Singers come and singers go, but to this day, just about every male vocalist comes from the root of Bing Crosby. At one time, contemporaries in his wake were basically categorized into “Hi Bing” or “ Low Bing” depending on their delivery, and not much has changed in the 100 years since his first recordings.
And, while Crosby is certainly not under-recorded (or filmed!), the recordings that he made while host of the Kraft Music Hall (KMH) from 1936-46 are certainly his most relaxed, casual and at the height of his game. He’s almost always backed by John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra, and while some of the songs are a bit truncated, you can’t complain about the selection, which is mix of timeless standards and obscure ditties.
Of the former, The BIngster is mellifluo8us on “Once In Awhile”, “Thanks For The Memory” and “Indian Summer”, while I can guarantee you’re never going to hear another version of obscurities like Stephen Foster’s “Nell and I” or Hoagy Carmichael’s “Ooh! What You Said”. No one does sentimental like Crosby as well, so pieces like “Lilacs In The Rain” are cozy by the fire, while novelties such as “ Humpy Dumpty Hart” and “The Dipsy Doodle” are sung without a sense of tongue in cheek. He’s joined at times by the likes of Connie Boswell on “Easy Street”, Johnny Mercy for “On Behalf Of Missing Firemen” and a couple others dropping in, with the whole time always feeling like a casual get together, reflecting the charm of his films like Holiday Inn or the Road moves. What? No Dorothy Lamour or Bob Hope?