Archiefit wrote:

So right.  And can you imagine with that minimalist piano style of Gordon Jenkins if Bing had made some beautiful recordings with him.   I think if Bing had made an album similar in style to Godon's  "Jimmy Durante's Way of Life".   What a fine Bing album it would be. 

I agree with Archiefit. One of my favourite ever albums - Bing or otherwise - is Harry Nilsson's 1973 release A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, a selection of 'Golden Age' standards with wonderfully lush arrangements by the great Gordon Jenkins. Although Nilsson very occasionally brings a contemporary 70s 'pop' touch to a couple of the tracks, I nevertheless think that the whole concept of the album would have suited Bing to a tee and a similar project would have made a wonderful addition to that amazing late flowering of his recording career.

ModernBingFan0377 wrote:

I agree to a tee, though I don’t think Bing would’ve ever made an album like that without ample persuasion. As noted in one of his letters to Ken Barnes about “Seasons,” he liked having a couple more swinging numbers to offset ballads, he thought listeners would get bored with him singing ballads for a whole album. Evidently he was wrong in that respect, and I’m very sad we never got a fully solemn contemplative album.

That's a very good point. I had forgotten about the correspondence with Ken Barnes. I still think it's a shame Bing wasn't coaxed out of his comfort zone - rather in the way he had been nearly 20 years earlier with Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings.