Customer Reviews

The Very Best of Bing Crosby Christmas

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For the price of this album your getting a steal. The recording is wonderfully digitally remastered, so the quality is excellent, there are only a couple of recordings from the worn out masters that give a hint of subpar quality and that is harding anything to get worked up about. This album includes most of Bing's holiday greats and I can't stress how wonderful this recording is. Bing's performance is legendary and if you have the old Bing Crosby cd Merry Christmas with Bing, its time to replace it with this treasure. Buy this album you'll not regret it.

This CD has two key elements going for it. First, the selection of songs is great. They are all classics and done very well! Second, the quality of the sound is wonderful. Even though these songs were recorded years ago, the fact that they remastered the songs is evident. Certainly the best Christmas album I own... and I own several! Besides, what is Christmas without Bing!

Nobody could transmit warmth through music (or acting) the way Bing Crosby could. His lighthearted style of singing is wonderfully matched with secular Christmas music, but shows its drawbacks with the old Christmas hymns and carols which require more empathy with the meaning of the words to be effective. However, this is a treasure trove of Christmas music. It all has an old-fashioned, nostalgic air that says "Christmas" to millions of people. Most of the recordings on this abridged album were made before high fidelity (not to mention stereo) sound recording was viable. These rather primitive recordings really showed their age on previous versions, but sound markedly better here. It's nice to have a restored version of White Christmas, Bing's signature Christmas song. So, if you are a fan of Bing or just want to experience "that Christmas feeling," this is the album to buy. Leave the other, poor-sounding CDs on the shelf.

How could you not put together a collection of Christmas music without these wonderful holiday hits by Bing Crosby? Like many others of the baby-boom generation, I grew up listening to Bing crooning these songs as well as watching his holiday specials on tv, always a treat for my family. Music such as this must be preserved, and do yourself & your own family a favor by adding this album to your collection to enjoy for many years to come. Very highly recommended!

What would a holiday be like without this album. It will bring out the kid in all of us. Happy Holidays to all!!!!!!!

The duet with Carol Richards is the best version of "Silver Bells" I've ever heard. The sound quality is unbelievable! It gives me goosebumps.

In the liner notes that accompany this CD, written by F.B. (Wig) Wiggins, American Representative, International Crosby Circle, we learn that Bing did not cut his first Christmas carol until 1935, well into his career, since he always felt that that was not a proper option for popular singers. In doing Adeste Fideles and Silent Night that year with the Victor Young Orchestra and The Guardsmen Quartette he did so only on the understanding that all proceeds would go to charity. That was Bing.

However, the record became so hugely popular that he was soon obliged to include carols on his radio broadcasts each holiday season, and in 1940 and 1941 Silent Night made the Billboard charts at # 19 and 16. In 1942 he cut both sides again, this time with the John Scott Trotter orchestra and The Ken Darby Singers, and although it became a seasonal favourite, neither side charted until well into the 1950s, Silent Night in 1957 [# 54] and 1960 [# 54 again], and Adeste Fideles in 1960 [# 45].

It was also in 1942 that he appeared in Holiday Inn with Fred Astaire where, for the first time, we heard Irving Berlin's immortal White Christmas. A record release, again with Trotter and the Ken Darby Singers, reached # 1, and would chart for the next four years, reaching the top again in 1945 and 1946. That is the version heard here, fully restored to its full glory. In 1947 Bing re-recorded White Christmas with the same ensemble and that version would chart for the next 20 straight years, b/w God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.

Other charted Christmas singles for Bing included I'll Be Home For Christmas (If Only In My Dreams), which peaked at # 3 in 1943 [track 11], again with Trotter's backing, and also reached # 10 in 1944. In 1950 he, along with just about everyone else, recorded Gene Autry's Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and saw it climb to # 14. That same year he also had A Crosby Christmas, with sons Gary, Phillip, Dennis, and Lindsay, reach # 22, and A Marshmallow World peak at # 24 [neither, unfortunately, is included in this set].

It was also in 1950 that Decca released Silver Bells [track 15], a duet with Carol Richards, and while it failed to chart that year, it did make it to # 78 in 1957 b/w That Christmas Feeling, also cut in 1950. Another charter for Bing that year was How Lovely Is Christmas [# 97] with the Arthur Norman Choir & Orchestra for the Kapp label [also not included].

In 1963, for Capitol, he cut Do You Hear What I Hear? which reached # 2 on the special Billboard Christmas charts, and in 1965 had The White World Of Winter reach # 20 on the same charts for the Reprise label, seldom seen on his Christmas albums. Then, of course, there was his wonderful duet with David Bowie on the medley The Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth. First heard on his 1977 TV Christmas Special, Bing Crosby's Merry Olde Christmas, it was released as a single in 1982 by RCA Victor, but didn't actually charts until 2000 when it reached # 58 on Billboard's seasonal charts.

But this CD gives us the best and most memorable of his Decca releases, including the fabulous collaborations with The Andrews Sisters on Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Jingle Bells, and Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane). I still have the 78 rpm "album" my father purchased way back when with the five records intact and the wonderful cover graphics.

This is one of the best deals you will find at Amazon when it comes to CDs. Order early.

Bing does a tremendous job in this CD. The songs are great and very well done. The ones with the Andrew Sisters are especially good. Definitely a CD you want for the Christmas season.

This is a great Cd...I recently purchased this Cd and it is wonderful. All the songs are excellent and the sound is terrific. I remember listening to Bing's songs as a child and this has a lot of great songs. It is a must-have for every Christmas collection. You won't be disappointed with this Cd.

This is my favorite Christmas CD. I have about 20 other CD's that I play at Christmas, but this is the best. Other people that have heard it love it too. It has all the best of Bing. I want to buy another one so I can keep one in the house and put on in my car. If you love traditional Christmas music, this is the one for you.