Gone But Not Forgotten:
The Bing Crosby CD
Hall of Fame

One of the biggest problems in the CD age has been the attempted restoration of particular types of music by engineers who know little or nothing about how it should sound. In other words, if you're producing a CD-ROM about opera, or one that contains some vital samples of opera singing, don't rely on a sound engineer who has never heard opera. Sound restoration is an art -- just like restoring paintings is an art. It requires the same sense of color and composition. -- Allen Lowe, music historian

This page honors those out-of-print Crosby CDs that exemplify production values beyond the norm. These discs managed to buck the trend toward mediocrity. Although these discs are no longer available at retail, you may be able to locate them in the used CD market.

BING CROSBY THE CROONER: THE COLUMBIA YEARS 1928-34
(CBS Records C3K 44229 CK 44304)
This boxed collection of 65 recordings on 3 compact discs surveys Bing's pre-Decca years, when he was at the cutting edge of popular music in America. Although the sound quality isn't as good as "THE CLASSIC YEARS IN DIGITAL STEREO" (see below), the discs deserve praise because they include several alternate takes (recordings that were judged not quite as good as the versions released to the public) and a booklet that contains fascinating -- and at times irreverent -- accounts of each recording. (1988)

THE COMPLETE BING CROSBY: A 10th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION
(Silver Eagle Records SED 10633)
Bing recorded more than 200 songs for his radio show in the 1950s and early '60s accompanied by the Buddy Cole Trio. Following Bing's death Ken Barnes and Pete Moore added full orchestral stereo backing, including choral support, to 73 of these recordings, which were released on three compact discs in 1987 by Silver Eagle Records. This re-orchestration appears to be the largest of its kind ever undertaken for any artist. The re-orchestrated songs are listed in the Bing Crosby Discography. (1987)

BING JUST BREEZIN' ALONG: A 10th ANNIVERSARY MEMENTO
(EMI CDP 7 48272 2)
Ken Barnes produced several of Bing's last albums and was the best thing to happen to Bing musically in the last decade of his life. This disc contains 16 of Crosby's collaborations with Barnes from 1975 and '76, each remixed and remastered and sounding better than the tracks originally released on LP. Indeed, the sonic quality of this disc is the best in my Crosby collection. One needs only compare "Just Breezin' Along" to "Feels Good Feels Right," Bing's 1976 album released on CD in 1988 by London Decca, to see what dramatic differences a little TLC and the latest technology can do to to bring out the best in recorded music. "Just Breezin' Along" included: Breezin along with the Breeze, How are things in Glocca Morra?, Heat Wave, The Best Things in Life are Free, My Heart Stood Still, I Got Rhythm, The Good Old Times, Cabaret, Send in the Clowns, The Only Way to Go, Have a Nice Day, Some Sunny Day, At My Time of Life, With a Song in My Heart, Razzle Dazzle, That's What Life is All About. (1987)

THE CLASSIC YEARS IN DIGITAL STEREO: 1927 TO 1934
(BBC CD 648)
This 16-track collection shows what remarkable sounds can be extracted from old recordings when those doing the transfer make the effort. All the selections on this disc were restored from 78 rpm masters by Robert Parker for the BBC. The resulting sound quality is the best I have heard from recordings of this era, better than many I have heard from the 1940s. Tracks include: Someday Sweetheart, Mary, So the Bluebirds and the Blackbirds Got Together, I Surrender Dear, Where the Blue of the Night, Please, Thanks, The Last Round-Up, St. Louis Blues, Black Moonlight, Beautiful Girl, We'll Make Hay While the Sun Shines, Temptation, Did You Ever See a Dream Walking, She Reminds Me of You, Love in Bloom. (1986)