I love that 'In the Summertime' it's a great summer anthem and it's also deeply immoral and disgusting! Being one of the very small percent of people who actually listened to the words in pop songs not just the overall sound,and you'd be surprised how many people of my age group who've never clocked the lyrics,I realised age 13 the song was saying something both true and horrible. Pity I ignored the warning! But if you've ever gone past an English country pub on a nice summers day and seen a bunch of lads there- and they could be in there 50s! it's that song in real life. And they're nice people too! But lads have always been lads! Screechy feminists notwithstanding.
I also remember at like 14 when i first stumbled across this song thinking "wait, what did he say? I guess they were just more honest about it back then.." This was in the 90s, so halfway between then and now, thereabouts.
And its a great song. Definitely captures the feeling of being a young man in the summer, with women on your mind. Even at 44 that feeling comes along like clockwork mid may..
I recently watched High Society on DVD. It's interesting to see how that Dad vibe he rocked back then which was very in tune with Middle America disguised that he wasn't that old,but he and Frank Sinatra seem the same age yet were different generations but then it was 'cool' to seen mature and sophisticated. And here in Britain a generation of teen boys like Cliff Richard,Paul MacCartney,John Lennon et al,just couldnt identify with these "Dads" and went on to develop their own style.
How amazingly coincidental that your email showed up in my onscreen inbox while I'm sitting at the piano rehearsing the Crosby/Bowie version of "Little Drummer Boy" for the Christmas Eve Singalong tonight at my Unitarian Universalist church. I'm almost 70 and singing the Crosby part, and the Bowie part will be sung by a 28 year old prog rock vocalist that I've known since his childhood. I'll be thinking of these Crosby stories tonight and well in the future. And I'll perhaps binge a few "Road To..." movies over the holiday. Thank you so much for this!
I was there when he was a guest on Dinah! They were rehearsing with our eight-piece band, and in a lull, they discussed the immediate future. One of them had a concert coming up with the San Francisco Symphony. Ozawa was the conductor.
"He's a 'Jap' but they say he's good," Bing said. Dinah looked uncomfortable.
I have a 5th perspective. My father ran away from his home in Baltimore when he was 16 - went to New York City, to become a singer; no training whatsoever, but he sounded a lot like Bing Crosby. He was back in Baltimore within a few months and stayed there, except for WW-2, for the rest of his life. He seldom sang, and has been dead for forty years. Every time I hear Bing’s “White Christmas”, I hear my father’s voice.
A few of us are still devoted to the Road movies (they showed them all the time on TV when I was growing up), so we see Bing (and Bob) all year round. I recommend going to Youtube and watching Bing sing "You Don't Need to Know the Answer" with the Andrews Sisters. It's from Road to Rio, and it's absolutely jaw-dropping.
Bing’s ability to sing over the backup provided by the young musicians you mention was likely a skill developed while coming up as a singer with all kinds of rhythm sections behind him. Even when you can’t rely on the bass player to play the roots often enough, you can focus on the interval between the note you’re singing and the next one in the melody. If you learn melodies that way (intervallically), you can sing over almost anything and not get off base. You do have to block out the implications of substitute chords, but you’re also freed up to concentrate on how the rhythm may be changed, and alter your phrasing accordingly. Eventually you get used to it. A pro like Bing would have had every chance to learn the technique, and coming up in a harmony group like the Rhythm Boys would have sharpened his ear for melodic intervals.
I wish Bing had sung the intro to White Christmas in the movie. If so the whole world would know it.
I play / sing it seasonally for a couple reasons. 1) I love the piece 2 ) I love Irving Berlin (we share the same birthday... not year)
The intro lyric sets up the body of the song. "The sun is shining, The air is clear, The orange and the palm trees sway" etc... I start with the intro and I always see someone mouthing the words with a huge smile, because they KNOW!
Then he passed away, walking off the 18th green after a round with friends.
What a way to make an exit.
Love when White Christmas comes on. Sound Of Music too. Before the internet, when they were airing, we would schedule our night to be together and watch as a family.
It's so nice to reach the pay bar -and sail past! I'm so glad I was able at last to subscribe paid. For now at least. I heard a story about Bing on Alistair Cookes 'Letter from America'. A USA scientist circa 1940 worked out how to condense fruit juice so acres of Florida sunshine oranges could be squeezed down and thus huge quantities be taken by ship to war worn Britain and Europe that needed it. But this scientist got a negative response from all the big food companies + the US government didn't back it. But Crosby who behind the scenes was a very shrewd businessman (and I learnt that from this broadcast) heard of this and invested in it. He invested serious money. As a result a company was set up to do the process. Ships took huge quantities of the 'just add water' to beleaguered Britain dodging U boats and after the war Crosby made all his money back and more and he'd helped UK kids get vit.C in wartime.
I have had trouble understanding the friendship of Crosby and Hope. Bob Hope was so cynical, sarcastic, and a jingoist patriot. Bing Crosby seemed like the opposite in being the perennial optimist. I do not recall any cynical sarcastic statement coming from Bing Crosby. He was the ultimate family man. Bob Hope seemed to be a caricature of a philandering anti-family icon. His conservative politics is well known. It is a mystery to me how Hope and Crosby were such close friends. But then Ruth Bader Ginsburg was close friends with Antonin Scalia. Go figure.
It has been noted that two Hollywood stars noted for dry slightly sarky humour both came from my city of Bristol UK. My parents came to this city from the wider west country to find work in the 1950s. That migration has been going on for a thousand years and folk who have investigated both Grant + Hopes family trees show that their families too come from the area around Bristol,places in Gloucestershire and Somerset. The City of Bristol always had a reputation of being a hard place where fools were not tolerated and "suckers never given an even break". In that regard it was like our popular idea of Paris which probably explains why that city feels like home to me! The funniness of Hope and the more subtle funniness of Grant is very Bristolian in nature. Not so much today now all them Londoners are moving here and diluting it and putting the house prices up!!!
It was often cruel and not kind but it was robust.
Great piece! Thank you. Crosby could pretty much do anything. Dixieland, ballads, Irish folk music, swing, pop, comic, ensemble...His version of "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral" is a masterclass in control. Going softer and softer, as the melody rises in pitch. Not for nothing he was the most successful pop singer of the mid-20th century.
Im suprised to see mungo jerry still so high on that list. Or maybe not, its a catchy tune. One that would never get made today, i might add..
"If her daddy's rich, take her out for a meal
If her daddy's poor, just do what you feel" would never fly today.
I highly encourage the movie white christmas be added to everybodies xmas movies list(if its not there all ready). Bings coolness is on full display.
I love that 'In the Summertime' it's a great summer anthem and it's also deeply immoral and disgusting! Being one of the very small percent of people who actually listened to the words in pop songs not just the overall sound,and you'd be surprised how many people of my age group who've never clocked the lyrics,I realised age 13 the song was saying something both true and horrible. Pity I ignored the warning! But if you've ever gone past an English country pub on a nice summers day and seen a bunch of lads there- and they could be in there 50s! it's that song in real life. And they're nice people too! But lads have always been lads! Screechy feminists notwithstanding.
I also remember at like 14 when i first stumbled across this song thinking "wait, what did he say? I guess they were just more honest about it back then.." This was in the 90s, so halfway between then and now, thereabouts.
And its a great song. Definitely captures the feeling of being a young man in the summer, with women on your mind. Even at 44 that feeling comes along like clockwork mid may..
I recently watched High Society on DVD. It's interesting to see how that Dad vibe he rocked back then which was very in tune with Middle America disguised that he wasn't that old,but he and Frank Sinatra seem the same age yet were different generations but then it was 'cool' to seen mature and sophisticated. And here in Britain a generation of teen boys like Cliff Richard,Paul MacCartney,John Lennon et al,just couldnt identify with these "Dads" and went on to develop their own style.
How amazingly coincidental that your email showed up in my onscreen inbox while I'm sitting at the piano rehearsing the Crosby/Bowie version of "Little Drummer Boy" for the Christmas Eve Singalong tonight at my Unitarian Universalist church. I'm almost 70 and singing the Crosby part, and the Bowie part will be sung by a 28 year old prog rock vocalist that I've known since his childhood. I'll be thinking of these Crosby stories tonight and well in the future. And I'll perhaps binge a few "Road To..." movies over the holiday. Thank you so much for this!
Wonderful December Holiday’s piece . . . L O V E
In consideration of Bibg's scope of music, perhaps you'll consider a study of Dinah Shore who could match any of her TV show guests.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIESkw2U-sI
I was there when he was a guest on Dinah! They were rehearsing with our eight-piece band, and in a lull, they discussed the immediate future. One of them had a concert coming up with the San Francisco Symphony. Ozawa was the conductor.
"He's a 'Jap' but they say he's good," Bing said. Dinah looked uncomfortable.
Many others used such vernacular of the day. It appears times are gradually changing for the better in that regard.
In consideration of Bing's scope of music, perhaps you'll consider a study of Dinah Shore who could match any of her TV show guests.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIESkw2U-sI
I have a 5th perspective. My father ran away from his home in Baltimore when he was 16 - went to New York City, to become a singer; no training whatsoever, but he sounded a lot like Bing Crosby. He was back in Baltimore within a few months and stayed there, except for WW-2, for the rest of his life. He seldom sang, and has been dead for forty years. Every time I hear Bing’s “White Christmas”, I hear my father’s voice.
Thanks for the nice tribute to Bing. I’ve always thought that if you could sound however you wanted to, you’d want to sound like Bing.
A few of us are still devoted to the Road movies (they showed them all the time on TV when I was growing up), so we see Bing (and Bob) all year round. I recommend going to Youtube and watching Bing sing "You Don't Need to Know the Answer" with the Andrews Sisters. It's from Road to Rio, and it's absolutely jaw-dropping.
I will do that. Sounds intriguing.
What a nice read for Christmas Eve! Well done!
Really great piece Ted , thanks for the interesting history , so important to hear these stories .
Bing’s ability to sing over the backup provided by the young musicians you mention was likely a skill developed while coming up as a singer with all kinds of rhythm sections behind him. Even when you can’t rely on the bass player to play the roots often enough, you can focus on the interval between the note you’re singing and the next one in the melody. If you learn melodies that way (intervallically), you can sing over almost anything and not get off base. You do have to block out the implications of substitute chords, but you’re also freed up to concentrate on how the rhythm may be changed, and alter your phrasing accordingly. Eventually you get used to it. A pro like Bing would have had every chance to learn the technique, and coming up in a harmony group like the Rhythm Boys would have sharpened his ear for melodic intervals.
I wish Bing had sung the intro to White Christmas in the movie. If so the whole world would know it.
I play / sing it seasonally for a couple reasons. 1) I love the piece 2 ) I love Irving Berlin (we share the same birthday... not year)
The intro lyric sets up the body of the song. "The sun is shining, The air is clear, The orange and the palm trees sway" etc... I start with the intro and I always see someone mouthing the words with a huge smile, because they KNOW!
Then he passed away, walking off the 18th green after a round with friends.
What a way to make an exit.
Love when White Christmas comes on. Sound Of Music too. Before the internet, when they were airing, we would schedule our night to be together and watch as a family.
A Merry Christmas everyone!
It's so nice to reach the pay bar -and sail past! I'm so glad I was able at last to subscribe paid. For now at least. I heard a story about Bing on Alistair Cookes 'Letter from America'. A USA scientist circa 1940 worked out how to condense fruit juice so acres of Florida sunshine oranges could be squeezed down and thus huge quantities be taken by ship to war worn Britain and Europe that needed it. But this scientist got a negative response from all the big food companies + the US government didn't back it. But Crosby who behind the scenes was a very shrewd businessman (and I learnt that from this broadcast) heard of this and invested in it. He invested serious money. As a result a company was set up to do the process. Ships took huge quantities of the 'just add water' to beleaguered Britain dodging U boats and after the war Crosby made all his money back and more and he'd helped UK kids get vit.C in wartime.
He also made an important (accidental, posthumous) contribution to baseball history. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/sports/baseball/24crosby.html
I have had trouble understanding the friendship of Crosby and Hope. Bob Hope was so cynical, sarcastic, and a jingoist patriot. Bing Crosby seemed like the opposite in being the perennial optimist. I do not recall any cynical sarcastic statement coming from Bing Crosby. He was the ultimate family man. Bob Hope seemed to be a caricature of a philandering anti-family icon. His conservative politics is well known. It is a mystery to me how Hope and Crosby were such close friends. But then Ruth Bader Ginsburg was close friends with Antonin Scalia. Go figure.
My daughter wrote a paper on Bing when she was in school, and she was dismayed to discover what a family man he wasn’t.
So I've heard
It has been noted that two Hollywood stars noted for dry slightly sarky humour both came from my city of Bristol UK. My parents came to this city from the wider west country to find work in the 1950s. That migration has been going on for a thousand years and folk who have investigated both Grant + Hopes family trees show that their families too come from the area around Bristol,places in Gloucestershire and Somerset. The City of Bristol always had a reputation of being a hard place where fools were not tolerated and "suckers never given an even break". In that regard it was like our popular idea of Paris which probably explains why that city feels like home to me! The funniness of Hope and the more subtle funniness of Grant is very Bristolian in nature. Not so much today now all them Londoners are moving here and diluting it and putting the house prices up!!!
It was often cruel and not kind but it was robust.
Bing and Danny Kaye in White Christmas will always be my favorite Holiday movie.
Danny looks suspicously happy to be in drag and Bing looks very unhappy and uncomfortable!
Kaye was gay, had an affair with Laurence Olivier. But probably unable to be overt about it in those days.
Powerful piece Mr. Gioia. May your days be merry and bright.
Great piece! Thank you. Crosby could pretty much do anything. Dixieland, ballads, Irish folk music, swing, pop, comic, ensemble...His version of "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral" is a masterclass in control. Going softer and softer, as the melody rises in pitch. Not for nothing he was the most successful pop singer of the mid-20th century.