Search - Bing Crosby :: Forever Bing

Great introduction to Bing's music

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 03/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Born Harry Crosby but nicknamed Bing after a newspaper cartoon character they he enjoyed as a child, he had well over three hundred hits on the American charts. His British chart history is modest (twelve different hits) but his most prolific years were already past by the time British sales charts began.



The tracks on this compilation generally date from the thirties and forties and include duets with the Andrews sisters, Bob Hope, Al Johnson, Louis Armstrong and (via overdubbing) David Bowie. You could fill several CD's just with Bing's duets and there are other compilations that explore these in greater detail.



The songs selected were not always American hits for Bing - and even where they were, his version wasn't always the biggest hit - but they are all classic songs of their age. Of course, some of Bing's big American hits are here including Don't fence me in (with the Andrews sisters), White Christmas, Pennies from heaven, Moonlight becomes you, Swinging on a star and Now is the hour, all of which made number one in America, and Dear hearts and gentle people, which spent a month as American number two. White Christmas is one of three Christmas songs are included - the others are Peace on earth (with David Bowie) and Silent night.



Among the other songs are Bing's covers of three of Fred Astaire's greatest American hits (Cheek to cheek, They all laughed, Nice work if you can get it) as well as Bing's covers of such classic songs as Among my souvenirs (a song from 1928 that became a hit all over again when Connie Francis covered it in 1959), You are my sunshine, Spanish eyes, A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square, As time goes by and Stardust.



While this is by no means a greatest hits collection, it provides an excellent selection of Bing's music."