Bing Crosby

In all of the hoopla surrounding the 25th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death(has it really ever ended?), the death of Bing Crosby, a few weeks later in 1977, has seemingly been forgotten. Crosby, one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century, recorded more than 1,700 songs for Decca and sold more than 300 million records during his 50-year career. He also appeared in such movies as the Big Broadcast of 1932, The Big Broadcast of 1936, The Bells of St. Mary's, Holiday Inn and Going My Way, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and was a fixture on network radio and television for years.

100 Years Ago Trusted home "Mrs. Frances Fogarty of N. Calvert St. Baltimore, visited her grandmother Mrs. John Cole during the past week. Mrs. Charles G. Summers Sr. have closed their summer home, "Trusty Friend Farms" and are occupying their apartments at Bristol, Eutaw Place, Baltimore. " 75 Years Ago Falling chivalry A national news section brief in the Times : "A brave truck driver, name unknown, saw a lady with a difficult name, Mrs. Anastasia Adeuszkuus, hanging from the ledge of a 2nd story in Jersey City.

Even with his love of medleys, Mel Torme will be able to sample only a fraction of his repertoire of about 5,000 songs when he settles into the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall for four performances starting today.One song he'll be performing, "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square," is the sort of mellow tune that long ago gave him his nickname of "Velvet Fog." But the crooner, 69, has a vocal range that easily takes him through just about everything the jazz and pop songbooks have to offer. Similarly, he glides with ease from crisply enunciated lyrics to Ella-fast scat singing.

WASHINGTON - Bobby Darin's name doesn't exactly jump to mind when talk turns to the greats of American music. Kevin Spacey is committed to changing that. "The big motivation for doing this movie has been to turn the spotlight back on Bobby," says Spacey, whose cinematic take on Darin's life, Beyond the Sea, opens in theaters today. "Other than Elvis Presley and Ray Charles, Bobby Darin had more hits in more genres than almost any other recording artist. He also played the drums, he played the vibes, he played the guitar, he played the harmonica, he played the piano.

Most people think of Bing Crosby -- when they think of him at all -- as the ultra-square pop crooner who was overtaken by the very hip Frank Sinatra and eventually thrust aside by the raw power of rock and the growth of cynicism and distrust in American society. Almost nobody knows that the young Crosby was one of the hottest jazzmen around. He was the first singer to popularize a gentle, conversational style speckled with held notes like groans, a pioneer who traded innovations with good friend Louis Armstrong and may very well have been the single most influential American musician of the 20th century.

Harry Crane, 85, co-creator of Jackie Gleason's classic 1950s sitcom "The Honeymooners" and comedy writer for Red Skelton, the Marx Brothers, Bing Crosby and others, died in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Tuesday of cancer.

You can barely turn on the television or radio without running into some kind of holiday programming. This isn't new. From Bing Crosby's 1930s holiday radio broadcasts to the present day's A Clay Aiken Christmas TV special, radio and TV programming this time of the year is often all about the holidays. On Saturday, visitors to the Radio and Television Museum in Bowie can celebrate the history of Christmas radio and TV programming at "Santa's Big Broadcast." Vintage radio and television shows from the '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s will be featured, some geared to children, some to adults.

During the 1930s and 1940s, there weren't many Americans who didn't welcome George Burns and Gracie Allen into their homes each week. Their weekly radio show was a consistent hit and made them one of the most beloved husband-and-wife comedy teams of all time.In 1950, Burns and Allen made the transition to television, bringing with them their old fans while cultivating a new generation of followers. The TV show had a successful run of eight years. It probably would have lasted longer had not Gracie decided it was time for her to retire.

In the 1940s, thousands of families tuned their radios to the NBC network each Thursday night for the "Kraft Music Hall" show featuring Bing Crosby to hear the singer banter and trade songs with his favorite sidekicks. The show's annual Christmas Eve presentation was especially popular among the show's loyal fans across the country.This weekend, those who make their way to the Ram's Head in Annapolis will be treated to the big band music and story lines that made Crosby famous.Hourlong re-creation"The Bing Crosby Kraft Music Hall Christmas Show," an hourlong re-creation of the Dec. 24, 1942, broadcast, will feature local artists.

100 Years Ago Trusted home "Mrs. Frances Fogarty of N. Calvert St. Baltimore, visited her grandmother Mrs. John Cole during the past week. Mrs. Charles G. Summers Sr. have closed their summer home, "Trusty Friend Farms" and are occupying their apartments at Bristol, Eutaw Place, Baltimore. " 75 Years Ago Falling chivalry A national news section brief in the Times : "A brave truck driver, name unknown, saw a lady with a difficult name, Mrs. Anastasia Adeuszkuus, hanging from the ledge of a 2nd story in Jersey City.

You can barely turn on the television or radio without running into some kind of holiday programming. This isn't new. From Bing Crosby's 1930s holiday radio broadcasts to the present day's A Clay Aiken Christmas TV special, radio and TV programming this time of the year is often all about the holidays. On Saturday, visitors to the Radio and Television Museum in Bowie can celebrate the history of Christmas radio and TV programming at "Santa's Big Broadcast." Vintage radio and television shows from the '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s will be featured, some geared to children, some to adults.

NEW YORK - For a few sweet, sultry seconds recently, the notes of Louis Armstrong's gold-plated trumpet once again blew magically over working-class Queens. It was a sound that serenaded 107th Street for almost 30 years beginning in 1943, when Armstrong's wife, Lucille, bought the modest frame house where the jazz legend often played for neighborhood children, who called him "Pops." When the city of New York unveiled the house as a museum, the Gully Low Jazz Band, featuring clarinetest Joe Muranyi, who once played with Armstrong, transformed the street into a New Orleans-style party.

Most people think of Bing Crosby -- when they think of him at all -- as the ultra-square pop crooner who was overtaken by the very hip Frank Sinatra and eventually thrust aside by the raw power of rock and the growth of cynicism and distrust in American society. Almost nobody knows that the young Crosby was one of the hottest jazzmen around. He was the first singer to popularize a gentle, conversational style speckled with held notes like groans, a pioneer who traded innovations with good friend Louis Armstrong and may very well have been the single most influential American musician of the 20th century.

In all of the hoopla surrounding the 25th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death(has it really ever ended?), the death of Bing Crosby, a few weeks later in 1977, has seemingly been forgotten. Crosby, one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century, recorded more than 1,700 songs for Decca and sold more than 300 million records during his 50-year career. He also appeared in such movies as the Big Broadcast of 1932, The Big Broadcast of 1936, The Bells of St. Mary's, Holiday Inn and Going My Way, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and was a fixture on network radio and television for years.

Lou Thesz, 86, a pioneer in professional wrestling who grappled for more than 55 years and helped carry the spectacle into the era of television, died Sunday in Orlando, Fla. Mr. Thesz started wrestling professionally in the mid-1930s at age 17 and took part in a match in Japan when he was 73. Mr. Thesz was among wrestling's most visible performers in the 1940s and 1950s, according to Kit Bauman, co-author of Thesz's autobiography, Hooker: An Authentic Wrestler's...

In the 1940s, thousands of families tuned their radios to the NBC network each Thursday night for the "Kraft Music Hall" show featuring Bing Crosby to hear the singer banter and trade songs with his favorite sidekicks. The show's annual Christmas Eve presentation was especially popular among the show's loyal fans across the country.This weekend, those who make their way to the Ram's Head in Annapolis will be treated to the big band music and story lines that made Crosby famous.Hourlong re-creation"The Bing Crosby Kraft Music Hall Christmas Show," an hourlong re-creation of the Dec. 24, 1942, broadcast, will feature local artists.

Amy Grant loves Christmas music. She loves it enough to have released an album of Christmas music back in 1992, and to have done Christmas shows in Nashville every year since.The shows have done well, too. Not that Grant is in it for the money -- truth is, she donates her profits each year to charity -- but she does get a lot of satisfaction from knowing that the Christmas show she puts on with the Nashville Symphony can sell out the Nashville Arena for two nights each season.Still, her ambitions are bigger than that.

So much attention was drawn to the name Crosby that Nathaniel, son of Bing, grew up realizing a preference for his own identity. The fame of an illustrious father made him proud, yet it couldn't be used as a ticket through life.An unspoiled Nathaniel handled the situation with understanding and decorum. Bing Crosby was a momentous figure in the entertainment business and an international ambassador for golf.So, with an inherited love for the same game, Nathaniel went about writing his personal numbers on the scorecard and earning the reputation as a first-rate gentleman -- self-effacing, considerate of others.

Harry Crane, 85, co-creator of Jackie Gleason's classic 1950s sitcom "The Honeymooners" and comedy writer for Red Skelton, the Marx Brothers, Bing Crosby and others, died in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Tuesday of cancer.

Christmas carols, in a sense, are the original mood music.Think about it. However much the lyrics might talk about babes born in mangers and angels heard on high, the music in those classic carols conjures up the whole majesty of Christmas. No sooner do we hear the refrain from "We Three Kings" or "O Come, All Ye Faithful" than we're flooded with thoughts of snowy nights, twinkling trees and happy times.Even contemporary Christmas songs work that magic. Whether as sentimental as "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ... ")