Customer Reviews

Swingin' With Bing: Bing Crosby's Lost Radio Performances

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This is, without a doubt, the most comprehensive look at Bing Crosby's radio work that has ever been produced. And there was no better man to tackle the job of compiling it all than Ken Barnes. Ken's production values and attention to detail are extraordinary. If Ken's involved with a project, you can be assured the results will always be outstanding and top notch. It's a pity that Bing Crosby never made a commercial recording with the great Ella Fitzgerald, whom Bing cited on numerous occasions as his favorite singer. But we're fortunate Bing had her as a guest on his radio shows often, and that Ken has painstakingly assembled all of their extant duets together for this album. Not only that, but you also can revel in classic live performances pairing Bing with Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, the Andrews Sisters, the Mills Bros. and more. If you want to hear the ultimate crooner, live and in his prime, this is the one CD set with which to begin your journey into the realm of Crosbyana. A detailed and informative booklet is included with the set. It's heavily illustrated with many rare and previously unseen images. So go on, take a chance. Purchase this set at once. I guarantee you the magic of Bing captivate you as it has so many others for so many years.

Shout Factory people and Sony Music presents "Swingin' with Bing: Bing Crosby's Lost Radio Performances", perfectly re-mastered from the vaults original recordings that have the who's who in the Music Department during those Golden Days of Crosby on the airwaves...Ken Barnes did a bang up job producing and writing the informative liner notes...each track has never seen the light of day on any other label.

Besides Bing we have Buddy Cole (piano), Ziggy Elman (trumpet), Red Nichols (cornet), Les Paul (guitar), Uan Rasey (trumpet), Billy Taylor (trombone) and Joe Venuti (violin), John Scott Trotter & His Orchestra...this is just the tip of the iceberg...many were great friends of Bing and it shows during those radio years.

On the first disc...we have one of the great jazz trios in the business Nat King Cole performing with Bing "SAM'S SONG (THE HAPPY TUNE)", big hit for Bing and his son Gary, but listen to this classic performance by Nat and Bing..."DON'T FENCE ME IN", "YOU DON'T HAVE TO KNOW THE LANGUAGE", "SOUTH AMERICA, TAKE IT AWAY" and "I CAN DREAM, CAN'T I?, three young ladies who set the bar for female trios The Andrew Sisters...doesn't get any better than singing with Patty, LaVerne and Maxine with our favorite crooner...but the closing song on this disc "MAY THE GOOD LORD BLESS AND KEEP YOU", featuring Bing, Nat and the Andrew Sisters with lyrics that completely touches your heart...entire collection is the music my parents heard when they were young...this is not only what was known as Pop Music of the day, but also some classic Jazz, Boogie Woogie and Swing thrown in for good measure.

The second disc...Bing meets Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong (just happen to be my two favorite duet people on the planet)..."BASIN STREET BLUES", "DREAMER'S HOLIDAY", "THAT'S A PLENTY", "SILVER BELLS" (version 1) and "MEMPHIS BLUES" (version 1), featuring the "First Lady of Song" Miss Ella Fitzgerald at her peak and in her prime..."BLUEBERRY HILL" (version 1 & 2), "GONE FISHIN" (version 1), "LAZY BONES" (version 1), "A KISS TO BUILD A DREAM ON" (version 1)...listen as Satchmo affectionately calls our crooner "Papa Bing" whenever they are performing...beautifully sung harmonies plus impassioned solo performances which are unequaled in all of music radio history...as Bing and his guests are at the top of their form...Bing meets Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Dinah Shore, Jack Teagarden and Red Nichols celebrating the highlights of Bing's 20th Anniversary...Crosby was an institution of entertainment during the WWII era and the years there after...this compilation stands up so well today as it did decades ago.

On the final disc three...features Bing, Ella, Armstrong, Jack Teagarden, Les Paul and The Mills Brothers...a few highlights "UP A LAZY RIVER/PAPER DOLL", with the Mills Brothers and Bing..."ISTANBUL", wonderful duet with Ella & Bing back in December 1953, catchy arrangement and classic performance..."SILVER BELLS", "RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER", "WHITE CHRISTMAS" and "MEMPHIS BLUES", touching tunes that are still around today...sung from the heart the way songs were performed back in the '40s and '50s...a solo piece of music "BLUE SKIES", with a beautiful rendition accompanied by Les Paul on guitar from Dec. 27, 1953...and another great American Standard "IT HAD TO BE YOU", step aside Harry Connick Jr. and Rod Stewart, Papa Bing is taking the stage and crooning this popular tune with the help of Red Nichols on cornet from Feb. 13, 1952...just the way we like 'em!

Hats off to Ken Barnes (compiled & producer), Kathryn Crosby (executive producer), Shawn Amos (A&R direction), Peter Reynolds (digital transfer, audio restoration and mastering), Shout Factory, Sony Music and of course the best crooner of them all...BING CROSBY!

Total Time: 3-CD-Box Set ~ Sony 31507 ~ (8/24/2004)

It's a doggone shame, if I may use that term, the way in which musicians' work has been re-issued by companies, including the work of Bing Crosby, a great musician of the 20th Century. Only two CD's are comparable to the SWINGIN WITH BING and both were done by Robert Parker of Australia and issued as CLASSIC CROSBY 1931-1938 and Bing CROSBY 1927-1934 both in digital stereo. It's as if those who listen to popular music are somehow less deserving of the care and attention that is paid to so called "classical" music. Don't get me wrong. I love good music period, regardless of genre, but there has it seems to me been a pretty cavalier attitude to the likes of Mr Crosby. MOSAIC have done a wonderful job on issuing the TRANSCRIPTIONS of Miss Peggy Lee and Miss June Christy and I thought they would have done the same for Mr Crosby. In SWINGIN WITH BING the glorious restoration was done the PETER REYNOLDS MASTERING Studio in Colchester England. In addition, the producer has done a judicious editing job by leaving out the second rate jokes and most of the patter but retained the FEEL of live performance, the joy of the moment, and concentrated on the MUSIC. These are the greatest artists in the heyday of radio with Bing Crosby as host. The program is perfect with great ballads such as MY FOOLISH HEART (superior to Mr Sinatra's I Believe), the usual pop classics SOUTH AMERICA TAKE IT AWAY, neglected masterpieces,STRANGE MUSIC, in total over 60 tracks.
Finally, I've been very happy to pay the premium price for this wonderful package. Not to be missed if you love some of the best music of the last century performed as it is here by the best.

What a find. Bing's voice is so romantic. It is wonderful that they found these recordings. This music will always have its place.

Shout! Factory is to be commended for issuing this deluxe box set, brilliantly assembled by Bing Crosby's final record producer, Ken Barnes. At the dawn of the 21st century, it is simply mind-boggling to realize that commercial network radio presented top jazz artists - Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Jack Teagarden, etc. - as featured guests on a regular basis. (In Satchmo's case, he seemed to appear on Bing's program at the drop of a hat during the 1949-51 period.) The mutual admiration between Bing, Louis and Ella make their numbers sparkle. Barnes has also thoughfully included several fine ballads Bing sang on radio but didn't record commercially for Decca, while providing some fine live alternates to Crosby studio recordings in "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" with jazz violinist Joe Venuti, and "It Had To Be You" with a beautiful cornet obbligato by woefully underrated jazz pioneer Red Nichols. The high-quality repertoire in this set seems to bear out the assertion that Bing often performed better material on radio than on records during his long Decca tenure.

Perhaps a touch too much treble was rolled off to reduce surface noise - but that's purely subjective. "Swingin' With Bing" absolutely ranks with "Bing: His Legendary Years" as *the* essential Bing boxed set. Recommended without reservation.

Bing Crosby for those of us who are Baby Boomers is probably best remembered for treacly Christmas shows in the sixties and seventies. Someone for the old fogies to remember their youth, but not of any real significance. This CD set makes me realize that Crosby is an essential for anyone who appreciates the American Songbook. Sinatra may have been "The Voice", but he took the baton from Crosby. Crosby began in the twenties before the microphone and revolutionized singing when he realized the uses of the new technology. (all technology is new at some point.) These immaculately remastered CDs of some radio shows from the 1940's feature: Andrews Sisters, Nat King Cole, Dinah Shore and the incomparable Louis Armstrong. Last but not least was my reason for buying the set: Ella Fitzgerald. Some of the songs are novelties and of no consequence, but the patter and the singing are top notch. This set of disks makes me more curious about the original crooner.

This is an excellent piece of work. The restoration quality is excellent. The music on the album brought back a lot of memories. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Bing and the this style of music.

I purchased this after reading the review in the Wall Street Journal. If you like the music of Bing Crosby along with his guests Ella Fitzgerald, Louie Armstrong, the Andrew Sisters and other greats from the 40's and 50's you should enjoy this album.

My only disappointment was the limited verbal digressions by the master, Bing Crosby. He does chat a bit with some of his guests and make a few comments but it is very limited. If you buy this album, do so for the music, which is great, and not for the Bing lingo.

The booklet included was also a real winner. It explained how the early radio recordings were made and the significant role Crosby played in the development of the audio tape machine for recording broadcasts.

The book included in this set describes the effort those who worked with Bing went through to obtain the original recordings and restore the sound to original broadcast quality. the care really shows...and the excellent performances by some jazz giants really shines through. they were having fun, and really knew how to sing...

To my taste, Bing swqings, but he was not good when doing ballads and I wonder why they did not tone down the audience noise as the sound of clapping on the audio track is not pleasant they could have toned it out