Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Muddy Water
2. Mississippi Mud
3. My Kinda Love
4. I Surrender Dear
5. It Must Be True
6. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
7. Out Of Nowhere
8. Just One More Chance
9. Stardust
10. Sweet And Lovely
11. Where The Blue Of The Night (Meets The Gold Of The Day)
12. Paradise
13. Please
14. Just An Echo In The Valley
15. I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance
16. Learn To Croon
17. Down The Old Ox Road
18. Thanks
19. Black Moonlight
20. The Day You Came Along
21. After Sundown
22. Temptation
23. Love Thy Neighbour
24. May I?
25. Love In Bloom
26. I Love You Truly
27. June In January
28. Love Is Just Around The Corner
29. It's Easy To Remember
30. Soon
31. I Wished On The Moon
32. Silent Night
33. I'm An Old Cowhand
34. I Can't Escape From You
35. Song Of The Islands
36. Pennies From Heaven
37. Sweet Leilani
38. Blue Hawaii
39. The One Rose
40. There's A Gold Mine In The Sky
41. My Heart Is Taking Lessons
42. I've Got A Pocketful Of Dreams

Disc 2:

1. Small Fry
2. Mexicali Rose
3. That Sly Old Gentleman
4. Allá En El Rancho Grande
5. Tumbling Tumbleweeds
6. Only Forever
7. Did Your Mother Come From Ireland?
8. Yes Indeed
9. Brahms' Lullaby
10. You Are My Sunshine
11. The Waiter And The Porter And The Upstairs Maid
12. Deep In The Heart Of Texas
13. Wait Till The Sun Shines, Nellie
14. Walking The Floor Over You
15. White Christmas
16. Moonlight Becomes You
17. Road To Morocco
18. Sunday, Monday Or Always
19. Pistol Packin' Mama
20. San Fernando Valley
21. I'll Be Seeing You
22. Swinging On A Star
23. Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's An Irish Lullaby)
24. Don't Fence Me In
25. Yah-Ta-Ta, Yah-Ta-Ta (Talk, Talk, Talk)
26. It's Been A Long Long Time
27. The Bells Of St. Mary's

Disc 3:

1. Put It There, Pal
2. MacNamara's Band
3. Sioux City Sue
4. Begin The Beguine
5. South America, Take It Away
6. Blue Skies
7. Alexander's Ragtime Band
8. The Whiffenpoof Song
9. Now Is The Hour
10. Galway Bay
11. Far Away Places
12. Mule Train
13. Dear Hearts And Gentle People
14. Rock Of Ages
15. Sunshine Cake
16. Play A Simple Melody
17. Sam's Song
18. Gone Fishin'
19. In The Cool, Cool, Cool Of The Evening
20. Y'All Come
21. Bing Crosby signs off
22. Banter between Ken Carpenter and Bing Crosby (from 'Paris Honeymoon')
23. The Funny Old Hills (from 'Paris Honeymoon')
24. Banter between Ken Carpenter and Bing Crosby (from 'Paris Honeymoon')
25. You're A Sweet Little Headache (from 'Paris Honeymoon')
26. Banter between Ken Carpenter and Bing Crosby (from 'Paris Honeymoon')
27. I Have Eyes (from 'Paris Honeymoon')
28. Banter between Ken Carpenter and Bing Crosby (from 'The Star Maker')
29. An Apple For The Teacher (from 'The Star Maker')
30. Banter between Ken Carpenter and Bing Crosby (from 'The Star Maker')
31. Still The Bluebird Sings (from 'The Star Maker')
32. Banter between Ken Carpenter and Bing Crosby (from 'The Star Maker')
33. A Man And His Dream (from 'The Star Maker')

Disc 4:

1. I Surrender Dear (from 'I Surrender Dear')
2. Out Of Nowhere (from 'I Surrender Dear')
3. At Your Command (from 'I Surrender Dear')
4. Magic C.O.D. (parody) (from 'One More Chance')
5. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams (from 'One More Chance')
6. I'd Climb The Highest Mountain (from 'One More Chance')
7. Just One More Chance (from 'One More Chance')
8. When I Take My Sugar To Tea (from 'Dream House')
9. It Must Be True (from 'Dream House')
10. Dream House (from 'Dream House')
11. Were You Sincere? (from 'Billboard Girl')
12. For You (from 'Billboard Girl')
13. In My Hideaway (from 'Sing, Bing, Sing')
14. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea (from 'Sing, Bing, Sing')
15. Lovable (from 'Sing, Bing, Sing')
16. Snuggled On Your Shoulder (from 'Sing, Bing, Sing')
17. My Silent Love (from 'Blue Of The Night')
18. Auf Wiedersehen, My Dear (from 'Blue Of The Night')
19. Ev'ry Time My Heart Beats (from 'Blue Of The Night')
20. Where The Blue Of The Night Meets The Gold Of The Day (from 'Blue Of The Night')
21. Banter between Stuart Erwin and Bing Crosby (from 'The Big Broadcast')
22. Here Lies Love (from 'The Big Broadcast')
23. Announcement by Sam Coslow (from 'The Big Broadcast')
24. Please (from 'The Big Broadcast')
25. You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me (from 'Please')
26. I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You (from 'Please')
27. Please (from 'Please')
28. Love In Bloom (from 'She Loves Me Not')
29. Straight From The Shoulder (from 'She Loves Me Not')
30. I'm Hummin', I'm Whistlin', I'm Singin' (from 'She Loves Me Not')
31. Two For Tonight (from 'Two For Tonight')
32. Introduction by Gayne Whitman (from 'Doctor Rhythm')
33. This Is My Night To Dream (from 'Doctor Rhythm')
34. On The Sentimental Side (from 'Doctor Rhythm')
35. Only A Gypsy Knows (from 'Doctor Rhythm')
36. My Heart Is Taking Lessons (from 'Doctor Rhythm')
37. The Waiter And The Porter And The Upstairs Maid (from 'The Birth Of The Blues')
38. My Melancholy Baby (from 'The Birth Of The Blues')
39. Banter between Stuart Erwin and Bing Crosby (from 'The Big Broadcast')
40. Here Lies Love (from 'The Big Broadcast')

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #209327 in Music
• Released on: 2005-12-13
• Number of discs: 4
• Format: Box set
• Dimensions: .45 pounds

Album Description
Released by Decca in 1954 to celebrate their 20th anniversary and to pay tribute to their most successful star, "Bing Crosby: A Musical Autobiography", a lavish 5-LP Box Set forms the backbone of AVID's latest 4-CD set in the Gold Re-masters series.

The Musical Autobiography contains 49 re-recordings and 40 originals all linked by Bing's charming commentary. The re-recordings were felt necessary at the time due to what was deemed the "dated" quality of the originals. The set is a fascinating trip through Bing's career up to the early 50's and covers all musical styles from country, ballads, jazz, Irish to religious songs, comedy, duets and of course Christmas favorites!

Our Box Set also includes music from two of Bing's many films, "Paris Honeymoon" and "The Star Maker", and broadcasts from Bing’s popular radio show where he was regularly attracting 50 million listeners every week!

Finally on CD Four we have some interesting historical items including songs from all the soundtracks Bing recorded for famed director Mack Sennett in the 1930's including the infamous sound of the pipe organ used to back Bing when he was in dispute with the musicians union.

Customer Reviews

A VERY ENJOYABLE MUSICAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Back in 1954, Decca released a monumental 5-LP box set that mixed original recordings of Bing Crosby's biggest hits with newly recorded tracks on which Bing was backed by the excellent Buddy Cole Trio. What's more, Der Bingle himself also added spoken introductions to each song, offering a charmingly succinct account of his career up to the mid-1950s. As the title of the box set clearly states, it was indeed a musical autobiography, and a very interesting one at that. Fortunately, Avid Records have re-released this fantastic project on 4 CDs, complete with liner notes and some songs from Bing's early movie soundtracks and from the Mack Sennett-directed shorts in which he starred in the early thirties.

The songs recorded with the Buddy Cole Trio in 1954 are magnificent and prove once again (as if any sort of proof were needed) that Bing was a very fine jazz singer with a unique sense of rhythm. On these tracks (49 in all), Crosby takes a chronological journey through his early career, from songs he recorded with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra up to his hits from the thirties and forties. The trio's accompaniment is rather sparse, yet it works really well, and Bing's voice shines throughout.

Besides these fine recordings with Buddy Cole, the set also includes original Decca recordings, always preceded by Bing's spoken introductions as well, and featuring duet partners such as Al Jolson, Johnny Mercer, Louis Armstrong, the Andrews Sisters, Jack Teagarden, and Bob Hope, among many others. Finally, cuts from Crosby movies such as "Paris Honeymoon" or "The Big Broadcast," together with tracks recorded for the Mack Sennett shorts, round out the collection.

Since Bing did not record very extensively with small groups, this set would be worth the price just for the outstanding recordings with the Buddy Cole Trio. Yet, the charming, well enunciated spoken introductions make it a necessary addition to the collection of any serious Bing Crosby fan. If you really appreciate the unsurpassed talent of the king of the crooners, hopefully you will want to lay your hands on a copy of this fantastic set by the time you get done reading these lines. I am sure you will not be disappointed!

Opulence À la Crosby
Simply put, Bing Crosby was the most important vocalist in the history of popular music. No singer ever sold more records, had as many hits songs, influenced as many peers, or altered as many music industry conventions as Bing Crosby. Blessed with an immaculate and melodiously striking baritone, Bing Crosby could also be considered the most singularly talented vocalist who ever lived. His uncanny ability to sing any kind of music (from jazz to Viennese waltzes), and sing it authentically, allowed him to rack up hit after hit. In all, Bing was the most popular singer in the world for an astounding 20 consecutive years (according to record sales) from 1934 until 1954, when Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and semi-retirement conspired to remove him from his throne.

This set is a release of the 1954 LP which was recorded to coincide with Bing's coming retirement. However, this is not your standard `greatest hits' collection. Instead of merely being a grab-bag of his past hit-songs, Bing decided to go into the studio with Buddy Cole and cut brand new versions of his older recordings. While I am not sure if this was for artistic or licensing reasons, I am very glad he re-recorded these numbers. Backed by a small and tasteful Jazz ensemble led by Buddy Cole, Bing gives new life to these old songs and imparts them with a wonderfully intimate jazz verve.

As any Bing fan will tell you, Crosby experienced significant vocal change between the 1930's and the 1950's. When he first broke onto the national scene, he was a dramatic, big voiced operatic-type singer with big lungs; certainly a far cry from a `crooner'. He could hold a note, stretch it like an elastic band, and then belt it out for minutes on end. There are some truly awesome recording of his from the 1930's ("Home On The Range" and "The Last Roundup" come to mind) which illustrate his technical prowess. As time went on, however, Crosby developed a deeper, richer tone and tended to call upon his powers of volume less and less. By the time 1954 rolled around, he no longer belted songs out but scooped them, plumbing the depths of emotion with an expressive voice rather than with powerful lungs. The later Crosby is one found on this set; a little quieter than before, but singing as good as ever. Like fine wine, his voice has aged to a wonderful vintage, replete with the full bodied rich tones often spoken of by wine connoisseurs. There are too many highlights to mention on this large, opulent set. All I can say is that you will not be disappointed. This is a required purchase for any Crosby fan, or any fan of truly good music (a redundancy if there ever was one).

But most of all, how can you ignore a 4 CD set from the man whose poster hung in Sinatra's childhood bedroom?

A.J. Smith

Fantastic
This is an absolutely great retrospective, hosted by Bing, with his charming commentary on songs throughout his career from the 1920's to the 1950's.