Bing Crosby is one of the most famous singers of the 20th century. In the period from 1931 to 1934 he was a leader in the number of sales of records with the recording of pop music. In 1923, Bing Crosby received an invitation to take part in a new musical group, which was organized at his school. In this ensemble, the hero of this article played percussion instruments. The team successfully performed both for high school students and for the club public.
Career
Soon the guys became so popular that they began to be invited to the radio, where they performed works from their repertoire. After the group broke up, two of its members, Bing Crosby and Al Rinker, were invited to work in a movie theater, which later began to bear the name of the hero of the article. Young people were supposed to entertain the audience in between sessions.
In search of fame
In October 1925, Crosby and his stage colleague Al Rinker went to California to continue their musical career there. In Los Angeles, luck smiled at them. They were invited to play in the musical "Syncopated Idea", which successfully went on stage at the local musical theater.
Acquaintance with Jazz
Soon, two young talented artists were spotted by the famous composer and leader of one of the leading jazz orchestras, Paul Whitman. A musical figure while he was looking for new vocalists with an original manner of singing in order to diversify the sound of his orchestra.
The song I've Got the Girl was recorded with this band. Studio workers allowed marriage in their work. The write speed was lower than required. Therefore, when playing on a standard gramophone, the singers' voice was higher than actually, and the song sounded unnatural.
A new group
An ensemble called The Rhythm Boys was organized when pianist, singer and composer Harry Barris joined two friends. The vocal trio recorded several pieces with the Paul Whitman Orchestra, as well as a number of songs to the accompaniment of the piano played by Barris. A little later, the musicians starred in the movie "King of Jazz", which was released in 1930. The Bing Crosby song Mississippi Mud was first recorded for this particular film. Working in an ensemble, the artist constantly honed his vocal skills. After a while, he was increasingly offered to perform solo.
Bing Crosby became the main star of the band Rhythm Boys. In 1928, his single with the song Ol 'Man River rose to the first line of the national hit parade.
Due to frequent solo performances, Bing Crosby had a conflict with Paul Whitman. The singer left the group and began to record and perform independently. In September 1931, he first appeared on the radio as a solo artist. In the same year, he signed a contract with two channels on which his author programs began to appear weekly. Crosby's Out of Nowhere and Just One More Chance were some of the best-selling records of the time.
Bing Crosby Movies
Crosby played several major roles in a series of short-length musical comedies shot at Paramount Film Studio. In 1932, he starred in his first film of standard duration - "Big Radio". In total, during his creative career, he played 55 major roles in the cinema.
The success of the first film was so great that Paramount Studio signed a contract with him to shoot three tapes a year. In the movie "The Hollywood Shop for the Troops," Bing Crosby and the Andrews sisters performed several songs together. With this duet, the hero of the article also recorded the famous song Jingle Bells.
The Great Depression
During the greatest financial crisis in the history of the United States of America in the thirties of the 20th century, the recording industry almost ceased to exist. Ordinary citizens did not have money to buy records with the songs of their favorite artists. Bing Crosby is one of the few whose work was still in demand. His songs became hits even during the Great Depression.
Sound engineer Steve Hoffman says: "Bing Crosby saved the sound recording in 1934, when he agreed to lower record prices from one dollar to 35 cents per single."
Now he received not a fixed fee for recording each song, but a percentage of sales. For 10 years, starting in 1934, he broadcast a weekly radio broadcast. Bing Crosby's song Where the Blue of the Night began to be used as the call sign for this program. This work was remembered by many listeners due to the melodic whistle and became the hallmark of the artist.
The meeting of two great singers
Bing Crosby always called Louis Armstrong his greatest idol. It was he who had a significant influence on the vocal style of the artist. Therefore, when Columbia Pictures invited him to star in the Pennies from heaven film, he insisted that Louis Armstrong star in one of the main roles.
Manner
Bing Crosby was one of the first singers to use a microphone. This innovation allowed the artist to perform songs in a more lyrical, soft manner. The idols of those years, such as Al Jolson, who spoke without a microphone, were forced to sing very loudly to be heard by spectators in the last rows. Often their vocals were more like screaming. And only with the advent of microphones, artists got rid of the need to over-strain their vocal cords.
Bing Crosby's vocal style later had a strong influence on Frank Sinatra. Tommy Dorsey, the head of the jazz orchestra, recalls: "I kept repeating the same thing to Frank:" There is only one singer you should listen to. This vocalist's name is Bing Crosby. The only significant thing for him is the lyrics of the song. So you should relate to your repertoire. "
The song performed by Bing Crosby's “White Christmas” ended up in the Guinness Book of Records: more than 50 million copies of this single were sold worldwide.