Editing Bing Crosby (section)

==Career==
===Early years===
In 1923, Crosby was invited to join a new band composed of high-school students a few years younger than himself. [[Al Rinker|Al]] and Miles Rinker (brothers of singer [[Mildred Bailey]]), James Heaton, Claire Pritchard and Robert Pritchard, along with drummer Crosby, formed the Musicaladers,<ref name=bicrdha/> who performed at dances both for high school students and club-goers. The group performed on Spokane radio station [[The Davenport Hotel (Spokane, Washington)|KHQ]], but disbanded after two years.<ref name="Giddins2001"/>{{rp|92–97}}<ref>[[The Davenport Hotel (Spokane, Washington)|Early KHQ broadcast from the Davenport Hotel Spokane]]</ref> Crosby and Al Rinker obtained work at the Clemmer Theatre in Spokane (now known as the [[Bing Crosby Theater]]).

On August 14, 1925, Bing appeared at the Clemmer Theater as part of The Clemmer Trio (Frank McBride, Lloyd Grinnell and Harry Crosby) and they were shown as being presented with special stage effects.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Spokesman-Review |journal=The Spokesman-Review |date=May 13, 1925 |page=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Spokane Chronicle |journal=Spokane Chronicle|date=August 17, 1925}}</ref>Rinker played piano in the pit. They continued at the theater alongside the film of the week for a very successful 12 weeks. They were initially billed as The Clemmer Trio and later as The Clemmer Entertainers depending who performed.<ref name="macfarlane2001">{{cite book |last=Macfarlane |first=Malcolm |url=http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/1903-1935.htm |title=Bing Crosby: Day by Day |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield#Imprints|Scarecrow Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=0810841452 |edition=Live (online) revision}}</ref>

In October 1925, Crosby and Rinker decided to seek fame in California. They traveled to Los Angeles, where Bailey introduced them to her show business contacts. The [[Fanchon and Marco]] Time Agency hired them for 13 weeks for the revue ''The Syncopation Idea'' starting at the Boulevard Theater in Los Angeles and then on the [[Loews Theatres|Loew's circuit]]. They each earned $75 a week. As minor parts of ''The Syncopation Idea'', Crosby and Rinker started to develop as entertainers. They had a lively style that was popular with college students. After ''The Syncopation Idea'' closed, they worked in the Will Morrissey Music Hall Revue. They honed their skills with Morrissey, and when they got a chance to present an independent act, they were spotted by a member of the [[Paul Whiteman]] organization.

Whiteman needed something different to break up his musical selections, and Crosby and Rinker filled this requirement. After less than a year in show business, they were attached to one of the biggest names.<ref name="macfarlane2001"/> Hired for $150 a week in 1926, they debuted with Whiteman on December 6 at the [[Tivoli Theatre (Chicago)|Tivoli Theatre]] in Chicago. Their first recording, in October 1926, was "I've Got the Girl" with Don Clark's Orchestra, but the Columbia-issued record was inadvertently recorded at a slow speed, which increased the singers' pitch when played at 78&nbsp;rpm. Throughout his career, Crosby often credited Bailey for getting him his first important job in the entertainment business.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.redhotjazz.com/rhythmboys.html |title=Paul Whiteman's Original Rhythm Boys |website=Redhotjazz.com |access-date=November 19, 2016 |archive-date=November 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107114559/http://www.redhotjazz.com/rhythmboys.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===The Rhythm Boys===
[[File:The Rhythm Boys - Screenland, April 1934 01.jpg|thumb|right|Crosby (middle) with [[The Rhythm Boys]] in c. 1929-30]]
Success with Whiteman was followed by disaster when they reached New York. Whiteman considered letting them go. However, the addition of pianist and aspiring songwriter [[Harry Barris]] made the difference, and [[The Rhythm Boys]] were born. The additional voice meant they could be heard more easily in large New York theaters. Crosby gained valuable experience on tour for a year with Whiteman and performing and recording with [[Bix Beiderbecke]], [[Jack Teagarden]], [[Tommy Dorsey]], [[Jimmy Dorsey]], [[Eddie Lang]], and [[Hoagy Carmichael]]. Crosby matured as a performer and was in demand as a solo singer.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Macfarlane |first1=Malcolm |title=Bing Crosby – Day by Day |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/1903-1935.htm#Chapter_3 |website=BING magazine |access-date=February 18, 2016}}</ref>

Crosby became the star attraction of the Rhythm Boys. In 1928, he had his first number one hit, a jazz-influenced rendition of "[[Ol' Man River]]". In 1929, the Rhythm Boys appeared in the film ''[[King of Jazz]]'' with Whiteman, but Crosby's growing dissatisfaction with Whiteman led to the Rhythm Boys leaving his organization. They joined the [[Gus Arnheim]] Orchestra, performing nightly in the [[Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)|Coconut Grove]] of the Ambassador Hotel. Singing with the Arnheim Orchestra, Crosby's solos began to steal the show while the Rhythm Boys' act gradually became redundant. Harry Barris wrote several of Crosby's hits, including "At Your Command", "[[I Surrender Dear]]", and "[[Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams (song)|Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams]]". When [[Mack Sennett]] signed Crosby to a solo film contract in 1931, a break with the Rhythm Boys became almost inevitable. Crosby married [[Dixie Lee]] in September 1930. After a threat of divorce in March 1931, he applied himself to his career.

===Success as a solo singer===
[[File:Bing Crosby - Modern Screen, September 1932.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|left|Crosby in 1932]]

On September 2, 1931, ''[[15 Minutes with Bing Crosby]]'', his nationwide solo radio debut, began broadcasting.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.radiohalloffame.com/bing-crosby |title=Bing Crosby |publisher=Radio Hall of Fame |access-date=September 2, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923002631/http://www.radiohof.org/musicvariety/bingcrosby.html |archive-date=September 23, 2008}}</ref> The weekly broadcast made Crosby a hit.<ref name="kl">{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3094/biography}}</ref> Before the end of the year, he {{clarify|text=signed|reason=separate recording contracts? or one recording and the other broadcasting?|date=February 2022}} with both [[Brunswick Records]] and [[CBS Radio]]. "[[Out of Nowhere (Johnny Green song)|Out of Nowhere]]", "Just One More Chance", "[[At Your Command]]", and "[[I Found a Million Dollar Baby (in a Five and Ten Cent Store)]]" were among the best-selling songs of 1931.<ref name="kl"/>

Ten of the top 50 songs of 1931 included Crosby with others or as a solo act. A "Battle of the Baritones" with singer [[Russ Columbo]] proved short-lived, replaced with the slogan "Bing Was King". Crosby played the lead in a series of [[I Surrender Dear (1931 film)|musical comedy short films]] for Mack Sennett, signed with Paramount, and starred in his first full-length film, 1932's ''[[The Big Broadcast]]'' (1932), the first of 55 films in which he received top billing. Crosby would appear in almost 80 pictures. He signed a contract with [[Jack Kapp]]'s new record company, [[Decca Records|Decca]], in late 1934.

Crosby's first commercial sponsor on radio was [[15 Minutes with Bing Crosby#Bing Crosby – The Cremo Singer|Cremo Cigars]] and his fame spread nationwide. After a long run in New York, Crosby went back to Hollywood to film ''[[The Big Broadcast]]''. His appearances, records, and radio work substantially increased his impact. The success of his first film brought Crosby a contract with Paramount, and he began a pattern of making three films a year. Crosby led his radio show for Woodbury Soap for two seasons while his live appearances dwindled. Crosby's records produced hits during the Depression when sales were down. Audio engineer [[Steve Hoffman (audio engineer)|Steve Hoffman]] stated, "By the way, Bing actually saved the record business in 1934 when he agreed to support Decca founder Jack Kapp's crazy idea of lowering the price of singles from a dollar to 35 cents and getting a royalty for records sold instead of a flat fee. Bing's name and his artistry saved the recording industry. All the other artists signed to Decca after Bing did. Without him, Jack Kapp wouldn't have had a chance in hell of making Decca work and the Great Depression would have wiped out phonograph records for good."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/bing-crosby-bing-his-legendary-years-hows-the-sound.153459/ |title=Bing Crosby- Bing! His Legendary Years How's the sound? &#124; Steve Hoffman Music Forums |website=Forums.stevehoffman.tv |access-date=November 19, 2016}}</ref>

His first son [[Gary Crosby (actor)|Gary]] was born in 1933 with twin boys following in 1934. By 1936, Crosby replaced his former boss, Paul Whiteman, as host of the weekly NBC radio program ''[[Kraft Music Hall]]'', where he remained for the next decade. "[[Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)]]", with his trademark whistling, became his theme song and signature tune.

Crosby's vocal style helped take popular singing beyond the "[[belt (music)|belting]]" associated with [[Al Jolson]] and [[Billy Murray (singer)|Billy Murray]], who had been obligated to reach the back seats in New York theaters without the aid of a microphone. As music critic [[Henry Pleasants (music critic)|Henry Pleasants]] noted in ''The Great American Popular Singers'', something new had entered American music, a style that might be called "singing in American" with conversational ease. This new sound led to the popular epithet ''[[crooner]]''.

Crosby admired [[Louis Armstrong]] for his musical ability, and the trumpet maestro was a formative influence on Crosby's singing style. When the two met, they became friends. In 1936, Crosby exercised an option in his Paramount contract to regularly star in an out-of-house film. Signing an agreement with [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]] for a single motion picture, Crosby wanted Armstrong to appear in a screen adaptation of ''The Peacock Feather'' that eventually became ''[[Pennies from Heaven (1936 film)|Pennies from Heaven]]''. Crosby asked [[Harry Cohn]], but Cohn had no desire to pay for the flight or to meet Armstrong's "crude, mob-linked but devoted manager, [[Joe Glaser]]". Crosby threatened to leave the film and refused to discuss the matter. Cohn gave in; Armstrong's musical scenes and comic dialogue extended his influence to the silver screen, creating more opportunities for him and other African Americans to appear in future films. Crosby also ensured behind the scenes that Armstrong received equal billing with his white co-stars. Armstrong appreciated Crosby's progressive attitudes on race, and often expressed gratitude for the role in later years.<ref name="Pennies">{{cite web |title=Pennies from Heaven (1936) |url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/111410 |website=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=July 5, 2018}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], Crosby made live appearances before American troops who had been fighting in the [[European Theater of Operations|European Theater]]. He learned how to pronounce German from written scripts and read propaganda broadcasts intended for German forces. The nickname "Der Bingle" was common among Crosby's German listeners and came to be used by his English-speaking fans. In a poll of U.S. troops at the close of World War II, Crosby topped the list as the person who had done the most for G.I. morale, ahead of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], General [[Dwight Eisenhower]], and [[Bob Hope]].

The June 18, 1945, issue of ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine stated, "America's number one star, Bing Crosby, has won more fans, made more money than any entertainer in history. Today he is a kind of national institution."<ref name="Barnett">{{cite web |last1=Barnett |first1=Lincoln |title=Bing Inc. |url=http://stevenlewis.info/crosby/LIFE%20OVERSEAS6-18-45.htm |website=Stevenlewis.info |access-date=July 5, 2018 |date=June 18, 1945}}</ref> "In all, 60,000,000 Crosby discs have been marketed since he made his first record in 1931. His biggest best seller is 'White Christmas', 2,000,000 impressions of which have been sold in the U.S. and 250,000 in Great Britain."<ref name="Barnett"/> "Nine out of ten singers and bandleaders listen to Crosby's broadcasts each Thursday night and follow his lead. The day after he sings a song over the air—any song—some 50,000 copies of it are sold throughout the U.S. Time and again Crosby has taken some new or unknown ballad, has given it what is known in trade circles as the 'big goose' and made it a hit single-handed and overnight{{nbsp}}... Precisely what the future holds for Crosby neither his family nor his friends can conjecture. He has achieved greater popularity, made more money, attracted vaster audiences than any other entertainer in history. And his star is still in the ascendant. His contract with Decca runs until 1955. His contract with Paramount runs until 1954. Records which he made ten years ago are selling better than ever before. The nation's appetite for Crosby's voice and personality appears insatiable. To soldiers overseas and to foreigners he has become a kind of symbol of America, of the amiable, humorous citizen of a free land. Crosby, however, seldom bothers to contemplate his future. For one thing, he enjoys hearing himself sing, and if ever a day should dawn when the public wearies of him, he will complacently go right on singing—to himself."<ref name="Barnett"/><ref name="Inc1945">{{cite book |author=Time Inc |title=Life |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dUgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA17 |access-date=November 19, 2016 |date=June 18, 1945 |pages=17–}}</ref>

====White Christmas====
{{Main|White Christmas (song)}}

[[File:Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye in White Christmas trailer.jpg|upright|thumb|''[[White Christmas (film)|White Christmas]]'' (1954)]]

The biggest hit song of Crosby's career was his recording of [[Irving Berlin]]'s "[[White Christmas (song)|White Christmas]]", which Crosby introduced on a Christmas Day radio broadcast in 1941. A copy of the recording from the radio program is owned by the estate of Bing Crosby and was loaned to ''[[CBS Sunday Morning]]'' for their December 25, 2011, program. The song appeared in his films ''[[Holiday Inn (film)|Holiday Inn]]'' (1942), and—a decade later—in ''White Christmas'' (1954). Crosby's record hit the charts on October 3, 1942, and rose to number 1 on October 31, where it stayed for 11 weeks. A holiday perennial, the song was repeatedly re-released by Decca, charting another 16 times. It topped the charts again in 1945 and a third time in January 1947. The song remains the bestselling single of all time.<ref name="kl"/> Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" has sold over 50 million copies worldwide. His recording was so popular that Crosby was obliged to re-record it in 1947 using the same musicians and backup singers; the original 1942 master had become damaged due to its frequent use in pressing additional singles. In 1977, after Crosby died, the song was re-released and reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book |title=British Hit Singles & Albums |publisher=Guinness |isbn=1-904994-00-8 |page=126 |edition=2005 |date=May 2005}}</ref> Crosby was dismissive of his role in the song's success, saying "a jackdaw with a cleft palate could have sung it successfully".<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66577714/bing-crosby/ Radio & TV] York Daily Record. December 19, 1958. p. 56.</ref>

===Motion pictures===
{{main|Bing Crosby filmography}}
[[File:Marquita Rivera with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.jpeg|upright=.8|left|thumb|[[Bob Hope]], [[Marquita Rivera]], and Bing Crosby in 1947]]

In the wake of a solid decade of headlining mainly smash hit musical comedy films in the 1930s, Crosby starred with Bob Hope and [[Dorothy Lamour]] in six of the seven ''[[Road to]]'' musical comedies between 1940 and 1962 (Lamour was replaced with Joan Collins in ''[[The Road to Hong Kong]]'' and limited to a lengthy cameo), cementing Crosby and Hope as an on-and-off duo, despite never declaring themselves a "team" in the sense that [[Laurel and Hardy]] or [[Martin and Lewis]] ([[Dean Martin]] and [[Jerry Lewis]]) were teams. The series consists of ''[[Road to Singapore]]'' (1940), ''[[Road to Zanzibar]]'' (1941), ''[[Road to Morocco]]'' (1942), ''[[Road to Utopia]]'' (1946), ''[[Road to Rio]]'' (1947), ''[[Road to Bali]]'' (1952), and ''[[The Road to Hong Kong]]'' (1962). When they appeared solo, Crosby and Hope frequently made note of the other in a comically insulting fashion. They performed together countless times on stage, radio, film, and television, and made numerous brief and not so brief appearances together in movies aside from the "Road" pictures, ''[[Variety Girl]]'' (1947) being an example of lengthy scenes and songs together along with billing.

In the 1949 Disney animated film ''[[The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad]]'', Crosby provided the narration and song vocals for ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'' segment. In 1960, he starred in ''[[High Time (film)|High Time]]'', a collegiate comedy with [[Fabian Forte]] and [[Tuesday Weld]] that predicted the emerging gap between Crosby and the new younger generation of musicians and actors who had begun their careers after World War II. The following year, Crosby and Hope reunited for one more ''Road'' movie, ''[[The Road to Hong Kong]]'', which teamed them up with the much younger [[Joan Collins]] and [[Peter Sellers]]. Collins was used in place of their longtime partner Dorothy Lamour, whom Crosby felt was getting too old for the role, though Hope refused to do the film without her, and she instead made a lengthy and elaborate cameo appearance.<ref name="kl"/> Shortly before his death in 1977, Crosby had planned another ''Road'' film in which he, Hope, and Lamour search for the Fountain of Youth.

Crosby won an [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] for ''[[Going My Way]]'' in 1944 and was nominated for the 1945 sequel, ''[[The Bells of St. Mary's]]''. He received critical acclaim and his third Academy Award nomination for his performance as an alcoholic entertainer in ''[[The Country Girl (1954 film)|The Country Girl]]''.<ref name="Fisher">{{cite journal |last1=Fisher |first1=James |title=Bing Crosby: Through the Years, Volumes One–Nine (1954–56) |journal=ARSC Journal |date=Spring 2012 |volume=43 |issue=1}}</ref>

===Television===
{{main|Bing Crosby TV appearances listing}}
[[File:Bing Crosby and family 1974 Christmas special.JPG|thumb|upright|Crosby and his family in a Christmas special, 1974]]

''The Fireside Theater'' (1950) was his first television production. The series of 26-minute shows was filmed at [[Hal Roach#Hal Roach Studios|Hal Roach Studios]] rather than performed live on the air. The "telefilms" were syndicated to individual television stations. Crosby was a frequent guest on the musical variety shows of the 1950s and 1960s, appearing on various variety shows as well as numerous late-night talk shows and his own highly rated specials. Bob Hope memorably devoted one of his monthly NBC specials to his long intermittent partnership with Crosby titled "On the Road With Bing". Crosby was associated with ABC's ''[[The Hollywood Palace]]'' as the show's first and most frequent guest host and appeared annually on its Christmas edition with his wife Kathryn and his younger children, and continued after ''The Hollywood Palace'' was eventually canceled. In the early 1970s, Crosby made two late appearances on the ''[[Flip Wilson Show]]'', singing duets with the comedian. His last TV appearance was a Christmas special, ''[[Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas|Merrie Olde Christmas]]'', taped in London in September 1977 and aired weeks after his death.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pairpoint |first1=Lionel |title=The Chronological Bing Crosby on Television |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/BingTV.htm |website=BING magazine |access-date=February 21, 2016}}</ref> It was on this special that Crosby recorded a duet of "[[The Little Drummer Boy]]" and "[[Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy|Peace on Earth]]" with rock musician [[David Bowie]]. Their duet was released in 1982 as a single 45 rpm record and reached No. 3 in the UK singles charts.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> It has since become a staple of holiday radio and the final popular hit of Crosby's career. At the end of the 20th century, ''TV Guide'' listed the Crosby-Bowie duet one of the 25 most memorable musical moments of 20th-century television.

Bing Crosby Productions, affiliated with [[Desilu Studios]] and later [[CBS Television Studios]], produced a number of television series, including Crosby's own unsuccessful ABC sitcom ''[[The Bing Crosby Show (1964 TV series)|The Bing Crosby Show]]'' in the 1964–1965 season (with co-stars [[Beverly Garland]] and [[Frank McHugh]]). The company produced two ABC medical dramas, ''[[Ben Casey]]'' (1961–1966) and ''[[Breaking Point (1963 TV series)|Breaking Point]]'' (1963–1964), the popular ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]'' (1965–1971) military comedy on CBS, as well as the lesser-known show ''[[Slattery's People]]'' (1964–1965).