-George-Hall-His-Orchestra/dp/B006M6AE9I/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1544038167&sr=1-1&keywords=george+hall