Search - Bing Crosby :: Crosby Christmas

What You Need To Know

Cary E. Mansfield | Studio City, CA USA | 09/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"* Gathered here for the first time on CD is a never-before-released one of a kind Christmas collection from Bing Crosby's popular radio series.



* Mastered from original source materials for excellent sound quality.



* Includes the all-time classic Bing Crosby Christmas song "White Christmas."



* Features two duets with Peggy Lee and one with Ella Fitzgerald -- performing songs neither Peggy nor Ella ever recorded for their own albums.



* Also features "A Crosby Christmas Medley" with his sons Gary, Dennis, Phillip and Lindsay."

A Crosby Radio Ho, Ho, Ho!

George M. Zavaglia | Brockport, NY | 11/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A Crosby Christmas" starts out as most every radio Crosby Christmas show did, with announcer Ken Carpenters' introduction of Bing singing "O Come All Ye Faithful". At the halfway mark of the song Crosby asks his listeners to join him "in the family key". With that simple bit of genial informality injected into the middle of one of the most reverent of Christmas songs, you begin to feel Crosby's mastery of the medium of network radio.



You hear him at his most casual, on tunes like "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" laughing with duet partner Gloria Wood who sings as a juvenile sounding Rudolph. Crosby and Wood eventually recorded the song but I find this radio version, complete with its' playful banter more enjoyable to listen to.



Crosby used his radio show to try out and perfect arrangements of various songs before putting them on record. Crosby introduced "White Christmas" on radio in 1941, but didn't make a record of it until the next year. "A Crosby Christmas" includes the song from a Christmas Day 1946 broadcast, familiar as ever, with a typically nonchalant introduction by Bing.



"The Christmas Song" is also included from the same show. This time, the radio version of this venerable yuletide standard sounds quite different from the one that Bing recorded in 1947. It runs almost a full minute longer and features some beautiful piano work by Skitch Henderson.



Duet partners sometimes changed from the radio studio to the recording booth too. The Andrews Sisters backed Bing on his recording of "Here Comes Santa Claus". However, this CD features the song as a bouncy duet between Crosby and Peggy Lee.



There are two separate duets of "Silver Bells"; one with Peggy Lee and another with Ella Fitzgerald. On both, the arrangement used seems as close as can be to the one on record. However, his partner on the record turned out to be the less well known Carole Richards.



Another rarity has Bing sharing a segment from a 1950 show with four of his sons. All of the songs sung are lesser known items: "That Christmas Feeling", "I'd Like To Hitch A Ride With Santa Claus," and "The Snowman". Both, the lyrics and chat are from a simpler time and sure to make you smile for one reason or another



Although Bing Crosby's recordings are certainly the most accessible portion of his legacy, his TV Christmas specials are probably what he is best remembered for these days. But, it's his radio work that is the most fun to listen to when you can still find it. From the sound quality and editing of the material, to the packaging, "A Crosby Christmas" appears to be a labor of love by those who put it together. Add it to your CD collection for a generous audio helping of Christmas-just like the ones network radio listeners used to know!

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Old fashioned music

Jody Cotter | De Soto, MO | 04/07/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I used to sing a song to my children about a wonderful snowman that gave his life for the children that made him. It took me forever to find out what the name was and who sang it. Then I was fortunate to find it on Amazon. It amazes me how you can find almost anything you want on Amazon. Even when it comes to old fashioned music like this one. I wish the younger generation could hear it so they could enjoy it too. Good music never gets "old""