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1 of 1- Richard Baker
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The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
Over on the 'Home Of Bing Crosby' site they are building a very good 'library' of the old radio shows. Intermingled with broadcasts about Bing and interviews with Bing are an increasing number of complete shows from KMH, Philco et al. Here
There is now several hours worth. Just point your computer in that direction and 'stream' the shows. For those not familiar with them they are a wonderful mixture of song, comic sketches, knockabout banter, the occasional serious item and even the adverts can be entertaining and interesting (The odd interesting bit of social history emerges even from the advertising - how many ration points for Philadelphia Cheese?) The shows so far include:-
KMH February 3 1944 with Donald O'Connor
KMH May 4 1944 with Gene Kelly
KMH June 29 1944 with Roy Rogers
KMH July 6 1944 with the Dorsey Brothers
KMH November 30 1944 with Spike Jones
KMH January 18 1945 with Duke Ellington
Philco Hall of Fame December 24 1944 - 'The Happy Prince'
Philco Hall of Fame December 24 1946 - 'The Small One'
Philco Radio Time October 1 1947 with Peggy Lee and Gary Cooper
Philco Radio Time November 26 1947 'The Man Without a Country' dramatisation
Philco Radio Time March 17 1948 with Margaret O'Brien
Chesterfield October 11 1950 with Judy Garland
General Electric March 26 1953 with Rosemary Clooney and Joe Venuti
Bing Crosby Show May 24 1956
The Crosby - Clooney Show February 29 1960 (The first in the series)
- Anton G.-F.
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Re: The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
In the Bing Crosby Audio Vault there is a very interesting interview that Bing Crosby did on the British Capital Radio in the 1970s. I listened to it yesterday and was thinking of transcribing it because I find some of the things that Bing says quite interesting. However, I don't think I remember hearing the name of the announcer that is interviewing Bing on that broadcast. Any help?
- Richard Baker
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Re: The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
Anton G.-F. wrote:
In the Bing Crosby Audio Vault there is a very interesting interview that Bing Crosby did on the British Capital Radio in the 1970s. I listened to it yesterday and was thinking of transcribing it because I find some of the things that Bing says quite interesting. However, I don't think I remember hearing the name of the announcer that is interviewing Bing on that broadcast. Any help?
Anton
I am afraid I don't know but the reference to 'Mike' by Bing narrows the possibilities a little and I think with that help that I recognize the voice as being that of Michael Aspel.
I see from his Wikipedia entry that he did present a radio show for Capital in the appropriate period. He has done a wide range of work on radio and TV and was a TV news reader at one time.
Can anyone else be more positive?
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Thread Starter- Anton G.-F.
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Re: The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
Richard,
Thank you very much for the information about Michael Aspel, who was totally unknown to me. Although at times it sounds as though "Mike" had prepared for the interview a little bit in a rush (like when he says that he had read the description of Bing's voice as "microgenic" in a book the day before, or when he states that success came to Bing rather quickly, with which Bing clearly disagrees), his conversation with Bing flows easily and turns out to be really interesting.
Thanks again for your help!
- Malcolm Macfarlane
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Re: The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
The show was on July 18, 1975 on Capital Radio in the morning and the interviewer was indeed Michael Aspel.
Last edited by Malcolm Macfarlane (16/6/2012 3:22 pm)
- Richard Baker
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Re: The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
Thank you very much for the information about Michael Aspel, who was totally unknown to me. Although at times it sounds as though "Mike" had prepared for the interview a little bit in a rush (like when he says that he had read the description of Bing's voice as "microgenic" in a book the day before, or when he states that success came to Bing rather quickly, with which Bing clearly disagrees), his conversation with Bing flows easily and turns out to be really interesting.
Anton, Aspel had wide exposure in the UK but I think that much of what he did was not of a type that would have been 'exported' in any form. As to the preparation, he was a busy chap, always popping up on radio and TV, and I assume his preparation was necessarily a little last minute. A good presenter and warm interviewer (he would not have been so successful otherwise) but the key fact is that he has journalistic roots, not musical.
A number of presenters of similar programmes (in the UK at least) had musical roots and came to such work with much deeper knowledge and sometimes long acquaintanceship with their interviewees. Most will only be familiar to those in the UK, but above all there was Alan Dell, who conducted the very last interview with Bing for the BBC at which the last songs were recorded on October 11, 1977 (issued on the CD 'Seasons' still available from 'The Home Of Bing Crosby'). He had an encyclopedic knowledge of of popular music of the 1930s onwards, particularly of the swing and dance bands and the vocalists, and had himself produced records.
The show was on July 18, 1975 on Capiatl Radio in the morning and the interviewer was indeed Michael Aspel.
Thank you, Malcolm for the confirmation and date. I was not in the Capital Radio catchment area and the programme was new to me.
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Thread Starter- Anton G.-F.
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Re: The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
Malcolm,
Thank you very much for your information about the radio broadcast!
***************************
Richard,
Unfortunately, I didn't know who Michael Aspel was, because even though I lived in Europe for many years before moving to the United States, I never lived in England permanently. In that interview with Bing, Aspel sounds like a very good interviewer, warm and personable, and the interview is very interesting. However, I think that you are right when you note that he came from a journalistic, non-musical background because sometimes his questions sound tentative, as though he wasn't very familiar with Bing's music.
I know Alan Dell because I have been listening to some of his dance-band broadcasts that a member of the Yahoo British Dance Bands group has made available on his website, and he certainly had an encyclopedic knowledge of the great dance bands (which are a passion of mine as well) and of popular music in general. I have the reissue of the Seasons album with those songs that you mention, but I have never heard Bing's interview with Alan Dell. Is there any way to find it? I'd be very interested in hearing it!
- Ron Field
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Re: The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
Anton,
There was a BBC LP called 'The Final Chapter' with interviews with Bing, Kathryn, Rosemary etc. Don't know if it is still available though.
Morecombe and Wise used to give Aspel a serve now and again along with Des O'Connor and that lady news reader on BBC - was it Angela Rippon?
- Anton G.-F.
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Re: The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
Dear Ron,
The BBC LP that you mention must be this one, sold by some third-party sellers on Amazon.com:
It looks like there is still an affordable used copy of it, apparently in pretty good shape!
- David Lobosco
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Re: The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
I have the Final Chapter LP on a CD and it is one of my prized possessions. A great end to a great legend.
- Richard Baker
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Re: The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
I have the Final Chapter LP on a CD and it is one of my prized possessions. A great end to a great legend.
I agree. It was great to have the songs on the CD issued by Collector's Choice with ''Seasons'', but the LP ''The Final Chapter'' with comments by those with personal memories together with the excerpts of the interview with Alan Dell brought so much more to the album.
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Thread Starter- Steve Fay
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Re: The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
The idea of the recording album being a work of art came into its fullness in the LP format. With "The Final Chapter" a more precise description would be "chronicle."
It's an LP I only added to my collection during the past year, and I am very glad to have it.
- David Lobosco
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Re: The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
I have the Final Chapter LP on a CD and it is one of my prized possessions. A great end to a great legend.
I agree. It was great to have the songs on the CD issued by Collector's Choice with ''Seasons'', but the LP ''The Final Chapter'' with comments by those with personal memories together with the excerpts of the interview with Alan Dell brought so much more to the album.
I agree it was nice to hear, but you lose the effect of those final recordings without hearing the Final Chapter LP - great stuff!
- paulmock
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Re: The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
I cherish my original LP copy of "The Final Chapter" which I bought when it was first released. I play it every year around those sad dates.
All the best,
Paul M. Mock
- Richard Baker
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Re: The Home Of Bing Crosby Audio Vault
''The Home Of Bing Crosby'' has not added any new audio material for a while but has now more than made up for it by adding Gord Atkinson's massive sequence ''The Crosby Years''.
This series, together with ''The Crosby Story'' from the BBC, already on the site, produces a comprehensive review of Bing's life and legacy, largely by means of direct contributions of those who were there - who knew Bing, were his friends and co - stars, interspersed with appropriate recordings.
A great listen. Click on this link -
A couple of the Philco Radio shows have also been added.
Go listen!
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