"This is, quite simply, the best-researched, best-written, most entertaining music biography I've read." ― MojoBing Crosby dominated American popular culture in a way that few artists ever have. From the dizzy era of Prohibition through the dark days of the Second World War, he was a desperate nation's most beloved entertainer. But he was more than just a charismatic crooner: Bing Crosby redefined the very foundations of modern music, from...

From 1934 to 1954, Bing Crosby utterly dominated American entertainment. The number one movie star for five years in a row, he had more hit records than anyone in history. The rise of Bing Crosby was the rise of the American popular culture itself.In this commanding biography, eminent cultural critic Gary Giddins takes us on the remarkable journey that brought a provincial young law student from Spokane to the pinnacle of the entertainment world. Giddins chronicles Crosby’s rise fr...

From Bing Crosby's early days in college minstrel shows and vaudeville, to his first hit recordings, from his 11 year triumph as star of America's most popular radio show, to his first success in Hollywood, Gary Giddins provides a detailed study of the rise of this American star.

In this companion book to the award–winning biography Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams; The Early Years, 1903–1940, Gary Giddins presents the second volume of his masterful work.Bing Crosby dominated American popular culture in a way that few artists ever have. From the dizzying era of Prohibition through the dark days of the Second World War, he was a desperate nation’s most beloved entertainer. But he was more than just a charismatic crooner: Bing Crosby redefined the ...

History Hub presents a complete biography of Bing Crosby from start to end, whose remarkable story inspires us even today.For many people, Bing Crosby is the epitome of American popular culture. He began his wildly successful radio program in 1931. Soon after, he became a movie star, and in 1944, his picture Going My Way won an Academy Award for Best Picture. For a large part of his career, he was almost unstoppable on the singles charts, amassing over 300 ...

Bing Crosby was a real legend. Celebrated across the country and beyond, he was essentially America's first superstar. With catchy tunes, a catchy name, and a laid-back, charming personality that everyone just seemed to love, Crosby was a star both on and off stage.Bing Crosby arrived in California as a young man with nothing and rapidly progressed to superstardom. Such words may seem like an exaggeration, but they're really not. During the course of his prolific career, he starred...

A novel by the author of The New York Times Notable Book, Tales from the Irish ClubIt is June 1968: Robert Kennedy has just been murdered, the streets are simmering with discontent, and the Irish community of Oakland Park in Pittsburgh is being swept away by change. Daly Racklin becomes the reluctant leader of a dying neighborhood, culture, and people. He is at once a man torn by his father's omnipotent shadow and the struggles of his own heart, an...

Bing Crosby stars in sixteen half-hour musical-variety episodes of Philco Radio Time and invites his celebrity friends to join him!******Until his semi-retirement in 1958, Bing Crosby worked steadily on radio and had a sizeable number of chart singles over two consecutive decades. And, somewhat surprisingly, he was also responsible for changing the way radio programs were broadcast coast-to-coast. Sponsorship through multiple companies over the years led ...

The Hollywood Playhouse Box Set is a unique compilation of 14 Oscar winning films specially adapted from the original screenplays & performed for the radio by many of the original film stars in front of a live studio audience. Re-mastered and re-edited from the original radio broadcastCASABLANCA with Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid BergmanTHE MALTESE FALCON with Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre & Sydney Greenstreet

In this love letter to his father, former professional golfer Nathaniel Crosby shares memories of Bing Crosby on the golf course, and the lessons he taught him about the game and about life. With a Foreword by Jack Nicklaus."Bing Crosby was a great ambassador for our game, as well as a great man," hails longtime friend and golf partner, Jack Nicklaus. The beloved singer and star was also an extraordinary teacher who instilled an abiding passion and mastery of the game in his younge...

Enjoy sixteen of the greatest programs from radio’s golden age and the Hollywood celebrities that starred in them.Nostalgia radio had incredible comedy, mystery, detective, western, sci-fi, and musical and drama shows that kept Americans glued to their radio sets. Families gathered around their living room radios to hear their favorite Hollywood stars in fully-dramatized broadcasts that entertained millions. In this collection of sixteen episodes, you’ll hear The Jack Benny Pro...

Bing Crosby and Bob Hope are heard together and separately in ten of the greatest shows from the Golden Age of radio!Bing Crosby and Bob Hope each had long careers in radio, the movies, and on television. They each had their own radio programs and often appeared together. This collection contains ten radio broadcasts, some with Bing and Bob together and others with them appearing separately. Some of the supporting players include Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake, Ju...