Editing Bing Crosby (section)

====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>