Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star

The War Years, 1940-1946

De: Gary Giddins

Narrado por: Grover Gardner

In this companion book to the award-winning biography Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams: The Early Years, 1903-1940, Gary Giddins presents the second volume of his masterful work.

Bing Crosby dominated American popular culture in a way that few artists ever have. From the dizzying era of Prohibition through the dark days of the Second World War, he was a desperate nation’s most beloved entertainer. But he was more than just a charismatic crooner: Bing Crosby redefined the very foundations of modern music, from the way it was recorded to the way it was orchestrated and performed.

In this much-anticipated follow-up to the universally acclaimed first volume, acclaimed music critic Gary Giddins now focuses on Crosby’s most memorable period, the war years and the origin story of White Christmas.

Set against the backdrop of a Europe on the brink of collapse, this groundbreaking work traces Crosby’s skyrocketing career as he fully inhabits a new era of American entertainment and culture. While he would go on to reshape both popular music and cinema more comprehensively than any other artist, Crosby’s legacy would be forever intertwined with his impact on the home front, a unifying voice for a nation at war.

More than a decade in the making and drawing on hundreds of interviews and unprecedented access to numerous archives, Giddins brings Bing Crosby, his work, and his world to vivid life - firmly reclaiming Crosby’s central role in American cultural history.

©2018 Gary Giddins (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

Absolutely fantastic

Very well produced and written book focused on the apex of Crosby's career. Looking forward to one on the later years.

Hoping for Volume 3 -- but this is plenty!

Giddins is an exceptional jazz writer, so I am glad he dipped so deeply into this most dominant pop music icon of the 1930s and 1940s, with a special focus on his swing and jazz chops, as well as his indefatigable work in film and on behalf of U.S, troops abroad. It would be great to read a concluding volume, but if it reaches this level of detail, it could consumer GG's life and could be three more volumes and, frankly, this is plenty, since it covers Der Bingle at his peak. There is a welcome sense here of correcting many of the destructive myths about his private life, too. Thank you, Mr. Giddins.

Well worth the wait

Totally engrossing , not just for the insights regarding Crosby but the ancillary information regarding the workings of the movie and recording industries and the culture at large. I'm 20 hours into this, listening on my laptop. It's an added bonus to be able to listen to this book, pause the narration, go on YouTube, and listen to a given recording sessionthat's being described, as well as watching the trailers for a given film. Before beginning the book I anticipated an offering that might be too detailed and granular, considering it's 700 pages to cover roughly only 5 years in a career. Pleasantly surprised to find this was
not the case. The TV has gotten a much needed rest this weekend thanks to Mr. Giddins' wonderful narrative.