Bing Crosby Albums (25)
'I Got Rhythm'
Release Date 9/24/2002
Tracks 16
Label Sounds of Yesteryear
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'Sharing the Holidays With Bing Crosby'
Release Date 1/1/2002
Tracks 12
Label Medalist
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What The Critics Say
Putting his distinctive baritone to work on 12 holiday classics, Bing Crosby shows why he's so known for his Christmas renditions on the warm Sharing the Holidays With Bing Crosby. Starting with his defining performance of "White Christmas," this is a fantastic compilation that features one of the finest crooners of any era applying his talents to several seasonal favorites. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
'Somebody Loves Me'
Release Date 7/10/2001
Tracks 16
Label Past Perfect Si
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'Christmas Story: A Holiday Musical Told and Sung by Bing Crosby'
Release Date 1/1/2001
Tracks 13
Label Liberty Internationa
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'A Couple of Song and Dance Men'
Release Date 1/1/1976
Tracks 13
Label United Artists
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What The Critics Say
Seventy-two-year-old Bing Crosby and 76-year-old Fred Astaire had each worked separately with British producer Ken Barnes before agreeing to team up for a duo album recorded in July 1975. Barnes and his musical director Pete Moore cleverly combined references to the two stars' earlier work together, such as in their previous recording of the album's title song for the 1942 film Holiday Inn, in which they co-starred, with appropriate contemporary songs written in a style consistent with that work. For example, "Roxie" was a John Kander/Fred Ebb song from the 1975 musical Chicago and "How Lucky Can You Get" another Kander/Ebb song from the 1975 film Funny Lady, both stories set in the 1920s. Astaire had a solo with "It's Easy to Remember," a song that had been introduced by Crosby, while Crosby soloed on "Change Partners," a song Astaire had introduced. Together on the rest of the tracks, they made for a wonderful comic team, the song lyrics occasionally adapted by Barnes, Moore, and the singers themselves to create an ongoing humorous dialogue reminiscent of the Crosby/Bob Hope "road" pictures, though Astaire was more self-effacing than the brash Hope. Both singers had suffered some vocal deterioration over the years, of course, particularly Astaire, who nevertheless got by with his ever-present charm. Not all of the material worked. "Sing," the Carpenters hit, could have been dispensed with, along with "Mr. Keyboard Man -- The Entertainer," a Barnes/Moore lyric setting of Scott Joplin's rag "The Entertainer" (newly famous due to its recent use in the film The Sting) that disparaged rock & roll. But such lapses couldn't dilute the chemistry between Crosby and Astaire, which made this album a delight for fans of each performer. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'Feels Good, Feels Right'
Release Date 1/1/1976
Tracks 12
Label London/Decca
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'That's What Life Is All About'
Release Date 1/1/1976
Tracks 13
Label United Artists
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What The Critics Say
In 1974, having turned 71 years old and recently suffered from various physical ailments, Bing Crosby appeared on the verge of retirement. He had made recordings in one form or another every year since 1926, but in recent years there had only been a few, and he had not released a full-length album since 1972's Bing & Basie. Surprisingly, then, starting in the fall of the year and continuing until his death three years later, Crosby became very busy in the recording studio. (He also returned to the concert stage for the first time in decades.) His initial recording project in this spurt was a series of albums with British record producer Ken Barnes backed by Pete Moore & His Orchestra for United Artists Records (though he recorded the London Records LP A Southern Memoir in between the first and second UA sessions). The first of these albums was That's What Life Is All About, and it was a real statement about Crosby's life in his seventies, beginning with the philosophical title song, to which he contributed lyrics. "That's What Life Is All About" seemed to be intended as Crosby's version of Frank Sinatra's "My Way," though he was characteristically less belligerent and more reflective. Other songs also looked at the world from a benevolent, aging perspective, notably "No Time at All" from the musical Pippin and "Bon Vivant" from the musical Foxy. Standards such as "Breezin' Along with the Breeze" and "The Best Things in Life Are Free" also expressed a hopeful, carefree worldview, as did newer songs such as the country-styled "Have a Nice Day" and "The Good Old Times." Crosby paired with old friend Johnny Mercer on two songs from Mercer's musical The Good Companions, the lyrics rewritten to refer to the singers. It all made for an excellent, consistent collection that Crosby sang well and marked a late comeback in his career. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'That Travelin' Two-Beat'
Release Date 1/1/1965
Tracks 12
Label Capitol
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What The Critics Say
Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, and arranger/conductor Billy May reconvened six years after their sessions for the first Crosby-Clooney duo album, Fancy Meeting You Here, to record a follow-up in sessions held in August and December 1964. Once again, the basic idea was to perform a collection of international songs. But the real creative force behind the record was the popular songwriting team of Jay Livingston and Ray Evans ("Mona Lisa," "Whatever Will Be, Will Be [Que Sera, Sera]"). The two were credited for "conception, new music and lyrics" on an album that contained, as proclaimed on the back cover, "Favorite songs from around the world in Dixieland!" It was an odd conception, to be sure, in which, for example, Carlos Fernandez' "Cielito Lindo," a Spanish standard, is turned into "Adios Señorita," with Crosby and Clooney trading romantic witticisms over a souped-up Dixieland arrangement that moves Basin Street to Madrid. If the resulting cultural mishmash isn't as disturbing as it sounds, that's only because the singers remain a winning combination; they spark each other, making this the liveliest Crosby album in some time, with Clooney good-naturedly keeping up her end and May only further goosing the two. This is not the place to look for great singers handling great material, but it is an entertaining date with a couple of singers who have never lacked for personality having a good time together. (The Australian CD reissue on EMI Axis also contains the complete contents of the 1960 MGM album Louis and Satchmo by Crosby and Louis Armstrong.) ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire perform on this soundtrack featuring "White Christmas." ~ All Music Guide, All Music Guide
