View source for Bing Crosby

{{Short description|American singer and actor (1903–1977)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Bing Crosby
| image              = Bing Crosby Paramount Pictures.jpg
| caption            = Crosby, {{circa|1940}}
| birth_name         = Harry Lillis Crosby&nbsp;Jr.
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1903|5|3}}
| birth_place        = [[Tacoma, Washington]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1977|10|14|1903|5|3}}
| death_place        = [[Alcobendas]], Spain
| resting_place      = [[Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City|Holy Cross Cemetery]], Culver City, California, U.S.
| occupation         = {{hlist|Singer|actor}}
| years_active       = 1923–1977
| works              = {{hlist|[[Bing Crosby discography|Discography]]|[[Bing Crosby filmography|filmography]]|[[List of Bing Crosby TV appearances|television]]}}
| alma_mater         = [[Gonzaga University]]
| spouse             = {{Unbulleted list|{{marriage|[[Dixie Lee]]|1930|1952|end=died}}|{{marriage|[[Kathryn Crosby|Kathryn Grant]]|1957}}}}
| children           = {{Unbulleted list|item_style={{longitem}}|{{hlist|[[Gary Crosby (actor)|Gary]]|[[Dennis Crosby|Dennis]]|[[Phillip Crosby|Phillip]]|[[Lindsay Crosby|Lindsay]]}} (with Dixie)|{{hlist|[[Harry Crosby (businessman)|Harry III]]|[[Mary Crosby|Mary]]|[[Nathaniel Crosby|Nathaniel]]}} (with Kathryn)}}
| relatives          = {{Unbulleted list|[[Larry Crosby]] (brother)|[[Bob Crosby]] (brother)|[[Denise Crosby]] (granddaughter)|[[Chris Crosby (singer)|Chris Crosby]] (nephew)}}
| signature          = Bing Crosby signature.svg
| module             = {{Infobox musical artist
| embed = yes
| genre = {{hlist|[[Traditional pop]]|[[jazz]]|[[easy listening]]|[[big band]]}}
| instruments = {{hlist|Vocals|drums}}
| label = {{hlist|[[Decca Records|Decca]]|[[Columbia Records|Columbia]]|[[RCA Victor]]|[[Brunswick Records|Brunswick]]|[[Reprise Records|Reprise]]|[[Capitol Records|Capitol]]|[[Verve Records|Verve]]|[[United Artists]]}}
| website = {{URL|https://bingcrosby.com/}}
}}
}}
'''Harry Lillis''' "'''Bing'''" '''Crosby Jr.''' (May 3, 1903&nbsp;– October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor. One of the first multimedia stars, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide.<ref>{{cite book | last=Communications |first=Museum of Broadcast |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IG7bAAAAMAAJ&q=bing+Crosby+was+one+of+the+most+popular+and+influential+musical+artists+of+the+20th+century. |title=The Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Radio |date=2004 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |isbn=978-1-57958-431-3}}</ref> Crosby was a leader in [[record sales]], network radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. He was one of the first global [[cultural icon]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Prigozy |first1=Ruth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jDUAhnqZ-UwC&dq=bing+crosby+was+the+first+cultural+icon&pg=PA131 |title=Going My Way: Bing Crosby and American Culture |last2=Raubicheck |first2=Walter |date=2007 |publisher=University Rochester Press |isbn=978-1-58046-261-7}}</ref> Crosby made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs.<ref name="Giddins2001">{{cite book | last=Giddins |first=Gary |title=Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=0-316-88188-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bingcrosbypocket00gidd_0/page/30 30–31] |edition=1 |date=2001 |url=https://archive.org/details/bingcrosbypocket00gidd_0/page/30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/bing-crosby/ | title=Bing Crosby – Hollywood Star Walk | newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] | access-date=October 13, 2025 | archive-date=October 7, 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251007180522/https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/bing-crosby/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=bicrdha>{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SvNLAAAAIBAJ&pg=5677%2C5832980 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |last=Young |first=Larry |title=Bing Crosby dies of heart attack |date=October 15, 1977 |page=1}}</ref>

Crosby's early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed, such as [[Frank Sinatra]],{{sfn|Gilliland|1994|loc=cassette 1 side B}} [[Perry Como]], [[Dean Martin]], [[Dick Haymes]], [[Elvis Presley]], and [[John Lennon]].<ref name="Giddins">{{cite news |last=Giddins |first=Gary |date=January 28, 2001 |title=MUSIC; Bing Crosby, The Unsung King of Song |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/28/books/music-bing-crosby-the-unsung-king-of-song.html |access-date=May 27, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013182918/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/28/books/music-bing-crosby-the-unsung-king-of-song.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Yank, the Army Weekly|''Yank'']] magazine said that Crosby was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Giddins |first1=Gary |title=Bing Crosby – Swinging on a Star – The War Years 1940–1946 |date=2018 |publisher=Little, Brown & Co |location=New York |isbn=978-0-316-88792-2 |page=546}}</ref> In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of [[Jackie Robinson]] and [[Pope Pius XII]].<ref name="Giddins2001"/>{{rp|6}}<ref name="crooner">{{cite web | last=Hoffman |first=Frank |title=Crooner |url=https://www.jeffosretromusic.com/bing.html |access-date=December 29, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311095040/http://www.jeffosretromusic.com/bing.html |archive-date=March 11, 2007}}</ref> In 1948, ''Music Digest'' estimated that Crosby's recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music in North America.<ref name="crooner"/>

Crosby won the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] for his performance in ''[[Going My Way]]'' (1944) and was nominated for its sequel, ''[[The Bells of St. Mary's]]'' (1945), opposite [[Ingrid Bergman]], becoming the first of six actors to be nominated twice for playing the same character. Crosby was the number one box office attraction for five consecutive years from 1944 to 1948.<ref name=Stanley>Stanley, Bob, ''Let's Do It: The Birth of Pop Music'', Pegasus Books, 2022, pg. 220</ref> At his screen apex in 1946, Crosby starred in three of the year's five highest-grossing films: ''The Bells of St. Mary's'', ''[[Blue Skies (1946 film)|Blue Skies]]'', and ''[[Road to Utopia]]''.<ref name=Stanley/> In 1963, he received the first [[Grammy Award|Grammy Global Achievement Award]].<ref name="variety">{{cite news |last=Tapley |first=Krostopher |title=Sylvester Stallone Could Join Exclusive Oscar Company with 'Creed' Nomination |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=December 10, 2015 |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/in-contention/sylvester-stallone-oscars-golden-globes-1201657048/ |access-date=February 29, 2016}}</ref> Crosby is one of 33 people to have three stars on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/about/#most-stars |title=Hollywood Star Walk |website=Projects.latimes.com |access-date=September 11, 2024 |archive-date=June 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610020129/http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/about/#most-stars |url-status=dead }}</ref> in the categories of motion pictures, radio, and audio recording.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://walkoffame.com/bing-crosby/ |title=Bing Crosby |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame|date=October 25, 2019 }}</ref> He was also known for his collaborations with his friend [[Bob Hope]], starring in the ''[[Road to ...]]'' films from 1940 to 1962. Crosby has been associated with the [[Christmas season]] since he starred in [[Irving Berlin]]'s musical film [[Holiday Inn (film)|''Holiday Inn'']] and also sang "[[White Christmas (song)|White Christmas]]" in the [[White Christmas (film)|film]] of the same name. 

Crosby influenced the development of the post–World War II [[recording industry]]. After seeing a demonstration of a German broadcast quality [[reel-to-reel tape recorder]] brought to the United States by [[John T. Mullin]], Crosby invested $50,000 in the California electronics company [[Ampex]] to build copies. He then persuaded ABC to allow him to tape his shows and became the first performer to prerecord his radio shows and master his commercial recordings onto [[magnetic tape]]. Through audio recordings, Crosby produced his radio programs with the same directorial tools and craftsmanship (editing, retaking, rehearsal, [[time shifting]]) used in motion picture production, a practice that became the industry standard.<ref>{{cite web |title=Engineering and Technology History Wiki |url=https://ethw.org/First-Hand:Bing_Crosby_and_the_Recording_Revolution |website=Ethw.org |access-date=January 19, 2019 |archive-date=May 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501020144/https://ethw.org/First-Hand:Bing_Crosby_and_the_Recording_Revolution |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition to his work with early audio tape recording, Crosby helped finance the development of videotape, bought television stations, bred racehorses, and co-owned the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] baseball team, during which time the team won two [[World Series]] ([[1960 World Series|1960]] and [[1971 World Series|1971]]).

==Early life==
[[File:Bing Crosby - Radio Mirror, February 1935.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|left|Crosby aged nine]]

Crosby was born on May 3, 1903,<ref name=Grudens>Grudens, 2002, p. 236. "Bing was born on May 3, 1903. He always believed he was born on May 2, 1904."</ref><ref name="bing">{{cite web |last=Giddins |first=Gary |title=Bing Bio – Bing Crosby |url=https://bingcrosby.com/bing-bio |website=Bingcrosby.com |access-date=July 5, 2018 |archive-date=February 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205235428/https://bingcrosby.com/bing-bio |url-status=dead }}</ref> in [[Tacoma, Washington]], in a house his father built at 1112 North J Street.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dunkelberger |first=Steve |date=2015-09-03 |title=100+ Years Later: A Look Inside Tacoma's Historic Bing Crosby House |url=https://www.southsoundtalk.com/2015/09/03/bing-crosby-house-tacoma/ |access-date=2025-06-04 |website=SouthSoundTalk |archive-date=January 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250118210745/https://www.southsoundtalk.com/2015/09/03/bing-crosby-house-tacoma/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Sumner native and Food Network star in 'total disbelief' her Malibu home survived fire |url=https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article298457938.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250114014210/https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article298457938.html |archive-date=2025-01-14 |access-date=2025-06-04 |work=Tacoma News Tribune}}</ref> Three years later, his family moved to [[Spokane, Washington|Spokane]] in [[Eastern Washington|Eastern Washington State]], where Crosby was raised.<ref name="Blecha">{{cite web |last1=Blecha |first1=Peter |author-link1=Peter Blecha|title=Crosby, Bing (1903–1977) and Mildred Bailey (1907–1951), Spokane |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/7445 |website=Historylink.org |access-date=July 5, 2018 |date=August 29, 2005}}</ref> In 1913, his father built a house at 508 E. Sharp Avenue.<ref>{{cite web |author=Gonzaga History 1980–1989 |url=https://www.gonzaga.edu/academics/libraries/foley-library/departments/special-collections/Exhibitions/GonzagaHistory1980.asp |title=Gonzaga History 1980–1989&nbsp;– Gonzaga University |publisher=Gonzaga.edu |date=September 17, 1986 |access-date=January 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207003233/http://www.gonzaga.edu/Academics/Libraries/Foley-Library/Departments/Special-Collections/exhibitions/GonzagaHistory1980.asp |archive-date=December 7, 2010}}</ref> The house stands on the campus of Crosby's alma mater, [[Gonzaga University]], as a museum housing over 200 artifacts from his life and career, including his Oscar.<ref name="House">{{cite web |title=Bing Crosby House Museum |url=https://www.gonzaga.edu/student-life/arts-culture/crosby-museum |website=Gonzaga.edu |access-date=July 5, 2018 |archive-date=July 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705092305/https://www.gonzaga.edu/student-life/arts-culture/crosby-museum |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Bing Crosby and Gonzaga University: 1903–1925 |url=https://www.gonzaga.edu/academics/libraries/foley-library/departments/special-collections/Collections/Bing-Crosby-Collection/CrosbyandGonzaga.asp |title=Bing Crosby and Gonzaga University: 1903–1925 – Gonzaga University |publisher=Gonzaga.edu |access-date=October 15, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120809141328/http://www.gonzaga.edu/Academics/Libraries/Foley-Library/Departments/Special-Collections/Collections/Bing-Crosby-Collection/CrosbyandGonzaga.asp |archive-date=August 9, 2012}}</ref>

Crosby was the fourth of seven children: brothers [[Larry Crosby|Laurence Earl "Larry"]] (1895–1975), Everett Nathaniel (1896–1966), Edward John "Ted" (1900–1973), and [[Bob Crosby|George Robert "Bob"]] (1913–1993); and two sisters, Catherine Cordelia (1904–1974) and Mary Rose (1906–1990). His parents were Harry Lillis Crosby<ref>{{cite book |last1=Macfarlane |first1=Malcolm |title=Bing Crosby – Day by Day |date=2001 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |location=Lanham. Maryland |isbn=0-8108-4145-2 |page=2}}</ref> (1870–1950), a bookkeeper, and Catherine Helen "Kate" (née Harrigan; 1873–1964). His mother was a second-generation [[Irish-American]].<ref name="PBS Timeline">{{cite web |title=Bing Crosby ~ Timeline: Bing Crosby's Life and Career |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/bing-crosby-timeline-highlights-from-his-career/3501/ |website=American Masters – PBS |date=December 2014 |access-date=December 3, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141201010101/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/bing-crosby/timeline-bing-crosbys-life-and-career/3501/ |archive-date=December 1, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Giddins2001"/> His father was of [[Scottish people|Scottish]] and [[English people|English]] descent; an ancestor, Simon Crosby, emigrated from the [[Kingdom of England]] to [[New England]] in the 1630s during the [[Puritan migration to New England (1620–40)|Puritan migration to New England]].<ref>Her Heart Can See: The Life and Hymns of Fanny J. Crosby By Edith L. Blumhofer, Edith Waldvogel Blumhofer pg. 4</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Macfarlane |first1=Malcolm |title=Bing Crosby – Day by Day |date=2001 |publisher=The Scarecrow Press |location=Maryland |isbn=0-8108-4145-2 |page=1}}</ref> Through another line, also on his father's side, Crosby is descended from ''[[Mayflower]]'' passenger [[William Brewster (pilgrim)|William Brewster]] ({{c.}} 1567 – 1644).<ref name="Giddins2001"/>{{rp|24}}<ref>Giddins, Gary (2002). Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams, The Early Years 1903–1940. Back Bay Books. p. 24.</ref>

In 1917, Crosby took a summer job as property boy at Spokane's Auditorium, where he witnessed some of the acts of the day, including [[Al Jolson]], who held Crosby spellbound with [[ad-lib]]bing and parodies of [[Hawaiian music|Hawaiian songs]]. Crosby later described Jolson's delivery as "electric".{{sfn |Gilliland |1994 |loc=cassette 3, side B}}

Crosby graduated from [[Gonzaga Preparatory School|Gonzaga High School]] in 1920 and enrolled at Gonzaga University. He attended Gonzaga for three years but did not earn a degree.<ref name=hlogozu>{{cite news |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/8097 |title=Gonzaga University |last=Kershner |first=Jim |publisher=HistoryLink.org |agency=Essay 8097 |date=February 21, 2007 |access-date=May 10, 2014 |archive-date=September 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160908114717/http://www.historylink.org/File/8097 |url-status=live }}</ref> As a freshman, Crosby played on the university's baseball team.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gonzaga.edu/academics/libraries/foley+library/departments/Special-Collections/Collections/Bing-Crosby-Collection/CrosbyandGonzaga.asp |title=Bing Crosby and Gonzaga University: 1903–1925 |publisher=Gonzaga University, via Internet Archive |access-date=November 24, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429161408/http://www.gonzaga.edu/academics/libraries/foley%2Blibrary/Departments/Special-Collections/Collections/Bing-Crosby-Collection/CrosbyandGonzaga.asp |archive-date=April 29, 2015}}</ref> According to the son of his coach [[Gus Dorais]], Crosby played home games, but did not qualify for the smaller squad that went on the road. He was so popular with his teammates, however, that they would sneak him on the train and hide him. He brought his guitar along and entertained them in return.<ref>Niese, Joe and Bob Dorais, ''Gus Dorais: Gridiron Innovator, All-American and Hall of Fame Coach'', pp. 109-10</ref> The university granted him an honorary doctorate in 1937.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HrwzAAAAIBAJ&pg=4125%2C5113321 |newspaper=[[Spokane Daily Chronicle]] |title=Bing Crosby comes home to his Gonzaga |date=October 21, 1937 |page=1 |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |access-date=October 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816163736/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HrwzAAAAIBAJ&pg=4125%2C5113321 |url-status=live }}</ref> Gonzaga University houses a large collection of photographs, correspondence, and other material related to Crosby.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://researchguides.gonzaga.edu/c.php?g=67720&p=436843 |title=LibGuides: Manuscript Collections: Crosby |last=Plowman |first=Stephanie |website=Researchguides.gonzaga.edu |access-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-date=December 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205103340/http://researchguides.gonzaga.edu/c.php?g=67720&p=436843 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Nickname "Bing"===

The [[Associated Press]] had reported as early as February 1932 — later confirmed by both Bing himself and his biographer Charles Thompson — that it was in fact a neighbor — Valentine Hobart, circa 1910 — who had named him "Bingo from Bingville".  This was after a comic feature in the local paper called ''[[Newton Newkirk|The Bingville Bugle]]'' which the young Harry liked. In time, Bingo got shortened to Bing.<ref>Associated Press (February 1, 1932). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/press-and-sun-bulletin/89097224/ "Harry Crosby Got Nickname from Cartoon; Started as 'Bingville' and Was Later Shortened to Bing"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104043007/https://www.newspapers.com/article/press-and-sun-bulletin/89097224/ |date=January 4, 2024 }}. ''The Binghamton Press''. p.&nbsp;17. Retrieved November 17, 2021.</ref><ref>Crosby, Bing; Martin, Pete (1953). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=0tUfAAAAIAAJ&q=bingo+bingville+%22bing+crosby+%22+inauthor:Crosby Call Me Lucky]''. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 19.</ref><ref>Thompson, Charles (1975). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=twcUAQAAIAAJ&q=bingo+bingsville Bing: The Authorized Biography]''. London: W. H. Allen. p.&nbsp;5. {{ISBN|9780491017152}}.</ref>

On November 8, 1937, after [[Lux Radio Theatre]]'s [[List of Lux Radio Theatre episodes#1937|adaptation]] of ''[[She Loves Me Not (1934 film)|She Loves Me Not]]'', [[Joan Blondell]] asked Crosby how he got his nickname. As it happens, the following story was "pure whimsy" for dramatic effect.  
{{Blockquote|Crosby: "Well, I'll tell you, back in the knee-britches day, when I was a wee little tyke, a mere broth of a lad, as we say in Spokane, I used to totter around the streets, with a gun on each hip, my favorite after school pastime was a game known as "[[tag (game)#Cops and robbers|Cops and Robbers]]", I didn't care which side I was on, when a cop or robber came into view, I would haul out my trusty six-shooters, made of wood, and loudly exclaim ''bing''! ''bing''!, as my luckless victim fell clutching his side, I would shout ''bing''! ''bing''!, and I would let him have it again, and then as his friends came to his rescue, shooting as they came, I would shout ''bing''! ''bing''! ''bing''! ''bing''! ''bing''! ''bing''! ''bing''! ''bing''!"<br/>Blondell: "I'm surprised they didn't call you "Killer" Crosby! Now tell me another story, Grandpa!<br/>Crosby: "No, so help me, it's the truth, ask Mister De Mille."<br/>De Mille: "I'll vouch for it, Bing."<ref name="Loves">{{cite web |title=She Loves Me Not, starring Bing Crosby and Nan Grey |url=https://free-classic-radio-shows.com/Drama/Lux-Radio-Theater/1935-1939/1937-11-08-She-Loves-Me-Not-w-Bing-Crosby-and-Nan-Grey/ |website=Free-classic-radio-shows.com |access-date=July 5, 2018 |archive-date=June 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625004128/https://free-classic-radio-shows.com/Drama/Lux-Radio-Theater/1935-1939/1937-11-08-She-Loves-Me-Not-w-Bing-Crosby-and-Nan-Grey/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Goldin">{{cite web |last1=Goldin |first1=J. David |title=The Lux Radio Theatre |url=https://radiogoldin.library.umkc.edu/Home/RadioGoldin_Records?searchString=The%20Lux%20Radio%20Theatre&type=Programs |website=Radiogoldindex.com |date=May 3, 2018 |access-date=July 5, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924084141/http://www.radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p2.cgi?ProgramName=The%20Lux%20Radio%20Theatre}}</ref>}}

==Career==
===Early years===
In 1923, Crosby was invited to join a new band composed of high-school students a few years younger than himself. [[Al Rinker|Al]] and Miles Rinker (brothers of singer [[Mildred Bailey]]), James Heaton, Claire Pritchard and Robert Pritchard, along with drummer Crosby, formed the Musicaladers,<ref name=bicrdha/> who performed at dances both for high school students and club-goers. The group performed on Spokane radio station [[The Davenport Hotel (Spokane, Washington)|KHQ]], but disbanded after two years.<ref name="Giddins2001"/>{{rp|92–97}}<ref>[[The Davenport Hotel (Spokane, Washington)|Early KHQ broadcast from the Davenport Hotel Spokane]]</ref> Crosby and Al Rinker obtained work at the Clemmer Theatre in Spokane (now known as the [[Bing Crosby Theater]]).

On August 14, 1925, Bing appeared at the Clemmer Theater as part of The Clemmer Trio (Frank McBride, Lloyd Grinnell and Harry Crosby) and they were shown as being presented with special stage effects.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Spokesman-Review |journal=The Spokesman-Review |date=May 13, 1925 |page=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Spokane Chronicle |journal=Spokane Chronicle|date=August 17, 1925}}</ref>Rinker played piano in the pit. They continued at the theater alongside the film of the week for a very successful 12 weeks. They were initially billed as The Clemmer Trio and later as The Clemmer Entertainers depending on who performed.<ref name="macfarlane2001">{{cite book |last=Macfarlane |first=Malcolm |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/1903-1935.htm |title=Bing Crosby: Day by Day |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield#Imprints|Scarecrow Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=0810841452 |edition=Live (online) revision |archive-date=September 11, 2024 |access-date=September 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911080113/https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/1903-1935.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In October 1925, Crosby and Rinker decided to seek fame in California. They traveled to Los Angeles, where Bailey introduced them to her show business contacts. The [[Fanchon and Marco]] Time Agency hired them for 13 weeks for the revue ''The Syncopation Idea'' starting at the Boulevard Theater in Los Angeles and then on the [[Loews Theatres|Loew's circuit]]. They each earned $75 a week. As minor parts of ''The Syncopation Idea'', Crosby and Rinker started to develop as entertainers. They had a lively style that was popular with college students. After ''The Syncopation Idea'' closed, they worked in the Will Morrissey Music Hall Revue. They honed their skills with Morrissey, and when they got a chance to present an independent act, they were spotted by a member of the [[Paul Whiteman]] organization.

Whiteman needed something different to break up his musical selections, and Crosby and Rinker filled this requirement. After less than a year in show business, they were attached to one of the biggest names.<ref name="macfarlane2001"/> Hired for $150 a week in 1926, they debuted with Whiteman on December 6 at the [[Tivoli Theatre (Chicago)|Tivoli Theatre]] in Chicago. Their first recording, in October 1926, was "I've Got the Girl" with Don Clark's Orchestra, but the Columbia-issued record was inadvertently recorded at a slow speed, which increased the singers' pitch when played at 78&nbsp;rpm. Throughout his career, Crosby often credited Bailey for getting him his first important job in the entertainment business.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.redhotjazz.com/rhythmboys.html |title=Paul Whiteman's Original Rhythm Boys |website=Redhotjazz.com |access-date=November 19, 2016 |archive-date=November 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107114559/http://www.redhotjazz.com/rhythmboys.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===The Rhythm Boys===
[[File:The Rhythm Boys - Screenland, April 1934 01.jpg|thumb|right|Crosby (middle) with [[The Rhythm Boys]] in c. 1929-30]]
Success with Whiteman was followed by disaster when they reached New York. Whiteman considered letting them go. However, the addition of pianist and aspiring songwriter [[Harry Barris]] made the difference, and [[The Rhythm Boys]] were born. The additional voice meant they could be heard more easily in large New York theaters. Crosby gained valuable experience on tour for a year with Whiteman and performing and recording with [[Bix Beiderbecke]], [[Jack Teagarden]], [[Tommy Dorsey]], [[Jimmy Dorsey]], [[Eddie Lang]], and [[Hoagy Carmichael]]. Crosby matured as a performer and was in demand as a solo singer.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Macfarlane |first1=Malcolm |title=Bing Crosby – Day by Day |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/1903-1935.htm#Chapter_3 |website=BING magazine |access-date=February 18, 2016 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231608/http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/1903-1935.htm#Chapter_3 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Crosby became the star attraction of the Rhythm Boys. In 1928, he had his first number one hit, a jazz-influenced rendition of "[[Ol' Man River]]". In 1930, the Rhythm Boys appeared in the film ''[[King of Jazz]]'' with Whiteman, but Crosby's growing dissatisfaction with Whiteman led to the Rhythm Boys leaving his organization. They joined the [[Gus Arnheim]] Orchestra, performing nightly in the [[Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)|Coconut Grove]] of the Ambassador Hotel. Singing with the Arnheim Orchestra, Crosby's solos began to steal the show while the Rhythm Boys' act gradually became redundant. Harry Barris wrote several of Crosby's hits, including "At Your Command", "[[I Surrender Dear]]", and "[[Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams (song)|Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams]]". When [[Mack Sennett]] signed Crosby to a solo film contract in 1931, a break with the Rhythm Boys became almost inevitable. Crosby married [[Dixie Lee]] in September 1930. After a threat of divorce in March 1931, he applied himself to his career.

===Success as a solo singer===
[[File:Bing Crosby - Modern Screen, September 1932.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|left|Crosby in 1932]]

On September 2, 1931, ''[[15 Minutes with Bing Crosby]]'', his nationwide solo radio debut, began broadcasting.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.radiohalloffame.com/bing-crosby |title=Bing Crosby |publisher=Radio Hall of Fame |access-date=September 2, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923002631/http://www.radiohof.org/musicvariety/bingcrosby.html |archive-date=September 23, 2008}}</ref> The weekly broadcast made Crosby a hit.<ref name="kl">{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3094/biography}}</ref> Before the end of the year, he {{clarify|text=signed|reason=separate recording contracts? or one recording and the other broadcasting?|date=February 2022}} with both [[Brunswick Records]] and [[CBS Radio]]. "[[Out of Nowhere (Johnny Green song)|Out of Nowhere]]", "Just One More Chance", "[[At Your Command]]", and "[[I Found a Million Dollar Baby (in a Five and Ten Cent Store)]]" were among the best-selling songs of 1931.<ref name="kl"/>

Ten of the top 50 songs of 1931 included Crosby with others or as a solo act. A "Battle of the Baritones" with singer [[Russ Columbo]] proved short-lived, replaced with the slogan "Bing Was King". Crosby played the lead in a series of [[I Surrender Dear (1931 film)|musical comedy short films]] for Mack Sennett, signed with Paramount, and starred in his first full-length film, 1932's ''[[The Big Broadcast]]'' (1932), the first of 55 films in which he received top billing. Crosby would appear in almost 80 pictures. He signed a contract with [[Jack Kapp]]'s new record company, [[Decca Records|Decca]], in late 1934.

Crosby's first commercial sponsor on radio was [[15 Minutes with Bing Crosby#Bing Crosby – The Cremo Singer|Cremo Cigars]] and his fame spread nationwide. After a long run in New York, Crosby went back to Hollywood to film ''[[The Big Broadcast]]''. His appearances, records, and radio work substantially increased his impact. The success of his first film brought Crosby a contract with Paramount, and he began a pattern of making three films a year. Crosby led his radio show for Woodbury Soap for two seasons while his live appearances dwindled. Crosby's records produced hits during the Depression when sales were down. Audio engineer [[Steve Hoffman (audio engineer)|Steve Hoffman]] stated that Crosby played a crucial role in revitalizing the record industry by supporting Decca founder Jack Kapp’s plan to lower the price of singles from one dollar to thirty-five cents and to receive royalties based on sales rather than a flat fee.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Bing Crosby- Bing! His Legendary Years How's the sound? &#124; Steve Hoffman Music Forums |url=https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/bing-crosby-bing-his-legendary-years-hows-the-sound.153459/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225213829/http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/bing-crosby-bing-his-legendary-years-hows-the-sound.153459/ |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |access-date=November 19, 2016 |website=Forums.stevehoffman.tv}}</ref> Crosby’s reputation and musical influence attracted other artists to Decca and helped ensure the company’s success, which in turn prevented the phonograph record business from collapsing during the Great Depression.<ref name=":1" />

His first son [[Gary Crosby (actor)|Gary]] was born in 1933 with twin boys following in 1934. By 1936, Crosby replaced his former boss, Paul Whiteman, as host of the weekly NBC radio program ''[[Kraft Music Hall]]'', where he remained for the next decade. "[[Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)]]", with his trademark whistling, became his theme song and signature tune.

Crosby's vocal style helped take popular singing beyond the "[[belt (music)|belting]]" associated with [[Al Jolson]] and [[Billy Murray (singer)|Billy Murray]], who had been obligated to reach the back seats in New York theaters without the aid of a microphone. As music critic [[Henry Pleasants (music critic)|Henry Pleasants]] noted in ''The Great American Popular Singers'', something new had entered American music, a style that might be called "singing in American" with conversational ease. This new sound led to the popular epithet ''[[crooner]]''.

Crosby admired [[Louis Armstrong]] for his musical ability, and the trumpet maestro was a formative influence on Crosby's singing style. When the two met, they became friends. In 1936, Crosby exercised an option in his Paramount contract to regularly star in an out-of-house film. Signing an agreement with [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]] for a single motion picture, Crosby wanted Armstrong to appear in a screen adaptation of ''The Peacock Feather'' that eventually became ''[[Pennies from Heaven (1936 film)|Pennies from Heaven]]''. Crosby asked [[Harry Cohn]], but Cohn had no desire to pay for the flight or to meet Armstrong's "crude, mob-linked but devoted manager, [[Joe Glaser]]". Crosby threatened to leave the film and refused to discuss the matter. Cohn gave in; Armstrong's musical scenes and comic dialogue extended his influence to the silver screen, creating more opportunities for him and other African Americans to appear in future films. Crosby also ensured behind the scenes that Armstrong received equal billing with his white co-stars. Armstrong appreciated Crosby's progressive attitudes on race, and often expressed gratitude for the role in later years.<ref name="Pennies">{{cite web |title=Pennies from Heaven (1936) |url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/111410 |website=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=July 5, 2018 |archive-date=August 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825194611/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article.html?isPreview=&id=276601%7C111410&name=Pennies-from-Heaven |url-status=live }}</ref>

During [[World War II]], Crosby made live appearances before American troops who had been fighting in the [[European Theater of Operations|European Theater]]. He learned how to pronounce German from written scripts and read propaganda broadcasts intended for German forces. The nickname "Der Bingle" was common among Crosby's German listeners and came to be used by his English-speaking fans. In a poll of U.S. troops at the close of World War II, Crosby topped the list as the person who had done the most for G.I. morale, ahead of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], General [[Dwight Eisenhower]], and [[Bob Hope]].

The June 18, 1945, issue of ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine credited Crosby as one of America’s most influential and successful entertainers.<ref name="Barnett">{{cite web |last1=Barnett |first1=Lincoln |date=June 18, 1945 |title=Bing Inc. |url=https://stevenlewis.info/crosby/LIFE%20OVERSEAS6-18-45.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705063042/http://stevenlewis.info/crosby/LIFE%20OVERSEAS6-18-45.htm |archive-date=July 5, 2018 |access-date=July 5, 2018 |website=Stevenlewis.info}}</ref> Estimating since his first recording in 1931, roughly 60 million of his records had been sold, with "White Christmas" alone selling two million copies in the United States and 250,000 in Great Britain.<ref name="Barnett" /> Crosby’s weekly broadcasts were closely followed by singers and bandleaders, and the day after he introduced a song on the air, about 50,000 copies would typically be sold across the country.<ref name="Barnett" /> He had a notable ability to turn new or relatively unknown ballads into instant hits, a phenomenon often referred to in the music industry as the "big goose."<ref name="Barnett" /> At the time, Crosby’s popularity, earnings, and audience reach were unparalleled, and his contracts with Decca and Paramount extended into the mid-1950s.<ref name="Barnett" /> Even recordings made a decade earlier continued to sell strongly, reflecting the enduring public appetite for his voice and personality.<ref name="Barnett" /> For audiences both in the U.S. and abroad, Crosby had become a symbol of the friendly, humorous American spirit.<ref name="Barnett" /> Despite this, he rarely focused on his own future, enjoying the act of singing itself and remaining content to continue performing, even if public attention were to wane.<ref name="Barnett" /><ref name="Inc1945">{{cite book |author=Time Inc |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dUgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA17 |title=Life |date=June 18, 1945 |pages=17– |access-date=November 19, 2016}}</ref>

====White Christmas====
{{Main|White Christmas (song)}}

[[File:Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye in White Christmas trailer.jpg|upright|thumb|''[[White Christmas (film)|White Christmas]]'' (1954)]]

The biggest hit song of Crosby's career was his recording of [[Irving Berlin]]'s "[[White Christmas (song)|White Christmas]]", which Crosby introduced on a Christmas Day radio broadcast in 1941. A copy of the recording from the radio program is owned by the estate of Bing Crosby and was loaned to ''[[CBS Sunday Morning]]'' for their December 25, 2011, program. The song appeared in his films ''[[Holiday Inn (film)|Holiday Inn]]'' (1942), and—a decade later—in ''White Christmas'' (1954). Crosby's record hit the charts on October 3, 1942, and rose to number 1 on October 31, where it stayed for 11 weeks. A holiday perennial, the song was repeatedly re-released by Decca, charting another 16 times. It topped the charts again in 1945 and a third time in January 1947. The song remains the bestselling single of all time.<ref name="kl"/> Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" has sold over 50 million copies worldwide. His recording was so popular that Crosby was obliged to re-record it in 1947 using the same musicians and backup singers; the original 1942 master had become damaged due to its frequent use in pressing additional singles. In 1977, after Crosby died, the song was re-released and reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book |title=British Hit Singles & Albums |publisher=Guinness |isbn=1-904994-00-8 |page=126 |edition=2005 |date=May 2005}}</ref> Crosby was dismissive of his role in the song's success, saying "a jackdaw with a cleft palate could have sung it successfully".<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66577714/bing-crosby/ Radio & TV] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420070258/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66577714/bing-crosby/ |date=April 20, 2021 }} York Daily Record. December 19, 1958. p. 56.</ref>

===Motion pictures===
{{main|Bing Crosby filmography}}

[[File:Marquita Rivera with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.jpeg|upright=.8|left|thumb|[[Bob Hope]], [[Marquita Rivera]], and Bing Crosby in 1947]]

In the wake of a solid decade of headlining mainly smash hit musical comedy films in the 1930s, Crosby starred with Bob Hope and [[Dorothy Lamour]] in six of the seven ''[[Road to]]'' musical comedies between 1940 and 1962 (Lamour was replaced with Joan Collins in ''[[The Road to Hong Kong]]'' and limited to a lengthy cameo), cementing Crosby and Hope as an on-and-off duo, despite never declaring themselves a "team" in the sense that [[Laurel and Hardy]] or [[Martin and Lewis]] ([[Dean Martin]] and [[Jerry Lewis]]) were teams. The series consists of ''[[Road to Singapore]]'' (1940), ''[[Road to Zanzibar]]'' (1941), ''[[Road to Morocco]]'' (1942), ''[[Road to Utopia]]'' (1946), ''[[Road to Rio]]'' (1947), ''[[Road to Bali]]'' (1952), and ''[[The Road to Hong Kong]]'' (1962). When they appeared solo, Crosby and Hope frequently made note of the other in a comically insulting fashion. They performed together countless times on stage, radio, film, and television, and made numerous brief and not so brief appearances together in movies aside from the "Road" pictures, ''[[Variety Girl]]'' (1947) being an example of lengthy scenes and songs together along with billing.

In the 1949 Disney animated film ''[[The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad]]'', Crosby provided the narration and song vocals for ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'' segment. In 1960, he starred in ''[[High Time (film)|High Time]]'', a collegiate comedy with [[Fabian Forte]] and [[Tuesday Weld]] that predicted the emerging gap between Crosby and the new younger generation of musicians and actors who had begun their careers after World War II. The following year, Crosby and Hope reunited for one more ''Road'' movie, ''[[The Road to Hong Kong]]'', which teamed them up with the much younger [[Joan Collins]] and [[Peter Sellers]]. Collins was used in place of their longtime partner Dorothy Lamour, whom Crosby felt was getting too old for the role, though Hope refused to do the film without her, and she instead made a lengthy and elaborate cameo appearance.<ref name="kl"/> Shortly before his death in 1977, Crosby had planned another ''Road'' film in which he, Hope, and Lamour search for the Fountain of Youth.

Crosby won an [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] for ''[[Going My Way]]'' in 1944 and was nominated for the 1945 sequel, ''[[The Bells of St. Mary's]]''. He received critical acclaim and his third Academy Award nomination for his performance as an alcoholic entertainer in ''[[The Country Girl (1954 film)|The Country Girl]]''.<ref name="Fisher">{{cite journal |last1=Fisher |first1=James |title=Bing Crosby: Through the Years, Volumes One–Nine (1954–56) |journal=ARSC Journal |date=Spring 2012 |volume=43 |issue=1}}</ref>

===Television===
{{main|Bing Crosby TV appearances listing}}

[[File:Bing Crosby and family 1974 Christmas special.JPG|thumb|upright|Crosby and his family in a Christmas special, 1974]]

''The Fireside Theater'' (1950) was his first television production. The series of 26-minute shows was filmed at [[Hal Roach#Hal Roach Studios|Hal Roach Studios]] rather than performed live on the air. The "telefilms" were syndicated to individual television stations. Crosby was a frequent guest on the musical variety shows of the 1950s and 1960s, appearing on various variety shows as well as numerous late-night talk shows and his own highly rated specials. Bob Hope memorably devoted one of his monthly NBC specials to his long intermittent partnership with Crosby titled "On the Road With Bing". Crosby was associated with ABC's ''[[The Hollywood Palace]]'' as the show's first and most frequent guest host and appeared annually on its Christmas edition with his wife Kathryn and his younger children, and continued after ''The Hollywood Palace'' was eventually canceled. In the early 1970s, Crosby made two late appearances on the ''[[Flip Wilson Show]]'', singing duets with the comedian. His last TV appearance was a Christmas special, ''[[Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas|Merrie Olde Christmas]]'', taped in London in September 1977 and aired weeks after his death.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pairpoint |first1=Lionel |title=The Chronological Bing Crosby on Television |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/BingTV.htm |website=BING magazine |access-date=February 21, 2016 |archive-date=February 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220195103/http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/BingTV.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> It was on this special that Crosby recorded a duet of "[[The Little Drummer Boy]]" and "[[Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy|Peace on Earth]]" with rock musician [[David Bowie]]. Their duet was released in 1982 as a single 45 rpm record and reached No. 3 in the UK singles charts.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> It has since become a staple of holiday radio and the final popular hit of Crosby's career. At the end of the 20th century, ''TV Guide'' listed the Crosby-Bowie duet one of the 25 most memorable musical moments of 20th-century television.

Bing Crosby Productions, affiliated with [[Desilu Studios]] and later [[CBS Television Studios]], produced a number of television series, including Crosby's own unsuccessful ABC sitcom ''[[The Bing Crosby Show (1964 TV series)|The Bing Crosby Show]]'' in the 1964–1965 season (with co-stars [[Beverly Garland]] and [[Frank McHugh]]). The company produced two ABC medical dramas, ''[[Ben Casey]]'' (1961–1966) and ''[[Breaking Point (1963 TV series)|Breaking Point]]'' (1963–1964), the popular ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]'' (1965–1971) military comedy on CBS,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-11-12 |title=Bing Crosby Productions |url=https://www.avid.wiki/Bing_Crosby_Productions |access-date=2025-12-23 |website=Audiovisual Identity Database |language=en}}</ref> as well as the lesser-known show ''[[Slattery's People]]'' (1964–1965).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-12-25 |title=Slattery's People |url=https://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/slatterys_people/ |access-date=2025-12-23 |website=Television Obscurities |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Singing style and vocal characteristics==
[[File:Bing Crosby - Radio Digest, October 1931.jpg|upright=.8|left|thumb|Crosby in 1931]]

Crosby was one of the first singers to exploit the intimacy of the microphone rather than use the loud, penetrating [[vaudeville]] style associated with [[Al Jolson]].<ref name="Gary Giddins 2009">{{cite web |last=Giddins |first=Gary |author-link=Gary Giddins |date=January 28, 2001 |title=Bing Crosby: The Unsung King of Song |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/28/books/music-bing-crosby-the-unsung-king-of-song.html |access-date=December 3, 2014 |work=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=October 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013182918/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/28/books/music-bing-crosby-the-unsung-king-of-song.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Crosby was, by his own definition, a "phraser", a singer who placed equal emphasis on both the lyrics and the music.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Bing Crosby (1901?–1977) |date=1978 |journal=Music Educators Journal |issue=7 |pages=56–57 |edition=64}}</ref> Paul Whiteman's hiring of Crosby, with phrasing that echoed jazz, particularly his bandmate [[Bix Beiderbecke]]'s trumpet, helped bring the genre to a wider audience.<ref name="Gary Giddins 2009"/> In the framework of the novelty-singing style of [[the Rhythm Boys]], Crosby bent notes and added off-tune phrasing, an approach that was rooted in jazz.<ref>Giddins, Gary, ''Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams, The Early Years, 1903-1940'', (NY: Little and Brown, 2009), p. 67, {{ISBN|0316091561}}</ref> He had already been introduced to Louis Armstrong and [[Bessie Smith]] before his first appearance on record. Crosby and Armstrong remained warm acquaintances for decades, occasionally singing together in later years, e.g. "Now You Has Jazz" in the film ''[[High Society (1956 film)|High Society]]'' (1956). In Crosby's performances, the presence of jazz phrasing, jazz rhythm and jazz improvisation varied depending on the piece of music, but those were elements that Crosby frequently used. This can be observed particularly in his straight jazz work during the late 1920s/early 1930s, Crosby's recordings with Buddy Cole and His Trio from the mid-1950s, as well as in his numerous collaborations with such jazz musicians as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Venuti, or Eddie Lang. However, while Crosby can be called a jazz singer, he was not strictly only a jazz singer as he modeled the style and techniques to a broad scope of music that he performed, ranging from Jazz to Country to even such material as operetta arias.<ref>[[Gary Giddins]], ''Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams, The Early Years, 1903-1940'', (NY: Little and Brown, 2009), {{ISBN|0316091561}}</ref>

During the early portion of his solo career (about 1931–1934), Crosby's emotional, often pleading style of [[crooning]] was popular. But Jack Kapp, manager of Brunswick and later Decca, talked Crosby into dropping many of his jazzier mannerisms in favor of a clear vocal style. Crosby credited Kapp for choosing hit songs, working with many other musicians, and most important, diversifying his repertoire into several styles and genres. Kapp helped Crosby have number one hits in [[Christmas music]], [[Hawaiian music]], and [[country music]], and top-30 hits in [[Irish music]], [[French popular music|French music]], [[rhythm and blues]], and [[ballad]]s.{{sfn|Gilliland|1994|loc=cassette 1, side B}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://stevenlewis.info/crosby/jackapp.htm |title=Jack Kapp – Bing Crosby Internet Museum |website=Stevenlewis.info |access-date=November 19, 2016 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110856/http://www.stevenlewis.info/crosby/jackapp.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Crosby elaborated on an idea of Al Jolson's: phrasing, or the art of making a song's lyric ring true. "I used to tell [[Sinatra]] over and over," said Tommy Dorsey, "there's only one singer you ought to listen to and his name is Crosby. All that matters to him is the words, and that's the only thing that ought to for you, too."<ref name="Friedwald2010">{{cite book |last=Friedwald |first=Will |title=A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BW9dtlqrg_0C&pg=PA116 |access-date=October 3, 2018 |date=November 2, 2010 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday |isbn=978-0-307-37989-4 |pages=116–}}</ref>

Critic [[Henry Pleasants (music critic)|Henry Pleasants]] wrote in 1985: [While] the octave B flat to B flat in Bing's voice at that time [1930s] is, to my ears, one of the loveliest I have heard in forty-five years of listening to baritones, both classical and popular, it dropped conspicuously in later years. From the mid-1950s, Bing was more comfortable in a bass range while maintaining a baritone quality, with the best octave being G to G, or even F to F. In a recording he made of '[[Dardanella]]' with Louis Armstrong in 1960, he attacks lightly and easily on a low E flat. This is lower than most opera basses care to venture, and they tend to sound as if they were in the cellar when they get there.<ref name="Pleasants">{{cite book |last=Pleasants |first=Henry |title=The Great American Popular Singers |url=https://archive.org/details/greatamericanpop00plea |url-access=registration |date=1985 |publisher=Simon and Schuster}}</ref>

==Career achievements==
[[File:Bing Crosby Perry Como Arthur Godfrey 1950.JPG|thumb|upright|With [[Perry Como]] and [[Arthur Godfrey]] in 1950]]

Crosby's was among the most popular and successful musical acts of the 20th century. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine used different methodologies during his career, but his chart success remains impressive: 396 chart singles, including roughly 41 number 1 hits. Crosby had separate charting singles every year between 1931 and 1954; the annual re-release of "White Christmas" extended that streak to 1957. He had 24 separate popular singles in 1939 alone. Statistician [[Joel Whitburn]] at ''Billboard'' determined that Crosby was America's most successful recording act of the 1930s and again in the 1940s.<ref>Don Tyler, ''Music of the Postwar Era'' (NY: ABC-CLIO, 2008), 209. {{ISBN|9780313341915}}</ref>

The number of Bing Crosby record sales varies. Organizations that audit record sales do not have an official tally, but some claim sales are notable, namely: In 1960, Crosby was honored as "First Citizen of Record Industry" based on having sold 200 million discs.<ref name="CrosbyStrege2016">{{cite book |author1=Nathaniel Crosby |author2=John Strege |title=18 Holes with Bing: Golf, Life, and Lessons from Dad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2K9VCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT6 |date=May 3, 2016 |publisher=Dey Street Books |isbn=978-0-06-241430-4 |pages=6–}}</ref> The Guinness Book reported some of the singer's worldwide sales on a few occasions: In 1973, Crosby had sold more than 400 million records worldwide, and by 1977 he had sold 500 million discs, being ranked as the most successful and best-selling musical artist in 1978.<ref>Billboard, 2001</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Ohn J. |date=1978-05-25 |title=TV: 'Bing Crosby. His Life and Legend' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/25/archives/tv-bing-crosby-his-life-and-legend.html |access-date=2024-05-25 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>The New York Times .  1993. «Television; Bing Crosby's 2 Lives: In Public and in Private».</ref><ref>Norris (1978). ''Guinness Book of World Records 1978''.</ref>{{Page needed|date=June 2024}} Some sources contradict these alleged sales to the Guinness Book, as it is not an organization that counts or audits artists' sales in the United States or worldwide. According to different sources, Bing Crosby's sales number varies between: 300 million,<ref name="LLC1992">{{cite book|title=SPIN|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BIp60FGwMK4C&pg=PP57|date=April 1992 |pages=57–|issn=0886-3032}}</ref> 500 million,<ref>{{cite web|title=On the Record: How did Bing Crosby get his nickname? |work=[[Bristol Herald Courier]] |date=March 1, 2020|url=https://heraldcourier.com/community/on-the-record-how-did-bing-crosby-get-his-nickname/article_75ed01ce-4d9e-59ae-a769-9e5c1e4f4046.html|first1=Bradford|last1=Brady|last2=Maron|first2=John|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417045241/https://heraldcourier.com/community/on-the-record-how-did-bing-crosby-get-his-nickname/article_75ed01ce-4d9e-59ae-a769-9e5c1e4f4046.html|archive-date=April 17, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> or even 1 billion, making him one of the best-selling singers in history.<ref>The New York Times. (1993). «Review Bing Crosby's 2 Lives: In Public and in Private».</ref><ref>''America in the 20th Century'' . Cavendish.</ref>{{Page needed|date=June 2024}}<ref>Abjorensen , ( 2017). ''Historical of Popular Music'' .</ref>{{Page needed|date=June 2024}} The single "White Christmas" sold over 50 million copies according to ''[[Guinness World Records]]''.<ref name="Giddins2001" />{{rp|8}}

For 15 years (1934, 1937, 1940, 1943–1954), Crosby was among the top 10 acts in box-office sales, and for five of those years (1944–1948) he topped the world.<ref name="kl"/> Crosby sang four [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning songs—"Sweet Leilani" (1937), "White Christmas" (1942), "[[Swinging on a Star]]" (1944), "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" (1951)—and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in ''[[Going My Way]]'' (1944).

A survey in 2000 found that with 1,077,900,000 movie tickets sold, Crosby was the third-most-popular actor of all time, behind [[Clark Gable]] (1,168,300,000) and [[John Wayne]] (1,114,000,000).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Macfarlane |first1=Malcolm |title=Bing Crosby – Day by Day |date=2001 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield#Imprints|Scarecrow Press]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=0-8108-4145-2 |pages=670–671}}</ref> The ''International Motion Picture Almanac'' lists Crosby in a tie for second-most years at number one on the All Time Number One Stars List with [[Clint Eastwood]], [[Tom Hanks]], and [[Burt Reynolds]].<ref name="Quigley">{{cite web |title=Top Ten Money Making Stars of the past 79 years |url=https://www.quigleypublishing.com/MPalmanac/Top10/Top10_lists.html |publisher=Quigley Publishing |access-date=August 17, 2011 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114130743/http://www.quigleypublishing.com/MPalmanac/Top10/Top10_lists.html |archive-date=January 14, 2013 }}</ref> His most popular film, ''[[White Christmas (film)|White Christmas]]'', grossed $30 million in 1954 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|30|1954}}}} million in current value).<ref>{{cite web |last=Schmidt |first=Wayne |title=Waynes This and That |url=https://waynesthisandthat.com/crosbymovies.html |website=Waynesthisandthat.com |access-date=March 31, 2016 |archive-date=April 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418234857/http://waynesthisandthat.com/crosbymovies.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Crosby received 23 gold and platinum records, according to the book ''Million Selling Records''. The Recording Industry Association of America did not institute its gold record certification program until 1958 when Crosby's record sales were low. Before 1958, gold records were awarded by record companies.<ref>Erich Hertz and Jeffrey Roessner, ''Write in Tune: Contemporary Music in Fiction'' (NY: Bloomsbury, 2014), 2-3. {{ISBN|9781623561451}}</ref> Crosby charted 23 ''Billboard'' hits from 47 recorded songs with the [[Andrews Sisters]], whose Decca record sales were second only to Crosby's throughout the 1940s. They were his most frequent collaborators on disc from 1939 to 1952, a partnership that produced four million-selling singles: "[[Pistol Packin' Mama]]", "[[Jingle Bells]]", "[[Don't Fence Me In (song)|Don't Fence Me In]]", and "South America, Take It Away".<ref name="auto4">Sforza, John: "Swing It! The Andrews Sisters Story". University Press of Kentucky. 2000.{{Page needed|date=September 2013}}</ref>

They made one film appearance together in ''[[Road to Rio]]'' singing "You Don't Have to Know the Language", and sang together on radio airwaves throughout the 1940s and 1950s. They appeared as guests on each other's shows and on [[Armed Forces Radio Service]] programming during and after World War II. The quartet's additional Top-10 ''Billboard'' hits from 1943 to 1945 include "The Vict'ry Polka", "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Town of Berlin (When the Yanks Go Marching In)", and "Is You Is or Is You Ain't (Ma' Baby?)" which helped the morale of the American public.<ref name="auto4"/>

In 1962, Crosby was given the [[Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award]]. He has been inducted into the halls of fame for both radio and popular music. In 2007, Crosby was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame and in 2008 the Western Music Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.westernmusic.org/bing-crosby |title=Bing Crosby – Western Music Association Hall of Fame |publisher=Westernmusic.com |access-date=February 10, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120917192953/http://www.westernmusic.com/performers/hof-crosby.html |archive-date=September 17, 2012}}</ref>

==Global impact==
[[File:Bing Crosby China.jpg|left|thumb|441x441px|China Mainland ]]
Crosby's popularity around the world was such that [[Dorothy Masuka]], the best-selling African recording artist, stated that, "Only Bing Crosby the famous American crooner sold more records than me in Africa." His great popularity throughout the continent led other African singers to emulate him, including Masuka, [[Dolly Rathebe]], and Míriam Makeba, known locally as "The Bing Crosby of Africa".<ref>{{cite book |last=Music |first=International Association for the Study of Popular |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=brs4AQAAIAAJ&q=miriam+makeba+fan+of+bing+crosby |title=Popular Music: Intercultural Interpretations |date=August 1998 |publisher=Graduate Program in Music, Kanazawa University |isbn=978-4-9980684-1-9}}</ref>

Presenter [[Mike Douglas]] commented in a 1975 interview, "During my days in the Navy in [[World War II]], I remember walking the streets of Calcutta, India, on the coast; it was a lonely night, so far from my home and from my new wife, Gen. I needed something to lift my spirits. As I passed a Hindu sitting on the corner of a street, I heard something surprisingly familiar. I came back to see the man playing one of those old Vitrolas, like those of RCA with the horn speaker. The man was listening to Bing Crosby sing, "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive". I stopped and smiled in grateful acknowledgment. The Hindu nodded and smiled back. The whole world knew and loved Bing Crosby."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Douglas |first1=Mike |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uNqqB1K0HUUC&q=Michael+Douglas+India+Calcutta+Bing+Crosby |title=I'll be Right Back: Memories of TV's Greatest Talk Show |last2=Kelly |first2=Thomas |last3=Heaton |first3=Michael |date=2000 |publisher=Thorndike Press |isbn=978-0-7862-2358-9}}</ref> His popularity in India led many Hindu singers to imitate and emulate him, notably Kishore Kumar, considered the "Bing Crosby of India".<ref>{{cite book |last=Plantenga |first=Bart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aWzaAAAAQBAJ&q=bing+crosby+&pg=PA111 |title=Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo: The Secret History of Yodeling Around the World |date=September 13, 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-71665-2}}</ref>

Throughout Europe and Russia, Crosby was also known as "Der Bingle", a pseudonym coined in 1944 by Bob Musel, an American journalist based in London, after Crosby had recorded three 15-minute programs with Jack Russin for broadcast to Germany from ABSIE.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/Chapter_6.htm#Year_1944|title=Day by Day by Malcolm Macfarlane, see August 31, 1944|access-date=September 11, 2024|archive-date=September 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911080106/https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/Chapter_6.htm#Year_1944|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Entrepreneurship==
According to Shoshana Klebanoff, Crosby became one of the richest men in the history of show business. He had investments in real estate, mines, oil wells, cattle ranches, race horses, music publishing, baseball teams, and television. Crosby made a fortune from the [[Minute Maid]] Orange Juice Corporation, in which he was a principal stockholder.<ref>Klebanoff, Shoshana, "Crosby, Bing" ''American National Biography'' (2000).</ref>

===Role in early tape recording===
[[File:Bing Crosby Billboard 3.jpg|upright|thumb|Crosby in 1943]]

During the [[Golden Age of Radio]], performers had to create their shows live, sometimes even redoing the program a second time for the West Coast time zone. Crosby had to do two live radio shows on the same day, three hours apart, for the East and West Coasts.<ref name=RW>{{cite magazine |author=Careless, James |title=The Ever-Evolving Role of Airchecks |magazine=Radio World |date=May 22, 2019 |volume=43 |number=13 |page=18}}</ref> Crosby's radio career took a significant turn in 1945, when he clashed with NBC over his insistence that he be allowed to pre-record his radio shows. The live production of radio shows was reinforced by the musicians' union and [[ASCAP]], which wanted to ensure continued work for their members. In ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio'', John Dunning wrote about German engineers having developed a tape recorder with a near-professional broadcast quality standard:
{{Blockquote|Suddenly Crosby saw an enormous advantage in prerecording his radio shows. The scheduling could now be done at the star's convenience. He could do four shows a week, if he chose, and then take a month off. But the networks and sponsors were adamantly opposed. The public wouldn't stand for 'canned' radio, the networks argued. There was something magic for listeners in the fact that what they were hearing was being performed, and heard live everywhere, at that precise instant. Some of the best moments in comedy came when a line was blown and the star had to rely on wit to rescue a bad situation. Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Phil Harris, and, yes, Crosby were masters at this, and the networks weren't about to give it up easily.<ref name="Dunning">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fi5wPDBiGfMC&dq=%22Suddenly+Crosby+saw%22&pg=PA93 |last1=Dunning |first1=John| title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |section=The Bing Crosby Show |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-507678-3 |pages=89–94 |edition=Revised |access-date=2024-12-29}}</ref>}}

Crosby's insistence eventually factored into the further development of [[magnetic tape sound recording]] and the radio industry's widespread adoption of it.<ref>Hammar, Peter. Jack Mullin: The man and his Machines. Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, 37 (6): 490–496, 498, 500, 502, 504, 506, 508, 510, 512; June 1989.</ref><ref>An Afternoon with Jack Mullin. NTSC VHS tape, 1989 AES.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvhandbook.com/History/History_tape.htm |title=''History of Magnetic tape'', section: 'Enter Bing Crosby' |access-date=March 22, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040603153341/http://www.tvhandbook.com/History/History_tape.htm |archive-date=June 3, 2004}}</ref> He used his clout, both professionally and financially, for innovations in audio. But NBC and CBS refused to broadcast prerecorded radio programs. Crosby left the network and remained off the air for seven months, creating a legal battle with his sponsor [[Kraft Foods|Kraft]] that was settled out of court. Crosby returned to broadcasting for the last 13 weeks of the 1945–1946 season.

The Mutual Network, on the other hand, pre-recorded some of its programs as early as 1938 for ''[[The Shadow]]'' with [[Orson Welles]]. ABC was formed from the sale of the [[NBC Blue Network]] in 1943 after a federal [[antitrust]] suit and was willing to join Mutual in breaking the tradition.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Schoenherr |first=Steve |date=1996 |title=Der Bingle Technology |url=https://www.aes-media.org/historical/html/recording.technology.history/derbingle.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220112011/https://www.aes-media.org/historical/html/recording.technology.history/derbingle.html |archive-date=2018-02-20 |access-date=2025-10-28 |website=www.aes-media.org}}</ref> ABC proposed a contract offering Crosby $30,000 per week to produce a pre-recorded radio program airing each Wednesday, sponsored by [[Philco]].<ref name=":0" /> In addition, around 400 independent stations paid a collective $40,000 for broadcasting rights to the half-hour show, which was distributed every Monday on a set of three [[lacquer disc]]s, each containing about ten minutes of audio per side at {{sfrac|33|1|3}} rpm.<ref name=":0" />

[[File:Bing's typewriter (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Bing Crosby's typewriter.]]
In June 1947, Murdo MacKenzie from Bing Crosby Enterprises (BCE) witnessed a presentation of the German-made [[Magnetophon]], the same tape recorder model that engineer [[Jack Mullin]] had brought back from Radio Frankfurt along with several reels of recording tape after World War II.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Myrow |first=Rachael |date=2016-10-20 |title=How Bing Crosby and Silicon Valley Revolutionized Radio and TV {{!}} KQED |url=https://www.kqed.org/arts/12198994/how-bing-crosby-and-silicon-valley-revolutionized-radio-and-tv |access-date=2025-12-08 |website=www.kqed.org |language=en}}</ref> Originally developed in Germany by BASF and AEG in the 1930s, the device used 6.5 mm magnetic tape coated with ferric oxide, allowing approximately twenty minutes of high-fidelity recording per reel.<ref name=":0" /> Around this time, [[Ampex]] founder [[Alexander M. Poniatoff]] instructed his company to develop a more advanced version of the Magnetophon for commercial use.<ref name=":0" />

Crosby hired Mullin to start recording his ''Philco Radio Time'' show on his German-made machine in August 1947 using the same 50 reels of I.G.<ref name=":0" /> Farben magnetic tape that Mullin had found at a radio station at [[Bad Nauheim]] near Frankfurt while working for the U.S. Army Signal Corps.<ref name=":0" /> The advantage was editing. As Crosby wrote in his autobiography, his decision to use Mullin’s tape recorder for his broadcasts was driven by his interest in improving both the quality and flexibility of his shows.<ref name=":0" /> By recording on magnetic tape, Crosby could produce longer sessions—around thirty-five to forty minutes—and then edit them down to the required length for broadcast.<ref name=":0" /> This allowed him to remove jokes or moments that didn’t work well, keeping only the most effective material.<ref name=":0" /> The system also made it possible to discard songs that didn’t sound right, compare different takes recorded with or without an audience, and splice together the best versions.<ref name=":0" /> In addition, the ability to edit freely encouraged improvisation during recording, since mistakes or extra ad-libbing could easily be trimmed later, resulting in a more polished and engaging final program.<ref name=":0" />

According to Mullin's 1976 memoir, Crosby would record a full show in front of a live audience.<ref name=":0" /> When he made a mistake while singing, the audience often found it entertaining, but those moments usually had to be replaced with cleaner rehearsal versions for the final edit.<ref name=":0" /> At times, when Crosby treated a song playfully or casually, the production team would assemble the final track from several different takes to achieve a complete version.<ref name=":0" /> This spontaneous and improvisational method of recording, which is standard practice in studios today, was an innovative approach for the team at the time.<ref name=":0" />

Crosby invested $50,000 to Ampex to help expand production of their tape recorders.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Sterling, C. H. 1990"/> By 1948, the second season of ''Philco'' shows was being recorded using the Ampex Model 200A together with [[3M]]'s Scotch 111 magnetic tape.<ref name="RW" /> According to Mullin, this setup led to the development of an innovative broadcasting method first introduced on Crosby's program.<ref name=":0" /> During an episode featuring comedian [[Bob Burns (humorist)|Bob Burns]], the performer improvised a series of unscripted rural jokes that, while tame by modern standards, were considered too risqué for radio at the time.<ref name=":0" /> The audience responded with prolonged laughter, which couldn’t be included in the broadcast due to the censored material.<ref name=":0" /> However, writer Bill Morrow asked the team to preserve the laughter recordings.<ref name=":0" /> A few weeks later, when another episode lacked strong humor, Morrow requested that the saved laughter be added in.<ref name=":0" /> This moment marked the accidental creation of what would later become known as the [[laugh track]].<ref name=":0" />

Crosby played a key role in launching the use of tape recorders in the United States.<ref name=":0" /> In his 1950 film, ''Mr. Music,'' he is shown performing into an Ampex recorder, which provided a level of sound quality unmatched by earlier methods.<ref name=":0" /> His friend, [[Bob Hope]], soon followed his lead, becoming another early adopter of tape recording technology.<ref name=":0" /> Crosby gave one of the first Ampex Model 300 recorders to his friend, guitarist [[Les Paul]], which led to Paul's invention of [[multitrack recording]]. His organization, the Crosby Research Foundation, held tape recording patents and developed equipment and recording techniques, such as the [[laugh track]], that are still in use.<ref name="Sterling, C. H. 1990">Sterling, C. H., & Kittross, J. M. (1990). Stay Tuned: A Concise History of American broadcasting (2nd ed.). Belmont, California: Wadsworth.</ref>

In 1956, Crosby sold his tape recorder operation to 3M, which launched the Mincom recorder division in [[Camarillo, California|Camarillo]] with Jack Mullin as chief engineer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oliver |first=Myrna |date=1999-07-01 |title=John Mullin; U.S. Pioneer in Tape-Recording Technology |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jul-01-mn-51933-story.html |access-date=2025-12-07 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

With Frank Sinatra, Crosby was one of the principal backers for the [[United Western Recorders]] studio complex in Los Angeles.<ref name="CoganClark2003">{{cite book |last1=Cogan |first1=Jim |last2=Clark |first2=William |title=Temples of Sound: Inside the Great Recording Studios |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hO-KQ4o_B2MC |access-date=July 4, 2018 |year=2003 |publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=978-0-8118-3394-3}}</ref>

===Videotape development===
Mullin remained with Crosby to pursue the development of a [[videotape recorder]] (VTR).<ref name=":0" /> Since early television was primarily [[Live television|broadcast live]], Crosby sought to introduce the same recording flexibility he had pioneered in radio.<ref name=":0" /> His first television venture, ''The Fireside Theater'' (1950), sponsored by [[Procter & Gamble]], was produced before videotape technology was ready.<ref name=":0" /> As a result, the 26-minute episodes were filmed at Hal Roach Studios and distributed to individual stations as [[broadcast syndication|syndicated]] "telefilms."<ref name=":0" />

Crosby kept providing financial support for the ongoing development of videotape technology.<ref name=":0" /> Bing Crosby Enterprises gave the world's first demonstration of videotape recording in Los Angeles on November 11, 1951. Developed by [[Jack Mullin|John T. Mullin]] and Wayne R. Johnson since 1950, the device aired what were described as "blurred and indistinct" images, using a modified [[Ampex]] 200 tape recorder and standard quarter-inch (6.3&nbsp;mm) audio tape moving at {{convert|360|in|m}} per second.<ref>"Tape Recording Used by Filmless 'Camera{{'"}}, ''The New York Times'', November 12, 1951, p. 21. Eric D. Daniel, C. Denis Mee, and Mark H. Clark (eds.), ''Magnetic Recording: The First 100 Years'', IEEE Press, 1998, p. 141. {{ISBN|0-07-041275-8}}</ref>

===Television station ownership===
A Crosby-led group purchased station [[KCOP-TV]], in Los Angeles, California, in 1954.<ref name="ssc">{{cite web |title=KCOP Studio |url=https://www.seeing-stars.com/tvstudios/KCOP.shtml |work=Seeing Stars: the Television Studios |access-date=March 23, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310010310/http://www.seeing-stars.com/TVstudios/KCOP.shtml |archive-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref> [[NAFI Corporation]] and Crosby purchased television station [[KPTV]] in Portland, Oregon, for $4 million on September 1, 1959.<ref>{{cite web |last=Dunevant |first=Ronald L. |title=KPTV Timeline |url=http://kptv.home.comcast.net/~kptv/timeline/timeline.htm |work=Yesterday's KPTV |publisher=Ronald L. Dunevant |access-date=March 23, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102071151/http://kptv.home.comcast.net/~kptv/timeline/timeline.htm |archive-date=January 2, 2011}}</ref> In 1960, NAFI purchased KCOP from Crosby's group.<ref name="ssc"/> In the early 1950s, Crosby helped establish the CBS television affiliate in his hometown of Spokane, Washington. Crosby partnered with [[Ed Craney]], who owned the CBS radio affiliate [[KXLY (AM)]] and built a television studio west of Crosby's alma mater, [[Gonzaga University]]. After it began broadcasting, the station was sold within a year to Northern Pacific Radio and Television Corporation.

===Thoroughbred horse racing===
Crosby was a fan of [[thoroughbred racing|thoroughbred horse racing]] and bought his first racehorse in 1935. Two years later, Crosby became a founding partner of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and a member of its board of directors.<ref name="bingcrosby.com">{{cite web |title=Entrepreneur |url=https://bingcrosby.com/bing-bio/entrepreneur |website=Bingcrosby.com |date=August 15, 1949 |access-date=November 19, 2016 |archive-date=October 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017053117/http://bingcrosby.com/bing-bio/entrepreneur |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="dmtc.com">{{cite web |title=Del Mar Horse Racing History |url=https://www.dmtc.com/media/history |website=Dmtc.com |date=September 7, 1970 |access-date=November 19, 2016}}</ref> Operating from the [[Del Mar Racetrack]] in [[Del Mar, California]], the group included millionaire businessman [[Charles S. Howard]], who owned a successful racing stable that included [[Seabiscuit]].<ref name="bingcrosby.com"/> Charles' son, [[Lindsay C. Howard]], became one of Crosby's closest friends; Crosby named his son [[Lindsay Crosby|Lindsay]] after him, and would purchase his 40-room [[Hillsborough, California]], estate from Lindsay in 1965.

Crosby and Lindsay Howard formed [[Binglin Stable]] to race and breed thoroughbred horses at a ranch in [[Moorpark, California|Moorpark]] in Ventura County, California.<ref name="bingcrosby.com"/> They also established the Binglin Stock Farm in Argentina, where they raced horses at Hipódromo de Palermo in [[Palermo, Buenos Aires]]. A number of Argentine-bred horses were purchased and shipped to race in the United States. On August 12, 1938, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club hosted a $25,000 winner-take-all [[match race]] won by Charles S. Howard's [[Seabiscuit]] over Binglin's horse Ligaroti.<ref name="dmtc.com"/> In 1943, Binglin's horse Don Bingo won the [[Suburban Handicap]] at [[Belmont Park]] in Elmont, New York. The Binglin Stable partnership came to an end in 1953 as a result of a liquidation of assets by Crosby, who needed to raise enough funds to pay the hefty federal and state inheritance taxes on his deceased wife's estate.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=People, Aug. 3, 1953 |url=https://time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,822904,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312061744/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,822904,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 12, 2007 |magazine=Time |access-date=January 25, 2007 |date=August 3, 1953}}</ref> The [[Bing Crosby Breeders' Cup Handicap]] at Del Mar Racetrack is named in his honor.

==Sports==
Crosby had a keen interest in sports. In the 1930s, his friend and former college classmate, [[Gonzaga Bulldogs football|Gonzaga]] head coach [[Mike Pecarovich]], appointed Crosby as an assistant football coach.<ref>[https://www.gonzaga.edu/academics/libraries/Foley-Library/Departments/Special-Collections/Collections/Bing-Crosby-Collection/CrosbyandGonzaga2.asp Bing Crosby and Gonzaga University: 1925&nbsp;– 1951] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219112102/http://www.gonzaga.edu/academics/libraries/foley-library/departments/special-collections/Collections/Bing-Crosby-Collection/CrosbyandGonzaga2.asp |date=February 19, 2016}}, Gonzaga University, retrieved June 6, 2011.</ref> From 1946 until his death, Crosby owned a 25% share of the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]]. Although he was passionate about the team, Crosby was too nervous to watch the deciding Game 7 of the [[1960 World Series]], choosing to go to [[Paris]] with Kathryn and listen to its radio broadcast. Crosby had arranged for [[Ampex]], another of his financial investments, to record the [[NBC]] telecast on [[kinescope]]. The game was one of the most famous in baseball history, capped off by [[Bill Mazeroski]]'s [[walk-off home run]] that won the game for Pittsburgh. Crosby apparently viewed the complete film just once, and then stored it in his wine cellar, where it remained undisturbed until it was discovered in December 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/throwback-thursday-bing-crosby-took-718437 |title=Throwback Thursday: Bing Crosby Took a Swing at Baseball in the 1940s |website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=July 17, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/sports/baseball/24crosby.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/sports/baseball/24crosby.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited |title=In Bing Crosby's Wine Cellar, Vintage Baseball |first=Richard |last=Sandomir |work=The New York Times |date=September 23, 2010 |access-date=September 25, 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The restored broadcast was shown on [[MLB Network]] in December 2010.

Crosby was also an early investor in Bob Cobb's [[Billings Mustangs]] baseball club in 1948, joining other Hollywood stars [[Cecil B. DeMille]], [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]], and [[Barbara Stanwyck]] who were also shareholders in the club. Crosby was also the honorary chairman of the club's board of directors.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bighaus |first1=Bill |title=Old scrapbook from 1948 tells story of first Billings Mustangs team |date=July 18, 2023 |url=https://406mtsports.com/baseball/pioneer-league/montana-sports-billings-mustangs-pioneer-league/article_14a2f1b4-2515-11ee-9dbf-2328b4e44aec.html |publisher=The Billings Gazette |access-date=23 January 2024 |archive-date=January 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123201734/https://406mtsports.com/baseball/pioneer-league/montana-sports-billings-mustangs-pioneer-league/article_14a2f1b4-2515-11ee-9dbf-2328b4e44aec.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Crosby was also an avid [[golf|golfer]]. He first took up golf at age 12 as a caddy. Crosby was already spending much time on the golf course while touring the country in a vaudeville act or with Paul Whiteman's orchestra in the mid to late 1920s. Eventually, Crosby became accomplished at the sport, at his best reaching a two handicap. Crosby competed in both the [[The Amateur Championship|British]] and [[United States Amateur Championship (golf)|U.S. Amateur]] championships, was a five-time club champion at Lakeside Golf Club in Hollywood, and once made a hole-in-one on the 16th hole at [[Cypress Point Club|Cypress Point]].

In 1937, Crosby hosted the first 'Crosby Clambake', a pro-am tournament at Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club in [[Rancho Santa Fe, California|Rancho Santa Fe]], California, the event's location prior to World War II. After the war, the event resumed play in 1947 on golf courses in Pebble Beach, where it has been played ever since. Now the [[AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am]], the tournament is a staple of the [[PGA Tour]], having featured Hollywood stars and other celebrities.

In 1950, Crosby became the third person to win the William D. Richardson award, which is given to a non-professional golfer "who has consistently made an outstanding contribution to golf".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gwaa.com/gwaa-awards-and-contests/william-d-richardson-award/ |title=William D. Richardson Award |date=March 30, 2019 |publisher=Golf Writers Association of America |access-date=July 23, 2021 |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816041354/https://www.gwaa.com/gwaa-awards-and-contests/william-d-richardson-award/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1978, he and Bob Hope were voted the [[Bob Jones Award]], the highest honor given by the [[United States Golf Association]] in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship. Crosby is a member of the [[World Golf Hall of Fame]], having been inducted in 1978.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldgolfhalloffame.org/bing-crosby/ |title=Bing Crosby |publisher=World Golf Hall of Fame |access-date=July 23, 2021 |archive-date=August 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814052041/https://www.worldgolfhalloffame.org/bing-crosby/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Crosby also was a keen fisherman. In the summer of 1966, he spent a week as the guest of [[John Wyndham, 1st Baron Egremont|Lord Egremont]], staying in [[Cockermouth]] and fishing on the [[River Derwent, Cumbria|River Derwent]]. Crosby's trip was filmed for ''[[The American Sportsman]]'' on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], although all did not go well at first as the [[salmon]] were not running. He did make up for it at the end of the week by catching a number of [[sea trout]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://trouthotel.co.uk/journal/bing-crosby-came-stay/ |title=When Bing Crosby came to stay |publisher=Trout Hotel Web |date=April 18, 2017 |access-date=May 13, 2017 |archive-date=December 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214072058/https://trouthotel.co.uk/journal/bing-crosby-came-stay/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In [[Front Royal, Virginia]], a baseball stadium was named in Crosby's honor. The Front Royal Cardinals of the Valley Baseball League play their home games here. The Bing is also home to both of the county's high schools' baseball teams.

==Personal life==
[[File:Crosby Brothers-older sons of Bing Crosby 1959.JPG|thumb|upright|Crosby's sons from his first marriage. From left: The four Crosby brothers: [[Dennis Crosby|Dennis]], [[Gary Crosby (actor)|Gary]], [[Lindsay Crosby|Lindsay]], and [[Phillip Crosby|Phillip]], 1959]]

Crosby reportedly had a problem with alcohol abuse between the late 1920s and early 1930s, spending 60 days in jail for drinking and crashing his car during [[prohibition]]. He got his drinking under control in 1931.<ref name="Giddins2001"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jun-24-me-then24-story.html |title=Those were the days: Rising star was jailed, and few knew |work=The New York Times |date=June 24, 2007 |access-date=March 17, 2024 |archive-date=March 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317164842/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jun-24-me-then24-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1977, Crosby told [[Barbara Walters]] in a televised interview that he thought [[marijuana]] should be legalized, because he believed it would make it much easier for the authorities to exert proper legal control over the market.<ref>American Masters: Rediscovering Bing Crosby (2015) | PBS</ref>

In December 1999, the New York Post published an article by Bill Hoffmann and Murray Weiss called ''Bing Crosby's Single Life'' which claimed that "recently published" FBI files revealed connections with figures in the [[Mafia]] "since his youth".<ref name="Giddins2001"/> However, Crosby's FBI files had already been published in 1992 and provide no indication that Crosby had ties to the Mafia except for one major, but accidental, encounter in Chicago in 1929 which is not mentioned in the files, but is told by Crosby himself in his as-told-to autobiography ''Call Me Lucky''. In the over 280 pages of Crosby's FBI files, there is only one reference to organized crime or gambling dens, the content of some of the many threats that Crosby received throughout his life.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=http://stevenlewis.info/crosby/Bing%20FBI%20file.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://stevenlewis.info/crosby/Bing%20FBI%20file.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Bing Crosby FBI files part 1}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=http://stevenlewis.info/crosby/Bing%20FBI%20file%202.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://stevenlewis.info/crosby/Bing%20FBI%20file%202.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Bing Crosby FBI files part 2}}</ref><ref name="Macfarlane 2001">{{cite book |title=Bing Crosby: Day by Day |last=Macfarlane |first=Malcolm |year=2001 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield#Imprints|Scarecrow Press]] |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/1903-1935.htm |archive-date=September 11, 2024 |access-date=September 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911080113/https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/1903-1935.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="archive.org">{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/callmelucky00cros/page/99/|title=Call Me Lucky, autobiography by Bing Crosby|year=1993 }}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bingcrosbypocket00gidd/page/658/|title=Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams; The Early Years, 1903-1940|year=2001 |isbn=9780316881883 |last=Giddins |first=Gary |author-link=Gary Giddins|publisher=Little, Brown }}</ref>

The comments made by FBI investigators in the memos discredited the claims made in the letters. In the FBI files, there is only one reference to a person associated with the Mafia. A memorandum dated January 16, 1959, said, "The Salt Lake City Office has developed information indicating that [[Moe Dalitz]] received an invitation to join a deer hunting party at Bing Crosby's Elko, Nevada, ranch, together with the crooner, his Las Vegas dentist and several business associates." However, Crosby had already sold his Elko ranch a year earlier, in 1958, and it is doubtful how much he was really involved in that meeting.<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto2"/><ref name="Macfarlane 2001"/><ref name="archive.org"/><ref name="auto3"/>

===Romantic relationships===
Crosby was married twice. His first wife was actress and nightclub singer [[Dixie Lee]], to whom he was married from 1930 until she died of [[ovarian cancer]] in 1952. They had four sons: [[Gary Crosby (actor)|Gary]], twins [[Dennis Crosby|Dennis]] and [[Phillip Crosby|Phillip]], and [[Lindsay Crosby|Lindsay]]. ''[[Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman]]'' (1947) was rumored to be based on Dixie's life. The Crosby family lived at 10500 Camarillo Street in North Hollywood for more than five years.<ref>1940 US Census via Ancestry.com</ref>

After his wife died, Crosby had relationships with model [[Pat Sheehan (model)|Pat Sheehan]], who married his son Dennis in 1958, and actresses [[Inger Stevens]] and [[Grace Kelly]]. Crosby married actress [[Kathryn Crosby|Kathryn Grant]], who converted to Catholicism, in 1957.<ref>{{cite book |url={{Google books |LongDwAAQBAJ |page=41 |plainurl=yes}} |title=Top Models |first=Samuel |last=Claesson|publisher=Sequoia Press |year=2023 |page=24 |isbn=9798889921806}}</ref> They had three children: [[Harry Crosby (businessman)|Harry Lillis III]], who played Bill in ''[[Friday the 13th (1980 film)|Friday the 13th]]'', [[Mary Crosby|Mary Frances]], best known for portraying [[Kristin Shepard]] on TV's ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'', and [[Nathaniel Crosby|Nathaniel]], the 1981 U.S. Amateur champion in golf.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nathaniel Crosby wins 1981 U.S. Amateur Championship |url=https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/videos/2016/09/01/1981-u-s--amateur-vignette-mp4-5107990318001.html |website=USGA.com |access-date=July 31, 2019 |archive-date=February 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217065007/https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/videos/2016/09/01/1981-u-s--amateur-vignette-mp4-5107990318001.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Particularly during the late 1930s and the 1940s, Crosby's domestic life was dominated by his wife's excessive drinking. His efforts to cure her with the help of specialists failed. Tired of Dixie's drinking, Crosby even asked her for a divorce in January 1941. During the 1940s, he consistently had difficulties trying to stay away from home, while also trying to be there as much as possible for his children.<ref name=GiddinsOct2018>{{cite book|title=Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star; the War Years, 1940-1946|first=Gary |last=Giddins|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|date=October 2018|isbn=978-0-316-88792-2}}</ref>

Crosby had one confirmed extramarital affair between 1945 and the late 1940s, while married to his first wife Dixie. Actress [[Patricia Neal]], who herself at the time was having an affair with the married [[Gary Cooper]], wrote in her 1988 autobiography ''As I Am'' about a cruise to England with actress [[Joan Caulfield]] in 1948:

{{Blockquote|She [Caulfield] was a lovely girl and we had some good talks. She, too, was in love with an older married man who was quite as famous as Gary [Cooper]. She confided to me that she desperately wanted to marry Bing Crosby. We were in the same boat in more ways than one, but I could not tell her so.<ref>{{Cite book |title=As I Am |first=Patricia |last=Neal |page=109 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |date=1988}}</ref>}}

In the 2018 Crosby biography ''Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star; the War Years, 1940–1946'', there are excerpts from an original diary of two sisters, Violet and Mary Barsa, who, as young women, used to stalk Crosby in New York City in December 1945 and January 1946, and who detailed their observations in the diary. The document reveals that, during that time, Crosby was taking Caulfield out to dinner, visited theaters and opera houses with her, and  Caulfield and a person in her company entered the [[Waldorf Astoria New York|Waldorf Hotel]] where Crosby was staying. The document also clearly indicates that at their meetings a third person, in most instances, Caulfield's mother, was present. In 1954, Caulfield admitted to a relationship with a "top film star" who was a married man with children, who, in the end, chose his wife and children over her.<ref name="GiddinsOct2018" />

Caulfield's sister, Betty Caulfield, confirmed the romantic relationship between Caulfield and Crosby. Despite being a Catholic, Crosby was seriously considering divorce in order to marry Caulfield. Either in December 1945 or January 1946, Crosby approached Cardinal Francis Spellman with his difficulties with dealing with his wife's alcoholism, his love for Caulfield and his plan to file for divorce. According to Betty Caulfield, Spellman told Crosby: "Bing, you are Father O'Malley and under no circumstances can Father O'Malley get a divorce." Around the same time, Crosby talked to his mother about his intentions and she protested. Ultimately, Crosby chose to end the relationship and to stay with his wife. Crosby and Dixie reconciled, and he continued trying to help her overcome her alcohol issues.<ref name="GiddinsOct2018" />

[[File:Bing, Harry and Nathan Crosby (1975) 02.jpg|thumb|upright|Bing, [[Harry Crosby (businessman)|Harry]], and [[Nathaniel Crosby|Nathan Crosby]], 1975]]

===Homes===
In November 1958, Crosby purchased the 1,350-acre [[Rising River Ranch]] in [[Cassel, California]] after renting a portion of it for several years.<ref>"Crosby is buying ranch near FRM". ''Redding Record-Searchlight''. November 24, 1958. p. 1.</ref> Attorney Ira Shadwell declined to disclose the purchase price. In October 1978, actor [[Clint Eastwood]] purchased the ranch under the name of his business manager, Roy Kaufman, for $1.5 million.<ref>"Crosby ranch attracts offer of $1.5 million". ''Redding Record-Searchlight''. October 24, 1978. p. 9.</ref>

Crosby and his family lived in the San Francisco area for many years. In 1963, he and his wife Kathryn moved with their three young children from Los Angeles to a $175,000 ten-bedroom Tudor estate in [[Hillsborough, California|Hillsborough]], formerly owned by fellow horseman [[Lindsay C. Howard]], one of Crosby's closest friends, because they did not want to raise their children in Hollywood, according to son Nathaniel. This house went up for sale by its current owners in 2021 for $13.75 million.<ref name="Zinko-2001">{{Cite web|last=Zinko|first=Carolyne|date=January 21, 2001|title=The Bay Area Connection / Crosby and his family kept a low but friendly profile while living in Hillsborough|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/The-Bay-Area-Connection-Crosby-and-his-family-2961888.php|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=SFGATE|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181700/https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/The-Bay-Area-Connection-Crosby-and-his-family-2961888.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=Candace|title=Bing Crosby's Onetime Bay Area Home Hits the Market for $13.75 Million|url=https://www.mansionglobal.com/articles/bing-crosby-s-onetime-bay-area-home-hits-the-market-for-13-75-million-147295|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=www.mansionglobal.com|date=March 26, 2021|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182150/https://www.mansionglobal.com/articles/bing-crosby-s-onetime-bay-area-home-hits-the-market-for-13-75-million-147295|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1965, the Crosbys moved to a larger, 40-room French chateau-style house on nearby Jackling Drive, where Kathryn Crosby continued to reside after Bing's death.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Larsen|first=Elaine|date=April 24, 1998|title=The Crosby Estate|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/The-Crosby-Estate-3092562.php|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=SFGATE|archive-date=January 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117083607/http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/The-Crosby-Estate-3092562.php|url-status=live}}</ref> This house served as a setting for some of the family's [[Minute Maid]] orange juice television commercials.<ref name="Zinko-2001"/>

===Children===
After Crosby's death, his eldest son, Gary, published a highly critical memoir, ''Going My Own Way'' (1983; written in collaboration with noted music journalist Ross Firestone), depicting his father as cruel, cold, remote, and physically and psychologically abusive.<ref name=lk>{{cite web |last=Haller |first=Scot |url=https://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20084544,00.html |title=The Sad Ballad of Bing and His Boys&nbsp;– Child Abuse, Kids & Family Life, Bing Crosby |work=People |date=March 21, 1983 |access-date=January 4, 2011 |archive-date=January 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110120252/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20084544,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> While acknowledging that corporal punishments took place, there were reports of all of Gary's immediate siblings distancing themselves from the abuse claims, either in public or in private.<ref name=GiddinsOct2018/>

Crosby's younger son Phillip disputed his brother Gary's claims about their father. Around the time Gary published his claims, Phillip stated to the press that "Gary is a whining, bitching crybaby, walking around with a two-by-four on his shoulder and just daring people to nudge it off."<ref name="Haller">{{cite web |last=Haller |first=Scott |title=The Sad Ballad of Bing and His Boys |url=https://people.com/archive/cover-story-the-sad-ballad-of-bing-and-his-boys-vol-19-no-11/ |website=People |access-date=July 5, 2018 |date=March 21, 1983 |archive-date=July 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705033017/https://people.com/archive/cover-story-the-sad-ballad-of-bing-and-his-boys-vol-19-no-11/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Nevertheless, Phillip did not deny that Crosby believed in corporal punishment.<ref name="Haller"/> In an interview with ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' magazine, Phillip stated that "we never got an extra whack or a cuff we didn't deserve".<ref name="Haller"/>

Shortly before Gary's book was actually published, Lindsay said, "I'm glad [Gary] did it. I hope it clears up a lot of the old lies and rumors."<ref name=GiddinsOct2018/><ref name="Haller"/> Unlike Gary, Lindsay stated that he preferred to remember "all the good things I did with my dad and forget the times that were rough".<ref name="Haller"/> "Lindsay Crosby supported his brother (Gary) at the time of its publication but had a tempered view of its revelations. 'I never expected affection from my father so it didn't bother me,' he once told an interviewer.'"<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/c6b50c177dbcdbf1186476ae06aae4e3 |title=Son of Crooner Apparently Kills Self, Just Learned He Was Broke |website=[[Associated Press News]] |access-date=September 23, 2022 |archive-date=September 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923024730/https://apnews.com/article/c6b50c177dbcdbf1186476ae06aae4e3 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, after the book was published, Lindsay addressed the abuse claims and what the media had made out of them, describing Crosby as a good father who provided a happy childhood.<ref name="Jo Maxted">{{cite web |author=Maxted, Jo |date=March 29, 1983 |title=Star |url=https://stevenlewis.info/crosby/garybook.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250502144742/http://stevenlewis.info/crosby/garybook.htm |archive-date=May 2, 2025 |access-date=October 13, 2025}}</ref> He acknowledged that, despite occasional differences, the children were raised to respect their parents and follow their instructions, with punishment given when they did not.<ref name="Jo Maxted" /> Lindsay believed that Gary's book reflected his own feelings about his life rather than being an attack on their father.<ref name="Jo Maxted" /> He expressed understanding of Gary’s intentions and felt that his brother had not done anything wrong.<ref name="Jo Maxted" />

Dennis Crosby reportedly "said his older brother (Gary) was the most severely treated of the four boys. 'He got the first licking, and we got the second.'"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/03/14/Crosbys-children-claim-he-abused-them/5007660964411/|title=Crosby&#039;s children claim he abused them - UPI Archives|website=UPI|access-date=September 23, 2022|archive-date=August 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810115002/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/03/14/Crosbys-children-claim-he-abused-them/5007660964411/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gary's first wife of 19 years, Barbara Cosentino, of whom Gary wrote in his book, "I could confide in her about Mom and Dad and my childhood",<ref>{{cite book |title=Going My Own Way|author=Gary Crosby |date=March 1983 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=978-0-385-17055-0}}</ref> and with whom Gary stayed friendly after the divorce, stated she was unsure whether the events described in his book were true, noting that Gary had never mentioned being whipped by his father.<ref name="Jo Maxted2" /> She felt that the controversy surrounding the book was out of hand and stated that she never saw any troubling behavior between Gary and Bing.<ref name="Jo Maxted2" /> Barbara said she was surprised when she read the book, as it did not sound like something Gary would write, and recalled Gary telling her before its publication that it was "not the same book" he had written.<ref name="Jo Maxted2" />

Gary Crosby's adopted son, Steven Crosby, said in a 2003 interview:

{{Blockquote|In the early years, I think, like any family you are going to butt heads with your mom, your dad and your brothers and sisters. I think there was some father–son stuff that everyone has. The book was I think an attempt of my dad to come to grips with some things in his life.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=hhKRGZV9p4c&feature=youtu.be|title=Steven Crosby interviewed for "Bing: Going My Way"(2003)|website=[[YouTube]]|date=August 3, 2015|access-date=September 11, 2024|archive-date=September 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911074559/https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=hhKRGZV9p4c&feature=youtu.be|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Bing's younger brother, singer and jazz bandleader [[Bob Crosby]], recalled at the time of Gary's revelations that Bing was a "disciplinarian", as their mother and father had been. He added, "We were brought up that way."<ref name="Haller"/> In an interview for the same article, Gary clarified that Bing "was like a lot of fathers of that time. He was not out to be vicious, to beat children for his kicks."<ref name="Haller"/>

The author of the 2018 biography on Bing Crosby, [[Gary Giddins]], claims that Gary Crosby's memoir is not reliable on many instances and cannot be trusted on the abuse stories.<ref name=GiddinsOct2018/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NrT6BBf2N4|title=Will Friedwald and Gary Giddins on Bing Crosby 1 of 4|date=January 12, 2020|via=YouTube|access-date=April 1, 2023|archive-date=April 1, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401100643/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NrT6BBf2N4|url-status=live}}</ref>

Crosby's will established a [[blind trust]] in which none of the sons received an inheritance until they reached the age of 65, intended by Crosby to keep them out of trouble.<ref name="Dunn">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-13-me-242-story.html |first=Ashley |last=Dunn |date=December 13, 1989 |work=Los Angeles Times |title=Lindsay Crosby Suicide Laid to End of Inheritance Income |access-date=August 17, 2011}}</ref> They instead received several thousand dollars per month from a trust left in 1952 by their mother, Dixie Lee. The trust, tied to high-performing oil stocks, folded in December 1989 following the [[1980s oil glut]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Frasier |first=David K. |date=2015 |title=Suicide in the Entertainment Industry |publisher=McFarland |page=71 |isbn=9781476608075}}</ref>

Lindsay Crosby died in 1989 at age 51, and Dennis Crosby died in 1991 at age 56, both by [[suicide]] from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Gary Crosby died of lung cancer in 1995 at age 62. Phillip Crosby died of a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] in 2004 at age 69.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/20/arts/philip-crosby-69-son-of-bing-crosby.html |title=Philip Crosby, 69, Son of Bing Crosby |work=The New York Times |date=January 20, 2004 |access-date=November 2, 2008 |archive-date=September 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100928135730/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/20/arts/philip-crosby-69-son-of-bing-crosby.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Bing Crosby & Kathryn 1960 Com L09-0188-0003.tif|thumb|upright|Bing Crosby and Kathryn Grant in 1960]]

[[Nathaniel Crosby]], Crosby's younger son from his second marriage, is a former high-level golfer who won the [[United States Amateur Championship (golf)|U.S. Amateur]] in 1981 at age 19, becoming the youngest winner in the history of that event at the time. [[Harry Crosby (businessman)|Harry Crosby]] is an investment banker who occasionally makes singing appearances.

[[Denise Crosby]], Dennis Crosby's daughter, is an actress and is known for her role as [[Tasha Yar]] on ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''. She appeared in the [[Pet Sematary (1989 film)|1989 film adaptation]] of [[Stephen King]]'s novel ''[[Pet Sematary]]''.

In 2006, Crosby's niece through his sister Mary Rose, Carolyn Schneider, published the laudatory book ''Me and Uncle Bing''.

Disputes between Crosby's two families began in the late 1990s. When Dixie died in 1952, her will provided that her share of the community property be distributed in trust to her sons. After Crosby's death in 1977, he left the residue of his estate to a marital trust for the benefit of his widow, Kathryn, and HLC Properties, Ltd., was formed for the purpose of managing his interests, including his right of publicity. In 1996, Dixie's trust sued HLC and Kathryn for declaratory relief as to the trust's entitlement to interest, dividends, royalties, and other income derived from the community property of Crosby and Dixie.

In 1999, the parties settled for approximately $1.5 million. Relying on a retroactive amendment to the [[California Civil Code]], Dixie's trust brought suit again, in 2010, alleging that Crosby's right of publicity was community property, and that Dixie's trust was entitled to a share of the revenue it produced. The trial court granted Dixie's trust's claim. The California Court of Appeals reversed it, holding that the 1999 settlement barred the claim. In light of the court's ruling, it was unnecessary for the court to decide whether a right of publicity can be characterized as [[community property]] under California law.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Crosby v. HLC Properties, Ltd. |vol=223 |reporter=Cal.App.4th |opinion=597 |court=[[California Courts of Appeal|Cal. Ct. App.]] |date=2014-01-29 |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5814238060476610913}}</ref>

==Health and death==
[[File:Bing Crosby Last Performance Plaque.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|A commemorative plaque in the Brighton Centre foyer]]

Following his recovery from a life-threatening fungal infection in his right lung in January 1974, Crosby emerged from semi-retirement to start a new spate of albums and concerts. On March 20, 1977, after videotaping a CBS concert special, "Bing – 50th Anniversary Gala", at the Ambassador Auditorium with Bob Hope looking on, Crosby fell off the stage into an [[orchestra pit]], rupturing a disc in his back requiring a month-long stay in the hospital.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bing Crosby, 73, Dies in Madrid At Golf Course |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/15/archives/bing-crosby-73-dies-in-madrid-at-golf-course-bing-crosby-73-dies-at.html |agency=[[Associated Press]] |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 15, 1977 |access-date=October 25, 2020 |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028010224/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/15/archives/bing-crosby-73-dies-in-madrid-at-golf-course-bing-crosby-73-dies-at.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Crosby's first performance after the accident was his last American concert, on August 16, 1977 at the [[Concord Pavilion]] in [[Concord, California]]. When the electric power failed during his performance, Crosby continued singing without amplification.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chapter 10: The Final Years, 1975–1977 |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/Chapter_10.htm |website=BING Magazine |publisher=[[International Club Crosby]] |access-date=October 25, 2020 |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028211546/http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/Chapter_10.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> On August 27, Crosby gave a televised concert in [[Norway]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rvm.pm/bing-crosby-sings-norway-1977/ |title=Bing Crosby Sings In Norway (1977) |website=RVM.pm |access-date=January 2, 2023 |archive-date=August 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827142247/https://rvm.pm/bing-crosby-sings-norway-1977/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September, Crosby, his family and singer [[Rosemary Clooney]] began a concert tour of Britain that included two weeks at the [[London Palladium]]. While in the UK, Crosby recorded his final album, ''[[Seasons (Bing Crosby album)|Seasons]]'', and his final TV [[Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas|Christmas special]] with guest [[David Bowie]] on September 11, which aired a little over a month after Crosby's death. Crosby's last concert was in the [[Brighton Centre]] on October 10, four days before his death, with British entertainer <!-- Not a DBE until the 1979 New Year Honours. -->[[Gracie Fields]] in attendance. The following day, Crosby made his final appearance in a recording studio and sang eight songs at the BBC's [[Maida Vale Studios]] for a radio program, which included an interview with [[Alan Dell]].<ref name="barnes">{{cite book |last=Barnes |first=Ken |title=The Crosby Years |publisher=Saint Martins Press |location=New York |year=1980 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/crosbyyears00barn/page/57 57–60] |isbn=978-0-312-17663-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/crosbyyears00barn/page/57}}</ref> Accompanied by the Gordon Rose Orchestra, Crosby's last recorded performance was of the song "[[Once in a While (1937 song)|Once in a While]]". Later that afternoon, he met with Chris Harding to take photographs for the ''Seasons'' album jacket.<ref name="barnes"/>

[[File:Bing Crosby's grave.JPG|thumb|upright|Crosby's grave at [[Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City|Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City]], California, marked with an incorrect birth year]]

On October 13, 1977, Crosby flew alone to [[Spain]] to play golf and hunt partridge.<ref name="van-beek">{{cite journal |last=Van Beek |first=Greg |title=Bing Crosby: The Final Round |journal=Bingang |issue=Summer 2001 |pages=6–10 |publisher=Club Crosby |year=2001 |url=http://lakeprovidencegirl.com/finalround.html |access-date=May 9, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512224124/http://lakeprovidencegirl.com/finalround.html |archive-date=May 12, 2014}}</ref> The next day, Crosby played 18 holes of golf at the [[Golf La Moraleja|La Moraleja Golf]] Course near [[Madrid]]. His partner was [[World Cup (men's golf)|World Cup]] champion [[Manuel Piñero]]. Their opponents were club president César de Zulueta and [[Valentín Barrios]].<ref name="van-beek"/> According to Barrios, Crosby was in good spirits throughout the day, and was photographed several times during the round.<ref name="van-beek"/><ref>Thomas, 1977, p. 86–87.</ref> At the ninth hole, construction workers building a house nearby recognized Crosby, and when asked for a song, Crosby sang "[[Strangers in the Night]]".<ref name="van-beek"/> Crosby, who had a 13 [[handicap (golf)|handicap]], won with his partner by one stroke.<ref name="van-beek"/>

As Crosby and his party headed back to the clubhouse at around 6:30&nbsp;p.m., Crosby said, "That was a great game of golf, fellas. Let's go have a [[Coca-Cola]]." Those were his [[last words]].<ref name="van-beek"/> About {{convert|20|yd|m|0}} from the clubhouse entrance, Crosby collapsed and died instantly from a heart attack.<ref name="LAT Obit">{{cite news |last1=West |first1=Richard |first2=Ted Jr. |last2=Thackrey |title=From the Archives: Bing Crosby Dies at 73 on Golf Course |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-bing-crosby-19771015-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=October 15, 1977 |archive-date=December 17, 2019 |access-date=December 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217051654/https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-bing-crosby-19771015-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref> At the clubhouse and later in the ambulance, house physician Dr. Laiseca tried to revive him, but was unsuccessful. At the Reina Victoria Hospital, Crosby was administered the [[last rites]] of the Catholic Church and was pronounced dead at the age of 74.<ref name="van-beek"/>

On October 18, 1977, following a private [[requiem|funeral Mass]] at [[St. Paul the Apostle Church and School|St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church]] in [[Westwood, Los Angeles|Westwood]], Los Angeles,<ref name="spokesman">{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Jim |title=Memorial Rites Held for city favorite, Bing Crosby |newspaper=The Spokesman Review |date=October 19, 1977 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19771019&id=0_VLAAAAIBAJ&pg=6826,1632202 |access-date=May 9, 2014 |archive-date=August 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813093024/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19771019&id=0_VLAAAAIBAJ&pg=6826,1632202 |url-status=live }}</ref> Crosby was buried at [[Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City|Holy Cross Cemetery]] in Culver City, California.<ref name="clooney">{{cite book |last=Clooney |first=Rosemary |title=This for Remembrance: The Autobiography of Rosemary Clooney |publisher=Playboy Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/thisforremembran00cloo/page/244 244–248] |isbn=978-0-671-16976-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/thisforremembran00cloo/page/244 |year=1977}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Bing Crosby star HWF.JPG|thumb|upright=.8|One of Crosby's three stars on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]], 6769 Hollywood Blvd. ]]

Crosby is a member of the [[National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame]] in the radio division.<ref>{{cite web |title=Past award recipients |url=https://www.nab.org/events/awards/pastawardwinners.asp?id=1926 |publisher=National Association of Broadcasters |access-date=March 17, 2020 |archive-date=June 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609203120/https://www.nab.org/events/awards/pastawardwinners.asp?id=1926 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The family created an official website<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bingcrosby.com/ |title=The Official Home of Bing Crosby |publisher=Bingcrosby.com |access-date=November 2, 2008 |archive-date=October 14, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014173434/http://www.bingcrosby.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> on October 14, 2007, the 30th anniversary of Crosby's death.

In his autobiography ''Don't Shoot, It's Only Me!'' (1990), Bob Hope wrote, "Dear old Bing, as we called him, the ''Economy-sized Sinatra''. And what a voice. God I miss that voice. I can't even turn on the radio around Christmas time without crying anymore."<ref>{{cite book |title=Don't Shoot, It's Only Me! |first=Bob |last=Hope |year=1990 |publisher=Random House Publishers |author-link=Bob Hope}}</ref>

Calypso musician [[Roaring Lion]] wrote a tribute song in 1939 titled "Bing Crosby", in which he wrote: "Bing has a way of singing with his very heart and soul / Which captivates the world / His millions of listeners never fail to rejoice / At his golden voice...."<ref name="Giddins2001"/>

Bing Crosby Stadium in [[Front Royal, Virginia|Front Royal]], Virginia, was named after Crosby in honor of his fundraising and cash contributions for its construction from 1948 to 1950.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.shenvalley.com/sv2/vacation/attractions.shtml |title=Warren County Attractions |website=shenvalley.com |access-date=September 8, 2013 |archive-date=September 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906183615/http://www.shenvalley.com/sv2/vacation/attractions.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2006, the former Metropolitan Theater of Performing Arts ('The Met') in [[Spokane, Washington|Spokane]], Washington, was renamed to The Bing Crosby Theater.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bingcrosbytheater.com/history |title=History of the Clemmer Theatre |website=bingcrosbytheater.com |access-date=November 15, 2019 |archive-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726230940/http://www.bingcrosbytheater.com/history |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Crosby has three stars on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]], one each for radio, recording, and motion pictures.

==Compositions==
Crosby wrote or co-wrote lyrics to 22 songs. His composition "[[At Your Command]]" was number 1 for three weeks on the U.S. pop singles chart beginning on August 8, 1931. "[[I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You]]" was his most successful composition, recorded by [[Duke Ellington]], [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Thelonious Monk]], [[Billie Holiday]], and [[Mildred Bailey]], among others. Songs co-written by Crosby include:

# "That's Grandma" (1927), with [[Harry Barris]] and [[James Cavanaugh (songwriter)|James Cavanaugh]]
# "From Monday On" (1928), with Harry Barris and recorded with the [[Paul Whiteman]] Orchestra featuring [[Bix Beiderbecke]] on cornet, number 14 on US pop singles charts
# "What Price Lyrics?" (1928), with Harry Barris and [[Matty Malneck]]
# "Ev'rything's Agreed Upon" (1930), with Harry Barris<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last1=Zwisohn |first1=Laurence J. |title=Bing Crosby – A Lifetime of Music |date=1978 |publisher=Palm Tree Library |location=Los Angeles |page=45}}</ref>
# "[[At Your Command]]" (1931), with Harry Barris and [[Harry Tobias]], US, number 1 (3 weeks)
# "Believe Me" (1931), with James Cavanaugh and [[Frank Weldon]]<ref name="auto"/>
# "[[Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)]]" (1931), with [[Roy Turk]] and [[Fred Ahlert]], US, no. 4; US, 1940 re-recording, no. 27
# "You Taught Me How to Love" (1931), with H. C. LeBlang and Don Herman<ref name="auto"/>
# "[[I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You]]" (1932), with [[Victor Young]] and [[Ned Washington]], US, no. 5
# "My Woman" (1932), with Irving Wallman and Max Wartell
# "Cutesie Pie" (1932), with Red Standex and [[Chummy MacGregor]]<ref name="auto"/>
# "I Was So Alone, Suddenly You Were There (1932), with [[Leigh Harline]], Jack Stern and [[George Hamilton (musician)|George Hamilton]]<ref name="auto"/>
# "Love Me Tonight" (1932), with Victor Young and Ned Washington, US, no. 4
# "[[Waltzing in a Dream]]" (1932), with Victor Young and Ned Washington, US, no.6
# "You're Just a Beautiful Melody of Love" (1932), lyrics by Bing Crosby, music by Babe Goldberg
# "Where Are You, Girl of My Dreams?"<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-wxhAAAAIAAJ&q=where%20are%20you%20girl%20of%20my%20dreams%20bing%20crosby%20catalog%20copyrighted&pg=PA369 |title=U.S. Library of Congress. Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical Compositions |access-date=November 19, 2016 |year=1932}}</ref> (1932), written by Bing Crosby, [[Irving Bibo]], and Paul McVey, featured in the 1932 Universal film ''[[The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood]]''
# "I Would If I Could But I Can't" (1933), with [[Mitchell Parish]] and Alan Grey
# "Where the Turf Meets the Surf" (1941) with [[Johnny Burke (lyricist)|Johnny Burke]] and [[James V. Monaco]].
# "Tenderfoot" (1953) with Bob Bowen and [[Perry Botkin Sr.|Perry Botkin]], originally issued using the pseudonym of "Bill Brill" for Bing Crosby.
# "Domenica" (1961) with [[Pietro Garinei]] / [[Gorni Kramer]] / Sandro Giovannini
# "[[That's What Life is All About]]" (1975), with [[Ken Barnes (writer)|Ken Barnes]], [[Peter Dacre]], and [[Les Reed (songwriter)|Les Reed]], US, AC chart, no. 35; UK, no. 41
# "Sail Away from Norway" (1977) – Crosby wrote lyrics to go with a traditional song.

==Grammy Hall of Fame==
Four performances by Bing Crosby have been inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]], which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance".

{| class=wikitable
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| '''Bing Crosby: Grammy Hall of Fame'''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame |title=Grammy Hall of Fame Database |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707235113/http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame |archive-date=July 7, 2015}}</ref>
|-
! Year Recorded
! Title
! Genre
! Label
! Year Inducted
! Notes
|- align=center
| 1942
| "[[White Christmas (song)|White Christmas]]"
| Traditional Pop (single)
| Decca
| 1974
|With the Ken Darby Singers
|- align=center
| 1944
| "[[Swinging on a Star]]"
| Traditional Pop (single)
| Decca
| 2002
|With the Williams Brothers Quartet
|- align=center
| 1936
| "[[Pennies from Heaven (song)|Pennies from Heaven]]"
| Traditional Pop (single)
| Decca
| 2004
|With the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra
|- align=center
| 1944
| "[[Don't Fence Me In (song)|Don't Fence Me In]]"
| Traditional Pop (single)
| Decca
| 1998
|With the Andrews Sisters
|}

==Discography==
{{Main|Bing Crosby discography}}

==Filmography==
{{Main|Bing Crosby filmography}}

==Television appearances==
{{main|List of Bing Crosby TV appearances}}

==Radio==
* ''[[15 Minutes with Bing Crosby]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pairpoint |first1=Lionel |title=And Here's Bing! |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/solo.htm#minutes |website=BING magazine |publisher=International Club Crosby |access-date=December 24, 2015 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305022138/http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/solo.htm#minutes |url-status=live }}</ref> (1931, [[CBS Radio|CBS]]), Unsponsored. 6 nights a week, 15 minutes.
* ''[[15 Minutes with Bing Crosby#Bing Crosby – The Cremo Singer|The Cremo Singer]]'' (1931–1932, CBS),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pairpoint |first1=Lionel |title=And Here's Bing! |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/solo.htm#cremo |website=BING magazine |publisher=International Club Crosby |access-date=December 24, 2015}}</ref> 6 nights a week, 15 minutes.
* ''[[15 Minutes with Bing Crosby#Unsponsored radio show (March 8 – July 15, 1932, CBS)|15 Minutes with Bing Crosby]]'' (1932, CBS), initially 3 nights a week, then twice a week, 15 minutes.
* ''[[15 Minutes with Bing Crosby#Chesterfield Cigarettes Presents "Music That Satisfies" (also known as Chesterfield Time)|Chesterfield Cigarettes Presents Music that Satisfies]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pairpoint |first1=Lionel |title=And Here's Bing! |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/solo.htm#mts |website=BING magazine |publisher=International Club Crosby |access-date=December 24, 2015 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305022138/http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/solo.htm#mts |url-status=live }}</ref> (1933, CBS), broadcast two nights a week, 15 minutes.
* ''[[Bing Crosby Entertains]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pairpoint |first1=Lionel |title=And Here's Bing! |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/Woodbury.htm |website=BING magazine |publisher=International Club Crosby |access-date=December 24, 2015 |archive-date=January 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126061041/http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/Woodbury.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> (1933–1935, CBS), weekly, 30 minutes.
* ''[[Kraft Music Hall]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pairpoint |first1=Lionel |title=And Here's Bing! |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/kmh.htm |website=BING magazine |publisher=International Club Crosby |access-date=December 24, 2015 |archive-date=January 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107183110/http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/kmh.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> (1935–1946, [[NBC Radio|NBC]]), Thursday nights, 60 minutes until January 1943, then 30 minutes.
* ''[[Bing Crosby on Armed Forces Radio in World War II]]'' (1941–1945; World War II).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pairpoint |first1=Lionel |title=And Here's Bing! |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/afrs.htm |website=BING magazine |publisher=International Club Crosby |access-date=December 24, 2015 |archive-date=November 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151128154829/http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/afrs.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Philco Radio Time]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pairpoint |first1=Lionel |title=And Here's Bing! |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/philco.htm |website=BING magazine |publisher=International Club Crosby |access-date=December 24, 2015 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305115841/http://bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/philco.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> (1946–1949, [[Citadel Media|ABC]]), 30 minutes weekly.
* ''[[This Is Bing Crosby]]'' (The Minute Maid Show) (1948–1950, CBS), 15 minutes each weekday morning; Bing as disc jockey.
* ''[[The Bing Crosby – Chesterfield Show]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pairpoint |first1=Lionel |title=And Here's Bing! |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/chesterfield.htm |website=BING magazine |publisher=International Club Crosby |access-date=December 24, 2015 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305221137/http://bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/chesterfield.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> (1949–1952, CBS), 30 minutes weekly.
* ''[[The Bing Crosby Show for General Electric]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pairpoint |first1=Lionel |title=And Here's Bing! |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/ge.htm |website=BING magazine |publisher=International Club Crosby |access-date=December 24, 2015 |archive-date=March 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326214430/http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/ge.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> (1952–1954, CBS), 30 minutes weekly.
* ''[[The Bing Crosby Show (1954–1956)]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pairpoint |first1=Lionel |title=And Here's Bing! |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/final.htm#bcshow |website=BING magazine |publisher=International Club Crosby |access-date=December 24, 2015 |archive-date=December 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225035035/http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/final.htm#bcshow |url-status=live }}</ref> (CBS), 15 minutes, 5 nights a week.
* ''[[A Christmas Sing with Bing (1955–1962)]]'', (CBS, [[Voice of America|VOA]] and [[Armed Forces Network|AFRS]]), 1 hour each year, sponsored by the [[Insurance Company of North America]].
* ''[[The Ford Road Show Featuring Bing Crosby]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pairpoint |first1=Lionel |title=And Here's Bing! |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/final.htm#ford |website=BING magazine |publisher=International Club Crosby |access-date=December 24, 2015 |archive-date=December 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225035035/http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/final.htm#ford |url-status=live }}</ref> (1957–1958, CBS), 5 minutes, 5 days a week.
* ''[[The Bing Crosby&nbsp;– Rosemary Clooney Show]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pairpoint |first1=Lionel |title=And Here's Bing! |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/final2.htm |website=BING magazine |publisher=International Club Crosby |access-date=December 24, 2015 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043142/http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/final2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> (1960–1962, CBS), 20 minutes, 5 mornings a week, with [[Rosemary Clooney]].

==RIAA certification==
{| cellpadding="2"
|-
| style="width:30%; background:white;"|'''Album'''
| style="width:20%; background:white;"|'''RIAA'''<ref name="bc-riaa-certs">{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Crosby,%20Bing%22|title=RIAA Searchable Database – Crosby, Bing|publisher=[[RIAA]]|access-date=March 5, 2014|archive-date=September 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903211317/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Crosby,%20Bing%22|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|''[[Merry Christmas (Bing Crosby album)|Merry Christmas]]'' (1945)
|Gold
|-
|''[[Merry Christmas (Bing Crosby album)|White Christmas (re-issue of album above)]]'' (1995)
|4× Platinum
|-
|''Bing Sings'' (1977)
|2× Platinum
|}

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"
|-
! style="width:5%;"| Year
! style="width:30%;"| Award
! style="width:30%;"| Category/Status
! style="width:30%;"| Project/Team
! style="width:5%;"| Result
|-
| 1944
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards
| Best Actor
| ''Going My Way''
| {{won}}
|-
| 1944
| rowspan="2" | Photoplay Awards
| rowspan="2" | Most Popular Male Star
| —
| {{won}}
|-
| 1945
| —
| {{won}}
|-
| 1945
| [[Academy Awards]]
| Best Actor in a Leading Role
| ''Going My Way''
| {{won}}
|-
| 1946
| Photoplay Awards
| Most Popular Male Star
| —
| {{won}}
|-
| 1946
| Academy Awards
| Best Actor in a Leading Role
| ''The Bells of St. Mary's''
| {{nom}}
|-
| 1947
| rowspan="2" | Photoplay Awards
| rowspan="2" | Most Popular Male Star
| —
| {{won}}
|-
| 1948
| —
| {{won}}
|-
| 1952
| Golden Globes
| Best Motion Picture Actor
| ''Here Comes the Groom''
| {{nom}}
|-
| 1954
| [[National Board of Review]]
| Best Actor
| rowspan="2" | ''The Country Girl''
| {{won}}
|-
| 1955
| Academy Awards
| Best Actor in a Leading Role
| {{nom}}
|-
| 1958
| rowspan="3" | [[Laurel Awards]]
| rowspan="2" | Golden Laurel Top Male Star
| —
| {{nom}}
|-
| 1959
| —
| {{nom}}
|-
| 1960
| Golden Laurel Top Male Performance
| ''Say One for Me''
| {{nom}}
|-
| 1960
| [[Golden Globe Awards]]
| [[Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award]]
| —
| {{won}}
|-
| 1960
| rowspan="3" | [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]
| Radio
| 6769 Hollywood Blvd.
| {{won|Inducted}}
|-
| 1960
| Recording
| 6751 Hollywood Blvd.
| {{won|Inducted}}
|-
| 1960
| Motion Picture
| 1611 Vine Street.
| {{won|Inducted}}
|-
| 1960
| [[1960 World Series]]
| Co-owner
| [[Pittsburgh Pirates]]
| {{won}}
|-
| 1961
| rowspan="2" | Laurel Awards
| Golden Laurel Top Male Star
| —
| {{nom}}
|-
| 1962
| Golden Laurel Special Award
| —
| {{won}}
|-
| 1963
| [[Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award]]
|
|
| {{won}}
|-
| 1970
| Peabody Awards
| Personal Award
| —
| {{won}}
|-
| 1971
| [[1971 World Series]]
| Co-owner
| Pittsburgh Pirates
| {{won}}
|-
| [[American Music Awards of 1974|1974]]
| [[American Music Awards]]
| [[American Music Award of Merit|Award of Merit]]
| 
| {{won}}<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Jf-un4QjE |via=YouTube |publisher=American Music Awards |title=Bing Crosby Wins Merit Award - AMA 1974 |date=1974 |access-date=February 25, 2025 |archive-date=February 25, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250225034219/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Jf-un4QjE&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref>
|}
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==See also==
{{Wikipedia books|position=left|Bing Crosby}}
{{clear}}
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==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
* Fisher, J. (2012). "Bing Crosby: Through the years, volumes one-nine (1954–56)." ''ARSC Journal'', 43(1), 127–130.
* {{Pop Chronicles 40s}} Crosby interviewed [https://findingaids.library.unt.edu/?p=collections/findingaid&id=959&q=&rootcontentid=204947 1971 July 8] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207074429/https://findingaids.library.unt.edu/?p=collections/findingaid&id=959&q=&rootcontentid=204947 |date=February 7, 2020 }}.
* {{cite book |title=Bing Crosby: Crooner of the Century |last=Grudens |first=Richard |year=2002 |publisher=Celebrity Profiles Publishing Co. |isbn=1-57579-248-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mkz_w-WYiMAC }}
* {{cite book | last=Klebanoff | first=Shoshana | title=Crosby, Bing (1903-1977), singer of popular music | publisher=Oxford University Press | volume=1 | date=2000 | doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1800262}}
* {{cite book |title=Bing Crosby: Day by Day |last=Macfarlane |first=Malcolm |year=2001 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield#Imprints|Scarecrow Press]] |url=https://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/1903-1935.htm }}
* Osterholm, J. Roger. ''Bing Crosby: A Bio-Bibliography''. Greenwood Press, 1994.
* Prigozy, R. & Raubicheck, W., ed. ''Going My Way: Bing Crosby and American Culture''. The Boydell Press, 2007.
* {{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Bob |title=The One and Only Bing |url=https://archive.org/details/oneonlybing00thom |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Grosset & Dunlap]] |year=1977 |isbn=0-448-14670-3 }}
{{refend}}

===Primary sources===
* Crosby, Bing. ''Call Me Lucky'' (1953)
* Crosby, Bing. ''Bing: The Authorized Biography'' (1975), written with Charles Thompson.

==Further reading==
* Bookbinder, Robert. ''The Films of Bing Crosby'' (Lyle Stuart, 1977)
* Giddins, Gary. ''Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams-The Early Years 1903-1940'' (Back Bay Books, 2009) [https://www.amazon.com/Bing-Crosby-Pocketful-Dreams-1903-1940/dp/0316881880/ excerpt].
** Giddins, Gary. ''Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star: The War Years, 1940-1946'' (Little, Brown, 2018) [https://www.amazon.com/Bing-Crosby-Swinging-Years-1940-1946/dp/0316887927/ excerpt].
* Gilbert, Roger. "Beloved and Notorious: A Theory of American Stardom, with Special Reference to Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra." ''Southwest Review'' 95.1/2 (2010): 167–184. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/43473045 online]
* Morgereth, Timothy A. ''Bing Crosby: a discography, radio program list, and filmography'' (McFarland & Co Inc Pub, 1987).
* Pitts, Michael, et al. ''The Rise of the Crooners: Gene Austin, Russ Columbo, Bing Crosby, Nick Lucas, Johnny Marvin and Rudy Vallee'' (Scarecrow Press, 2001).
* Prigozy, Ruth, and Walter Raubicheck, eds. ''Going My Way: Bing Crosby and American Culture'' (University of Rochester Press, 2007), essays by scholars.
* {{cite book |title=Angels We Have Heard: The Christmas Song Stories |last=Richliano |first=James |year=2002 |publisher=Star of Bethlehem Books |location=Chatham, New York |isbn=0-9718810-0-6}} Includes a chapter on Crosby's involvement in the making of "White Christmas" and an interview with record producer Ken Barnes.
* Schofield, Mary Anne. "Marketing Iron Pigs, Patriotism, and Peace: Bing Crosby and World War II—A Discourse." ''Journal of Popular Culture'' 40.5 (2007): 867–881.
* Smith, Anthony B. "Entertaining Catholics: Bing Crosby, Religion and Cultural Pluralism in 1940s America." ''American Catholic Studies'' (2003) 11#4: 1-19 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/44190902 online].
* [[Terry Teachout|Teachout, Terry]]. "The Swinging Star: Why is Bing Crosby forgotten?' ''Commentary'' (Nov 2018), Vol. 146 Issue 4, pp 51–54.
* {{cite book |title=Raised by the Stars: Interviews with 29 Children of Hollywood Actors |last=Thomas |first=Nick |year=2011 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-6403-6}} Includes an interview

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bing Crosby}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{TCMDb name}}
* {{Discogs artist}}

{{Bing Crosby}}
{{Bing Crosby singles}}
{{Navboxes
|title=Awards for Bing Crosby
|list=
{{Academy Award Best Actor}}
{{American Music Award of Merit}}
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}}
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