Bing Crosby
THE LEGENDARY BING CROSBY,
FEATURING CLIPS UNSEEN SINCE ORIGINAL BROADCAST,
PREMIERES ON PUBLIC TELEVISION FEB. 2010
Vintage footage includes collaborations with Louis Armstrong, Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, David Bowie, Carol Burnett and more!
With his smooth voice and easy-going style, legendary performer Bing Crosby crooned his way into the hearts of fellow celebrities and fans around the world. His prolific talent across multiple entertainment platforms earned him three Academy Award nominations and one Oscar, 38 Number One hits, numerous gold and platinum records, and countless other honors. Now, fans will delight in the release of a new public television special devoted to the iconic entertainer, THE LEGENDARY BING CROSBY, set to premiere February 2010 (check local listings). Produced and directed by Emmy and Grammy nominee John Scheinfeld, the program presents many of the entertainer's most memorable performances from his classic network specials, which aired from 1954 to 1977, including recently discovered, digitally restored footage and clips that have not been seen since their original broadcast.
The program seamlessly blends full-song solo performances and duets with enlightening interviews with Bing's wife, Kathryn, daughter, Mary, film critic Leonard Maltin, television personality Regis Philbin, music legend Andy Williams, and performer / musicologist Michael Feinstein. Their commentary provides intimate insight into the life and career of Crosby, while the noteworthy collection of clips capture this timeless entertainer at his best ... singing, dancing, and joking around on stage.
Enjoy Crosby's enduring solos - including "I Love Paris," "Swanee," "Ol Man River," and "It Had to Be You" - and reminisce about the golden days of Hollywood with unforgettable performances featuring Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Fred Astaire, Andy Williams and more. Songs range from popular jazz standards to classic holiday numbers, including a famous collaboration with rock star David Bowie on "The Little Drummer Boy." All of the performances are filled with Crosby's trademark charm, effortless grace, and versatile talent.
Check with your local PBS station for dates and times!
The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings 1954-56
Mosaic Records Limited Edition Collection (7 CDs)
Available Now at www.MosaicRecords.com
Bing on the Beeb - Some Great Commentary about the New Mosaic Set
Play: Commentary
The Russell Davies Song Show (December 20, 2009) BBC Radio 2
" . . . these are a master's lucid readings of the American songbook." Time
" 
. . . Outstanding " Philadelphia Inquirer
" . . . this set leaves no possible doubt of his urbane, unflappable swing."
Terry Teachout / About Last Night
Play: My Baby Just Cares For Me
Play: Get Me To The Church On Time
Play: Button Up Your Overcoat
Play: Lullaby of Broadway
Play: But Not For Me
"Like buried treasure reclaimed from the past, this remarkable set is like no other Bing Crosby collection ever released. Here is the great crooner and a quartet led by his longtime accompanist Buddy Cole, occasionally augmented by a few wind instruments, in a thesaurus of 160 songs recorded in the most informal of circumstances at 15 sessions, during a period (1954-56) when Bing was in exceptionally good voice.
Most of these performances haven't been heard on records at all, except by ardent collectors; many tracks will be new even to them-the audio quality will be a happy surprise to all. The masters have been safely kept these many years in the majestic Crosby home in Hillsborough, CA, by Bing's widow, Kathryn Crosby, and are now collected for the first time by Mosaic in participation with the Bing Crosby Estate. It is a bounty to be savored.
Here in full flower is the tensile suppleness, the canny informality of the Crosby voice, which Louis Armstrong memorably described as "a mellow quality ... like gold being poured out of a cup." Freely roaming through an anthology of mostly first-class tunes, he shapes and finesses the melodies, detailing each phrase, finding import in each lyric. You can hear the pleasure he takes in his vocal equipment, in low notes that shimmer like deep waters, in his occasional use of the upper mordent-a technique of turning a note on its heel that Crosby had made his signature in the early 1930s, and then largely abandoned in the intervening years. One reason he felt so comfortable is that his accompanists suited him to a golf tee. Some backings are so tight and responsive they sound as though they had been rehearsed over many days.
For many of us, Bing's jazz-themed albums of the 1950s have long stood out as defining moments in an outstanding window of time when Bing seemed on the verge of luminous renewal as a recording artist... This set increases the mid-50s Crosby trove exponentially. More than half a century has passed, but this is an inheritance that was well worth waiting for."
- Gary Giddins, edited from liner notes (Gary Giddins is the author of Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams)
Mosaic Records, LLC
Mosaic Records was launched in 1983 and was the first company devoted exclusively to reissuing jazz recordings in limited-edition boxed sets. It began with a proposal for the complete, definitive boxed sets of significant artists like Thelonious Monk and continues to this day with recent releases by artists such as Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong Mosaic collections have garnered 5 Grammy nominations. All Mosaic collections are presented with the respect and love that the great art contained within demands from the accompanying full-size booklet that features newly commissioned biographies and musical analysis and rare and unpublished photographs printed in a rich duo-tone process to restoring the sound quality to the best you've ever heard.
Contact: www.mosaicrecords.com or e-mail at info@mosaicrecords.com
Bing Crosby (1903-77), born in Tacoma and raised in Spokane, WA, grew up surrounded by music and first performed professionally as a drummer and vocalist with local band "The Musicaladers". Crosby next traveled to Los Angeles and toured as one third of The Rhythm Boys with "The King of Jazz" Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra. By December 1926, the influence of his life long friend Louis Armstrong had begun to forever change how Crosby interpreted songs. Over his 50-year recording career, Crosby sang just about every type of song but his roots were in jazz and this new collection displays those roots like no other Crosby release ever has.
In these tracks, both new and long-time Crosby fans will discover how Bing Crosby and jazz are inseparable. Listen and enjoy!
For more information on Bing, visit www.BingCrosby.com or email info@BingCrosby.com. You can also follow Bing on Facebook and Twitter.