AccueilMention Bing Crosby to most people today and they’ll conjure an image of a wrinkled crooner in a cardigan belting out over-played Christmas songs. Maybe he’s gamely singing an old carol with David Bowie (Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy). Or sat at a piano with the easier-on-the-eye Marjorie Reynolds (White Christmas from the movie Holiday Inn), performing the song he’s now synonymous with.
But Crosby in his prime – a period spanning three decades, no less – achieved a level of fame and success that the world had never been seen before, and arguably hasn’t been seen since (only The Beatles come close). Which is all the more incredible considering that the mediums Crosby would come to dominate – cinema, popular music recording and radio – didn’t really exist in any recognisable form when he was born.
Crosby’s birth in 1903 pre-dated modern cinema, radio and the recording industry. The technology behind ‘Talkies’ – motion pictures with synchronised, pre-recorded sound tracks and dialogue, which we take for granted now – wasn’t perfected until the 1920s. Radio broadcasts, featuring news, talk and music like we know today, began around the same time. Meanwhile, gramophone records (ancestors of vinyl LPs) hadn’t begun outselling mechanical phonograph cylinders until around 1910.
Starting out singing in local bars, clubs and theatres in his teens, Crosby was signed up to sing with the Paul Whiteman band in 1926, one of many big jazz bands that performed the pop music of the day – jazz, movie and show tunes. After much success (and the consequent clash of egos) Crosby made his first solo appearance on radio in 1931 and never looked back.
He’d go on to make over 2,000 music recordings, star in 55 movies (and play a lesser role in another 22), and notch up 38 number one records in the US while charting 396 times in all (more than Elvis and Sinatra combined). He pushed the envelope of recording technology, pioneering and investing in the tape technology that would change the way radio shows and music would be produced forever.
Crosby’s success as a performer was due, in large part, to his voice, his laid-back style and everyman charm. A baritone, the very sound of his voice made him a natural fit for the radio. The broadcasting technology of the 1920s and 1930s, which in its infancy couldn’t transmit voices with the clarity we enjoy today, relied on the strong delivery of a singer for it to work. Crosby’s voice – rich and deep – was perfect.
But it was Crosby’s intimate charm and laissez-faire ways that made him a hit with audiences the world over. His eloquent phrasing of a song’s lyrics became a style imitated by many, while the self-deprecating manner and unimposing physique (his receding hairline and jug ears nearly scuppered his film career before it began) meant people could identify with him. Of course, his tremendous musicality never hurt. Surrounded by the top song-writers of the day and with showbiz friends aplenty, Bing’s was a life less ordinary in an age where Hollywood royalty was just that. Grace Kelly, his co-star in the 1956 movie High Society, would later that year marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco.
Understandably, with such an expansive back catalogue it can be hard to know where to start among Crosby’s musical legacy. A great place to begin is an album Crosby recorded with Louis Armstrong called Bing & Satchmo. The two were firm friends and their chemistry is wonderful. Although Crosby was getting on in years by then (he was 57 when it was recorded in 1960) he still had the jazz chops to hang with the inimitable Armstrong and the resultant LP is a lesson in old school cool. Two other albums from the same period, Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings (1956) and Bing With A Beat (1957) are both ideal follow-ups. To discover the songs and personable style that gave Crosby his big break in the 30s, look no further than the aptly-named A Musical Autobiography – Volume 1 & 2 and the follow-up Volume 3 & 4. Released in 1954, Crosby recalls the early days of his career by reprising his early hits and placing each in its context with a short spoken-word intro.
All of which ought to banish those December memories of shopping mall soundtracks.
Source : http://blog.ovi.com/2011/01/19/beyond-white-christ...
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