Here is also a little tribute I put together in honor of Debbie Reynolds. One of my Grandfather's favorite records was her version of Tammy...





 

Ron Field wrote:

Another star passing on. I think 2016 has been the worse year ever for departures.
What with friends, people I know through other sources (cricket, golf etc) and entertainers I have a tally of at least 40 and that isn't including everyone.
May they all rest in peace and thank you for your friendship and entertainment.

The "Daily Telegraph" in the UK today has a cartoon of the grim reaper sinking back with exhaustion and saying "I think I deserve a break next year".
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There are already a vast number of obituaries for Debbie online and I won't even attempt to add links here. Just do your own searches and you'll find them in profusion.

Like many others I first "discovered" Debbie  in "Singing' In The Rain". As a teenager at the time of the first release I was not really "in" to musicals, preferring comedy and adventure, but like so many families at that time a weekly visit to the cinema was our "standard" entertainment, and you took the best that was on offer from one of the local cinemas. So I got to see Debbie and was bowled over, so I tried to follow up on later films. When "Say One For Me" was released with both Debbie and Bing I of course just had to go along. After all, with my two favourites in the same film it just had to be a roaring success, so I had very high hopes of it, but I have to frankly admit that I found it fell short of my expectations.  It may well be that my current slightly negative view of the film might be adversely influenced by the let-down from the possibly over high expectations which I first had. 

There is of course another, indirect, link between Bing and Debbie - the film and the record of "How The West Was Won", both inspired by a series in the Time-Life magazine and both covering in their different ways the the fascinating story of the opening up of the American west.  Both are also memorable points in the careers of Debbie and Bing.

 
 

 

Interested to read that the duet reached the charts. Are we sure it wasn't Bing's solo version?

Thanks, Graham. See also http://www.45cat.com/record/ks333

This is an appropriate time for me to acknowledge (again) the tremendous help David Kent gave me when I was researching for my book on Bing's contribution to Australian entertainment and I'm pleased to note that I continue regular contact with David. His chart books are amazing.