THE STATISTICS are stupendous. RECORDINGS - 383 recordings in the top 30, 41 reaching No. 1. And that is just in the US. 23 Gold and Platinum records - and they were not even introduced until 1958 when his career was nearly over. Music sales estimated at anything between 500,000,000 and 900.000.000. The first to receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.  More - much more - FILMS - For the  years 1934, 1937, 1940, 1943-1954 he was in the top 10 at the box office. He introduced four Academy Award-winning songs - "Sweet Leilani" (1937), "White Christmas" (1942), "Swinging on a Star" (1944), "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" (1951). An Oscar for acting in Going My Way (1944). RADIO - hosted top rated radio shows for over twenty years. Many more figures could be quoted but that is not the purpose of these pages, which is to list the recordings and radio shows for which records have been issued. Suffice to say that in the big numbers department, no one else comes close. You don't have to believe me - just look at the statistics on the sites listed at the foot of  page 7 - "SOURCES, REFERENCE MATERIAL AND LINKS"

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This database has been compiled by J. Richard Baker ("Jarbie") on software named "Brian" which was developed by Steve Albin, who has given considerable help in furthering the project. Details of "Brian" and the many other Discographies compiled on it (mainly of jazz recordings) can be found at www.JazzDiscography. com .  I first started indexing my record collection on index cards in the 1960s. With the advent of the personal computer I had numerous attempts to list my collection in digital form. None of these efforts have come close to achieving what "Brian" has done for me. "Brian" is intuitive in use and I recommend it most highly and I have become a devoted enthusiast. It is "Session" based and it eclipses all other software of this type. The visible evidence of the success of the system is in the various discographies at JazzDiscography.

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April 2010. This update, the third of 2010, adds a number of new CDs recently issued and expands on the tracks recorded for radio broadcast in the period from 1954 to 1960 though this listing far from complete. It covers recent issues from "Collector's Choice" (5 individual CDs and one double CD set including some unusual and unissued titles plus some remastered late material) and "Sepia" - (volume 5 in the "Through The Years" series).

I have updated a number of links to sites offering information and free exchanges of views and ideas, following the unhappy removal of Steven Lewis's Bing Crosby Internet Museum. These are on the SOURCES, REFERENCE MATERIAL AND LINKS page.

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The scheme of the database:-

1 THE STUDIO RECORDINGS FOR COMMERCIAL RELEASE 

All recordings are listed by sessions under dates, recording companies, venues, matrix numbers and CD issues in four groups:

1a  The Pre Decca Years 1928 - 1934

1b  The Decca years 1934-1954

1c  Post Decca years to 1977

1d  Studio recordings prepared for broadcast and remastered for commercial issue.

This includes songs recorded in the studio for three radio shows covering the period 1954-1962 -  The Bing Crosby Show (1954-1956), The Ford Road Show (1957-1958) and The Crosby Clooney Show (1960- 1962) and the orchestrally "overdubbed" versions of some of the titles made posthumously in the 1980s.

2 THE RADIO BROADCASTS

I list song titles only. Primary dates shown are broadcast dates, with an additional note of recording date when different and where known. I do not list signature tunes, the comedy routines or the "sketches", musical items where the only participants were guest stars unless the "guest" solos on an item included in a complete recording of the show (in which case the item bears the suffix (G) to indicate non participation by Bing), or commercial jingles unless I feel they had musical entertainment, as occasionally happened when the commercial was a parody on some well known song.

For a complete history in narrative form of the radio programmes, including notes on comedy routines, sketches, contributions by guests, and newspaper reviews of the time, together with much other information, I refer those interested to the extraordinarily comprehensive and painstaking work of Lionel Pairpoint to be found on the International Club Crosby website at: http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/author.htm

2a  The Early Years (Pre Kraft Music Hall).

I list only those items which are known to have survived. The majority have not, although much is known of the content of early broadcasts. Those interested are referred to the work of Lionel Pairpoint mentioned above and his successors who continue to add and update his magnificent work.

2b  Kraft Music Hall. 5 December 1935 to 9 May 1946. 

This group also includes two KMH shows hosted by Al Jolson with Bing as guest, which fall outside the time frame.

Most of the early and middle period shows have not survived. and my listing is not therefore complete. However, with the arrival of John Scott Trotter as musical director from 7 October 1937, many of the musical items (though very far from all) in which he participated were recorded and it is believed that around 500 titles survive. Therefore I list all musical items with Bing from that point. A number of complete shows have also survived, but there is no consistency and there are a great many gaps. Inclusion in my listing is no guarantee that the title has survived, unless I specifically show that a CD or LP has been commercially released.

2c  Philco Radio Time. 16 October 1946 to 1 June 1949.

On the insistence of Bing, all the programmes were pre- recorded for broadcast (initially on disc, subsequently on tape), and all the shows have survived, as have the subsequent major series. All are therefore listed. Substantial chunks of both musical and non musical items have been issued on LP and CD. I note where complete shows or major parts have been so issued, without listing the individual non musical items.

2d  Chesterfield Cigarettes presents The Bing Crosby Show. 21 September 1949 to 25 June 1952.  The notes for Philco apply.

2e  The Bing Crosby Show for General Electric Company. 9 October 1952 to 30 May 1954. The notes for Philco apply. 

      For The Bing Crosby Show 1954-1956, The Ford Road Show 1957-1958 and The Crosby-Clooney Show 1960-1962 see 1d above.

2f  All other Radio and TV shows.

This includes the AFRS, Mail Call, Lux Music Theatre and some other radio material, plus a few miscellaneous items with no other natural home. There were many individual radio programmes on which Bing appeared, whether as host or MC, principal performer, guest performer or interviewee.  Some have been the subject of issues in series where other stars were the hosts, and where Bing appears only on isolated tracks. I regret that I am not in a position to identify and list such appearances in any comprehensive manner.

3 FILM RECORDING SESSIONS.

Recording sessions for titles included in film soundtracks and publicity discs released by film studios, where the music has been commercially released on CD.

"V" DISCS  I previously listed certain CD re-issues of "V" discs. As I have never included any original "V" discs in my collection I have little first hand information. I now know that for the information that I did include, I took too much on trust, and I have therefore removed several references until I am able to correct them. The website for "Bing Magazine" contains an excellent listing and analysis of the recently available material.

4  CD ISSUES RESTATED BY LABEL, RECORD TITLE AND  CATALOGUE NUMBER with track titles.

The origin of individual song titles may be distinguished by the date and matrix numbers - where the title originates from a radio broadcast the fact will be evident by the note (eg KMH 75 or Philco 1, the number showing the place in the sequence of programmes). A matrix number indicates a studio recording except for the later years where matrices were not allocated. Some recordings from radio were remastered for official (i.e. Decca) commercial issue. Where this was so, it is noted. The title order on the CDs is not always strictly correct, and in the case of CDs of exclusively radio material might be in date order rather than as appears on the CD.

5  LONG PLAYING RECORDS RESTATED BY LABEL, RECORD TITLE AND CATALOGUE NUMBER with track titles.

I do not list LPs of the commercial recordings as, with few exceptions, these have been well covered by CD releases. However, the radio shows, particularly some of the earlier ones, have not been so well served, so I list a number of LPs containing them.

6  INDICES

6a Song Titles

6b Composers/Song Writers

6c Performers

6d Abbreviations of performers' roles and instruments.

7 SOURCES, REFERENCE MATERIAL AND LINKS

8 NOTES

I ask for any contributions to correct errors, and also to expand on the list of issues, particularly where the titles are otherwise unrepresented. In the meantime I express my thanks to the several people, now too many to note individually, who have contacted me with ideas and corrections or indicated their support. It is reassuring and refreshing to know that so many people worldwide are interested in the Crosby legacy.

Whilst I am quite keen to exchange information for genuine research, including where necessary copies of individual tracks, please, I beg, do not ask me for copies to complete gaps or fill "wants lists".

J Richard Baker ("Jarbie")
My E-mail address for any comments, contributions or corrections is Jarbie01@gmail.com