Trailing Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby was arguably the first pop megastar: he had 36 number one hits in the USA, before WW2. Without his pioneering crooner style, late 20thC music would have been very different. He adapted quickly to exploit the newly invented microphone, thus finding a mass audience via radio.

No Bing Crosby, no Sinatra, no Tony Bennett … .

The Bing Crosby Trail, which starts on BBC Radio 2 at 7pm tonight, is a timely reminder of the singer’s central role as a poprocker for grown-ups. Whether you’ll want to persevere for all six half-hour programmes in the series is a different matter: I’ll be re-listening to my Best Of Bing compilation instead.

Most Radio 2 shows can be heard online as they are broadcast and for up to seven days afterwards.

www.bbc.co.uk/radio2




Gerry Smith