Bing Crosby wrote or co-wrote lyrics to 17 songs. His composition “At Your Command” was no.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
● “From Monday On” (1928), with Harry Barris and recorded with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra featuring Bix Beiderbecke on cornet, no. 14 on US pop singles charts
● “What Price Lyrics?” (1928), with Harry Barris and Matty Malneck
● “At Your Command” (1931), with Harry Barris and Harry Tobias, US, no. 1 (3 weeks)
● “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
● “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
● “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?”[67] (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 and James V. Monaco.
● “Tenderfoot” (1953) with Bob Bowen and Perry Botkin, originally issued using the pseudonym of “Bill Brill” for Bing Crosby.
● “Domenica” (1961)
● “That’s What Life is All About” (1975), with Ken Barnes, Peter Dacre, and Les Reed, US, AC chart, no. 35; UK, no. 41
● “Sail Away to Norway” (1977)
Bing Crosby was posthumously 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”.
The biggest hit song of Crosby’s career was his recording of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas”, which he first 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 then appeared soon after in his 1942 movie Holiday Inn. Crosby’s recording hit the charts on October 3, 1942, and rose to No. 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 for a third time in January 1947. The song remains the best-selling single of all time. According to Guinness World Records, Crosby’s recording of “White Christmas” has “sold over 100 million copies around the world, with at least 50 million sales as singles”. Crosby’s recording was so popular that he 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. Though the two versions are very similar, it is the 1947 recording which is most familiar today. Crosby was dismissive of his role in the song’s success, saying later that “a jackdaw with a cleft palate could have sung it successfully.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bing_Crosby
P.S. According to Guinness World Records, the holiday perennial “White Christmas” (1942) by Bing Crosby is STILL the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies. The song recognized as “the best-selling single of all time” was released before the pop/rock singles-chart era and “was listed as the world’s best-selling single in the first-ever Guinness Book of Records (published in 1955) and — remarkably — still retains the title more than 50 years later.” [This statistic includes digital downloads as well.]
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