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[Celia Hall]

I was fascinated by the recent correspondence concerning Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. I bought the "White Christmas" DVD last year and I like Rosemary's audio commentary and found it informative and likeable.
But I was not aware just how much Bing Crosby had done for her in the 1970s.

I've always liked Bing as a singer and a performer - but have often wondered what he was like as a person. From what I now know, I can only think that he was a very considerate man.

I'm certainly looking forward to the "Holiday Inn" DVD

Celia Hall ( Mrs. )

[jack clowes]

Apart from his obvious ability as a solo singer
(in the early 30s he was light years ahead of
any of his contemporaries) I've always been of
the opinion that Bing was one of the greatest
duettists there has ever been. In the late 30's
he made some superb recordings with the great
Connee Boswell and after that it was a number
of years before he found a worthy successor to
Connee when he worked with Rosemary. Some time
after working together on White Christmas they
finally went into a recording studio to make the
hugely enjoyable "Fancy Meeting You Here" - this
album has only become available on CD within the
last year (having only been issued in shortened
form for some years) - if you have any doubts
about how well Bing and Rosie got on with each
other you have only to listen to this album.

[Ken Barnes]

In response to both Celia Hall and Jack Clowes, I can only endorse everything that has been written.

Bing was very considerate towards fellow artists ( in the forthcoming "Holiday Inn" DVD you'll hear Fred Astaire's own remarks about him). He not only helped Rosie Clooney to resume her career in the mid-'70s, he did the same thing 25 years earlier for Judy Garland. In 1950 when Judy had a nervous breakdown and MGM terminated her film contract. She found herself neglected by the industry. It was Bing alone who stepped forward and offered her a series of guest spots on his radio show. This gave Judy the confidence to return to top form - later giving an Oscar-nominated performance in the 1954 film " A Star Is Born" and gaining full recognition as a concert performer. Her classic Carnegie Hall album eventually sold over a million copies. It's unlikely that any of this would have happened with Crosby's
support and encouragement.

As for Bing himself, he was a singer in a class by himself.
I had the great pleasure of working with him. Between 1974 and 1977, I produced six albums and worked on two of his TV shows. Apart from being a great solo singer, Jack Clowes is absolutely right when he says that Bing was one of the greatest duettists ever. He was a team player in every respect and was a delight to work with.

As a hitmaker, he sold more records than anyone. More than Presley or the Beatles. But this is something that today's pop pundits try to ignore. They think that pop music begins and ends with Presley.

Fortunately, Bing is not the forgotten man that people think he is. Next month, I shall be attending an imposing three-day conference at New York's Hofstra University dedicated to Bing Crosby and American Culture.

Anyone wanting to know more about Bing would be well advised to read " A Pocketful of Dreams - Bing Crosby, the early years (1903-1940)" by Gary Giddins. This is part one of what I consider the greatest show business biography I've ever read and one that puts the Crosby legend into its true perspective. Mr. Giddins is now busy writing part two for publication in the next two or three years. My advice is to read it and get to meet the real Bing. There was a lot more to this man than people realise.

Ken Barnes

[jack clowes]

I must be one of the few people who has never
understood the appeal of Elvis Presley. By the
time he appeared on the scene I was already a
fan of Sinatra so I guess that I was beyond
redemption. The first LP I ever bought was the
10 inch album Songs for Young Lovers on a trip
to London in 1954 and when you've enjoyed a
diet of My Funny Valentine, The Girl Next Door,
A Foggy Day etc it's difficult to get excited
about Heartbreak Hotel, Hound Dog etc.

[Anon]

Stop knocking elvis. He's a wonderful singer second only to bing.

[Ken Barnes]

Thanks Jack for raising the subject of Presley. You're not alone in your bewilderment at Presley's appeal. In all my 35 years as a producer, I've never met a single musician with a good word to say about Presley's singing.

The late Nelson Riddle's opinion seems to stay with me.
" He's always under the note and his phrasing is awful."

Nor was he particularly respected in the film world. Earlier this year, I spent a whole afternoon with George Sidney ( director of "Viva Las Vegas." ) he referred to Presley as a "Snow White" -"Everywhere he went he had seven guys with him. It was my least favorite film. The songs were lousy. Simple childlike ditties - but it took him an age to record them. He was not a natural singer."

Mr. Sidney was much happier working with Sinatra ("Anchors Aweigh" and "Pal Joey"),

Yet Presley must have had something to sustain his popularity despite such poor records and moronic films.
Like you, Jack, I have difficulty in understanding his success. I personally have never met anyone who cares for his work, so I can only assume that his records are bought by a secret society of tin-eared fanatics.

I suppose this outburst will attract a host of angry messages. While this website is intended for film buffs, it will be interesting to see if anyone regards any of Presley's films worthy of merit.

Ken Barnes

[Anon]

What gives you the right to put Elvis down like that? I really think all that was uncalled for, because I happen to be a very big fan of his, and I respect him very much. stop knocking Elvis.

[Tom Hurley]

I can't believe what I'm reading. I've been an Elvis fan for 40 years and I love his work both as singer and actor.

I'm not a musician and I don't pretend to know anything about music. But I know what I like. Let's get back to talking about movies and leave Elvis alone.

T.Hurley.

[Dominic McHugh]

Interestingly, nobody agrees with you. Ken's predicted 'flood' has yet to inundate us.....

D.

[Ray Hardiman]

Tom Hurley says we must leave Elvis alone. Wouldn't it be wonderful if could. The man died 25 years ago - and it seems we're not allowed to forget it. For a mediocre talent, his staying power is amazing. But he wasn't the only artist to die in 1977. There were at least three other deaths that year that the media seem to have overlooked - and these were all artists far more talented than the bloated rocker. Namely Maria Callas, Bing Crosby and Charlie Chaplin.

Leave Elvis alone ? I wish we could but, apart from the succession of news stories and so-called sightings, we are constantly subjected to the thousands of inane Elvis imitators with their white jump suits, bell bottom trousers and glued-on sideburns ( some of whom are better than the original - which is no great feat).

Now, give me a break and let's get back to talking about movies ( as long as they're not Presley movies )

R.H.

[Anon]

grow up!!!!What do you care about elvis anyway? you just like to put him down and make fun of him--like he was a freak or something. grow up and get a life children

[jack clowes]

In my last message I got so carried away that I
completely forgot one of the main reasons I had
to raise the subject of Presley in relation to
Bing. In a previous message I referred to the
Album FANCY MEETING YOU HERE and in the song "I
Can't Get Started" Bing sings the line (probably
written by Sammy Cahn) "when Elvis Presley bows
I just nod" - I guess that sums it up!

[Dominic McHugh]

For me Presley marks the beginning of the huge downhill course that popular music has taken since his time. I am always saddened to go into record shops like HMV and find that all the great popular singers of the twentieth century - Sinatra, Crosby, Garland, Doris Day et al - grouped in a back corner called 'easy listening'. Whilst I can't disagree that it is easy to listen to - and certainly more pleasant than most other new music - it seems infantile to ignore the fact that these greats were the 'pop idols' of their time. They have lasted longer than any pop music of today will last, and their appeal will never diminish. Nowadays, singers like Crosby are treated with the same reluctance as too many classical music artists are, as if they are only accessible to a select few. The attitude that they are 'esoteric' is ludicrous; singers like Frank Sinatra would be amazed to know that they are bundled at the back of music shops under 'Specialist Music' (see HMV Oxford Street, London.) It seems to me to that this is a kind of inverted snobbery against an art form which has an enormously enduring appeal, due to the response of many young people who will any accept new things. I believe the group Hear'Say (I might have spelt it wrong? Who knows?) that was winning the hearts of millions of UK youngsters this time last year has now dissolved. Into nothing. Obscurity in fact. This demonstrates the ability of the media to manipulating people into liking 'products' of poor quality.

Neither Rachmaninoff nor Judy Garland, however, will ever be forgotten or ignored. We can see the power of both of them on screen: the former in the amazing Second Piano Concerto used in 'Brief Encounter', and the latter in 'The Wizard of Oz', amongst others(!). Both of these examples show how films made in the 1930s are still IMMENSELY appealing to people of all generations - I am only 18 myself, for example - and they are two of the most significant films of all time. It also shows the lasting power of music.

To return to the Presley issue. I am currently studying music at King's College, London, with about 45 others. I have asked around tonight whether anyone likes Presley, and the answer was amazingly uniform: NO! FRank Sinatra, however, is a favourite of many, and Bing's version of 'White Christmas' was mentioned as a universally popular choice for our Christmas concerts....so there you have the opinions of some young and very wide-ranging (in terms of interests) musicians.

One final point that occurred to me whilst reading today's articles is the power of Sinatra's acting compared to Presley. It's practically impossible to think of another singing megastar who made such a successful transition to serious acting as Sinatra. I'm thinking in particular of 'The Manchurian Candidate', which is still remarkably powerful at this distance. No modern technological tricks or gimmicks can ever replace the weight of a drama such as this one. Compare it to the Presley films. I suppose we can't ignore that there is an enormous following for them, but maybe that's more because it's 'trendy' to subscribe to the regrettably revived cult. I, too, can't understand it. Francis Albert did it his way, and that's the way I like it.

Regards

Dominic