Thanks for posting this to inform us. I agree that the price is high. It seems though an interesting addition for all that love the Decca classic years. Bob had a very nice band. He had some fine records with Andrews Sisters and the work he did with his borther must be considered some of his best. He had always a very nice sound!

Yes thank you, Stepo - it does look a grand but expensive set. The high price seems very similar to what I paid around thirteen years ago and directly to Mosaic for their Bing CBS Radio Recordings box set. I must confess, I think I would initially prefer just instrumentals from Bob and Mosaic do produce these sets beautifully (I have another of George Shearing's live recordings). However, I think I'd possibly just invest in a single, well chosen CD of Bob's for that purpose. Do have any suggestions again for me, Stepo?  

Ian Kerstein wrote:

Yes thank you, Stepo - it does look a grand but expensive set. The high price seems very similar to what I paid around thirteen years ago and directly to Mosaic for their Bing CBS Radio Recordings box set. I must confess, I think I would initially prefer just instrumentals from Bob and Mosaic do produce these sets beautifully (I have another of George Shearing's live recordings). However, I think I'd possibly just invest in a single, well chosen CD of Bob's for that purpose. Do have any suggestions again for me, Stepo?  

I have nearly all of Bob Crosby's recordings and some of his vocal recordings are great. He supplied many of the vocals, but I really liked his 1930s vocalist Kay Weber, a leftover from the Dorsey Brothers band as well as Marion Mann. 

Mosaic does a great job on their sets and I have a few like Bing, Woody Herman, Louis Armstrong, and Stan Kenton, but this set is a little bit out of my budget.
 

Yes I have heard that too about Bob. He became leader when he was elected by the member's of Ben Pollack's orchestra when their original leader departed. Bob played a pivotal role in discovering and promoting a teenager Doris Day, his band female vocalist. Doris Day make her break when she was hired by Les Brown that had first heard her I think in Bob's band and she recorded with Brown Sentimental Journey in 1945, that became a no1 hit. A newcomer unknown vocalist making a no1 hit with her first serious effort!! 

No, as far as I know her first recording was Sentimental Journey with Les Brown imediately after she left Bob Crosby.

There is a CD on Acrobat , a double one of his hit recordings at a reasonable price. also an ASV living era cd has some recordings from 1935 to 1939.

Last edited by STEPO (04/11/2025 3:20 pm)

STEPO wrote:

I think Vaughn Monroe fronted his band without any experience of playing as he was a singer.

This is indeed very interesting. I knew that Bob Crosby was not a trained musician but I had the idea that most of the bandleaders were players

There was also a second CD on ASV released.

Thank you for your guidance too, Anton. It's all a bit of a minefield when looking for just one or two general, overall  quality studio recorded discs. I've been listening, properly to some of brother Bob's recordings for the first time and I must say I am very impressed with the warmth and subtly of his sound. I think at this early stage of my enthusiasm, I will go for what you and Stepo have so helpfully suggested. However, I really do enjoy and admire both the audio quality and presentation of the Mosaic box sets. The Bing CBS one has proven to be an endless joy and their box set of George Shearing live recordings is a total pleasure. You have now, though really piqued my curiosity over their Duke Ellington Reprise set. 

Anton G.-F. wrote:

The 2-CD set on Acrobat is definitely the way to go to get a proper introduction to Bob Crosby's music because it does deliver on the promise of its title: All the Hits and More, and it covers the 30s, 40s, and even some early '50s recordings. The sound is also good, and the price is another great reason to buy it.

That being said, I love Mosaic sets, though I only have about 6 or 7 because of their hefty price tag. One of them is, of course, Bing's CBS radio box set, but I also have others by Woody Herman, Jack Teagarden, Bobby Hackett, Ike Quebec, Duke Ellington on Reprise (this one is truly great), and the complete jazz recordings issued by the Bee Hive label in the '70s and '80s. All of them highly recommended if you can find a copy at a decent price.

AGF

Pantelis Kavouras wrote:

STEPO wrote:

I think Vaughn Monroe fronted his band without any experience of playing as he was a singer.

This is indeed very interesting. I knew that Bob Crosby was not a trained musician but I had the idea that most of the bandleaders were players

I think that was usually the case, Pantelis and some of them such as Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw and later Buddy Rich were viewed as among the very best players in their field. I've read that Duke Ellington was often overlooked with this due to the sheer longevity of him fronting his own band of over fifty-five years and his enormous catalogue of compositions. Tony Bennett once told me that Ellington was the most prolific composer .. ever.
I'm now off to begin my own modest musical memoirs entitled, "Name Drops Keep Falling on my Head". 

According to both "The Jazz Discography Online" and Brian Rust's "The American Dance Band Discography 1917-1942", Doris Day's first recording session with Les Brown was on Nov. 29, 1940 for Okeh Records. She recorded: "(I Ain't Hep To That Step But I'll) Dig It", "Let's Be Buddies", "While The Music Plays On",
"Three At A Table For Two. As David points out, there are no recordings of Day with the Bob Crosby orchestra (not even radio airchecks, it seems). Interestingly, Vaughan Monroe did play trumpet-including on some of his band's first recordings for Bluebird. 

David Lobosco wrote:

Pantelis Kavouras wrote:

No, as far as I know her first recording was Sentimental Journey with Les Brown imediately after she left Bob Crosby.

I'll have to look it up but I don't think Doris Day's first recording was Sentimental Journey. I think she recorded some earlier stuff with Les Brown but she never made a record with Bob Crosby unfortunately.

My favorite record thst Doris Day made with Les Brown was "While The Music Plays On". It is haunting...



This is wonderful, David. Haunting, indeed with the band of renown and their girl singer being in perfect sympathy. Doris had such a mood setting voice, along with such appealing and intimate skills of interpretation. This performance somehow now reminds me of Artie Shaw's instrumental "Nightmare" and has me wondering if Doris ever recorded or sang with him and any of his bands?