|
|
 |
Harry Lillis Bing Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was one of the most popular and influential American singers and actors of the 20th century, rivaled only by Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Bing Crosby's career lasted from 1926 when he debuted with the Whiteman Orchestra until his death in 1977.
Known for his deep, rich baritone and vibrant enunciation, Crosby is considered one of the finest vocalists ever, and is credited as being the inspiration for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dean Martin and more recently Michael Bublé. In 1992, Artie Shaw offered his opinion of Crosby's place in American culture in these terms: "The thing you have to understand about Bing Crosby is that he was the first hip white person born in the United States"1.
Bing Crosby holds the distinction of Crooner of the 20th century.
Harry Lillis (Bing) Crosby was born in Tacoma, Washington on May 3, 1903 in a house that his father built (1112 North J Street, Tacoma, Washington) . His family later moved to Spokane, Washington in 1906 to find work.
"It Should be noted that Bing Crosby had no birth certificate and his birth date was shrouded in mystery until the Roman Catholic church in Tacoma, Washinton realeased baptismal records that revealed Bing's birthdate."
The nickname "Bing" was bestowed upon on him by a childhood friend, Valentine Hobart, who both shared an interest in a newspaper comic strip called The Bingville Bugle, Valentine Hobart began calling Harry Crosby "Bingo from Bingville." Eventually the nickname was shortened to "Bing" and was adopted by Bing's other friends and teachers.
Bing enrolled in Gonzaga College in Spokane in the fall of 1920 with the intent to become a lawyer. While in Gonzaga he sent away for a set of mail order drums. After much practice he soon became good enough and was invited to join a local band made which was made up of mostly local high school kids. the Musicaladers, managed by Al Rinker. He made so much money doing this he decided to drop out of school during his final year, to pursue a career in show buisness.
After touring the vaudeville circuit since 1925 Bing Crosby came to national attention while with the popular Whiteman Orchestra, with whom he made his film debut in The King of Jazz (1930). From then on he was a top stage and radio performer and a best-selling recording artist.
The technological innovation of the microphone appeared just as Crosby was beginning his career. With microphones, singers could offer a softer, more intimate style than before, Crosby was one of the first singers to exploit this technique successfully.
Crosby's biggest musical hit was his recording of the Irving Berlin classic "White Christmas" which is believed to have sold in excess of 30 million copies. He first sang the song in the 1942 musical "Holiday Inn" costarring Fred Astaire, and it topped the charts throughout the end of 1942. It reappeared at #1 in 1945, and again in January 1947, the only single in history to achieve three separate stays at the top (albeit in two recorded versions). He collected 21 other gold records, including "I'll Be Home for Christmas", "Too-Ra-Lo-Ra-Loo-Ral" and "Swinging on a Star". In 1962 he became the first recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His popularity as a singer was matched by his success as an actor. He appeared in dozens of movies from the 1930s–1960s, and received the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1944.
Golfballs for the Scrap Rubber Drive during WWIICrosby also had regular radio shows from the 1930s–1950s, during the 1940s he recorded many songs with the Andrews Sisters, he starred in a network television sitcom in 1964–1965, and made numerous short films and television appearances.
Crosby's desire to pre-record his radio shows, combined with a dissatisfaction with the available aluminum recording disks, was a significant factor in the development of magnetic tape recording and the radio industry's adoption of it. Crosby became an investor in Ampex, and Bing Crosby Enterprises became a distributor of the Ampex 200 tape recorder used to record the radio programs. History repeated when Crosby was asked to do a television show and demanded that it be pre-recorded, spurring the development and adoption of videotape.
Bing Crosby Filmography
Actor
• All-Star Christmas: Favorite Holiday Classics (2004)
• Classic Comedy: 4 Movie Box Set (2004)
• Frank Sinatra - Singing with Friends (2004)
• Funny Guys (2004)
• Happy Holidays from Sinatra and Crosby (2004)
• Kiss Me Kate/High Society (2004)
• Thomas Kinkaide - Christmas Treasures (2004)
• Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964)
• The Road to Hong Kong (1962)
• Let's Make Love (1960)
• The Road to Lebanon (1960)
• Anything Goes (1956)
• High Society (1955)
• The Country Girl (1954)
• White Christmas (1954)
• Just for You (1952)
• Road to Bali (1952)
• Here Comes the Groom (1951)
• Mr. Music (1950)
• Riding High (1950)
• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949)
• The Emperor Waltz (1948)
• Road to Rio (1947)
• Variety Girl (1947)
• Welcome Stranger (1947)
• Blue Skies (1946)
• Road To Hollywood (1946)
• Road to Utopia (1946)
• The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
• Going My Way (1944)
• Here Come the Waves (1944)
• Holiday Inn (1942)
• Road to Morocco (1942)
• The Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)
• The Birth of the Blues (1941)
• Road to Zanzibar (1941)
• Rhythm on the River (1940)
• Road to Singapore (1940)
• Waikiki Wedding (1937)
• Pennies From Heaven (1936)
• Rhythm on the Range (1936)
• We're Not Dressing (1934)
• Going Hollywood (1933)
• Reaching for the Moon (1931)
• The King of Jazz (1930)
• Crooners of the Century
Cameo
• My Favorite Blonde (1942)
Music Performer
• All-Star Christmas: Favorite Holiday Classics (2004)
• Great Entertainers (2004)
Narrator
• The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
|
