Rating: 
Summary: INFORMATIVE BING BIO
Review:
Anyone interested in Bings life should enjoy this book. Does any
one out there know when part two will be released?
Anyone who enjoys Bing work will find this book interesting. Does
anyone know with part two is coming out?
Rating: 
Summary: Bing Crosby, Pocketful of Dreams
Review: 600 pages packed with unnecessary trivia. Would have been much more interesting if this bio was boiled down into about 300 worthwhile pages.
Rating:
Summary: The Definitive Bing Biography
Review: Amazingly, no one had written a serious Crosby biography since 1948 - when Bing was a household name - until Gary Giddins gave us this incredible first volume of what promises to be the definitive study of the man of whom it used to be said, "the voice of Bing Crosby has been heard by more people than the voice of any other human being who ever lived.""Pocketful" is a thorough, heavily researched evaluation of the first half of Crosby's life and career, and his cultural significance. As such, Giddins covers not only the landmark moments and achievements, but also the minutiae. To me, this is not a drawback. The subject is worthy of such intellectual scrutiny. It isn't a gossip-laden Hollywood tell-all, so if that's what you're looking for, look elsewhere. Bing Crosby personified everything Americans of his generation found admirable: he was self-assured, easygoing, intelligent, quick-witted and athletic, yet modest and self-effacing. Possessing a relaxed manner and a mellifluous and universally appealing baritone voice, he was adored by women and admired by men, and was the nation's most beloved entertainer throughout the Great Depression and the Second World War. The across-the-board nature of his of fame and longevity - he was simultaneously the world's top singer, actor AND radio star for a number of years, and he remained popular to the end of his life - is almost unfathomable in this age of perpetually divergent trends in entertainment, and disposable celebrity. The cold, hard facts of Crosby's career, laid out for us by Giddins, are staggering: * He had sold 400 million records by 1980.
* He charted more records (368) - and scored more #1's (38) - than any other recording artist in history, including Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Michael Jackson.
* His rendition of "White Christmas" is the most popular single ever, and the only one to make the American pop charts 20 times.
* He dominated the medium of radio for over 30 years with his top-rated programs, regularly attracting 50 million listeners in his peak years (about 1/3 of the population of the U.S. at the time!).
* His "Road" films with Bob Hope were the highest grossing comedies of their time.
* He was the #1 box office movie star for five consecutive years (1944-48), a streak which still hasn't been topped.
* He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times, and won it in 1944.
* "Going My Way" became the top grossing film in the history of Paramount Pictures. A fluke you say? The next year "Bells Of St. Mary's" became the top grossing film in the history of RKO!
* He was a key figure in the development and popularization of audio- and videotape.
* He started the first celebrity/pro-amateur golf tournament, which raised millions of dollars for charity over the years. After Bing's death in 1977, his reputation diminished to the point that he was almost forgotten, or simply dismissed, in part due to a hyped-up hatchet job of a book by his eldest son. This straightforward, factual effort by Giddins has begun to turn the tide back in Bing's favor. Since the publication of this essential work, a reassessment of Bing Crosby's life and career has taken place in many circles. A scholarly conference entitled "Bing Crosby and American Culture" was held at Hofstra University in 2002, and last year his alma mater, Gonzaga University, celebrated the centennial of his birth with a three-day event. Giddins understands that to know about Bing Crosby is to know about American culture from the 1930's through the early 1950's, because Bing WAS American culture during those years.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended story of Bing Crosby's early life
Review: Gary Giddens' treatment of the early years of Bing Crosby's life began to draw me from the first time I saw it on a shelf. Perhaps it was the inviting cover photo. Nonetheless, I first resisted, then finally succumbed. Boy, am I glad I did. Gary Giddens is a hypnotic writer, with a prose style that draws one into the narrative. But then his subject is the most popular entertainer of the 20th century. Bing Crosby was a media sensation during his life--he was huge in recorded music, of course, but he was also huge in radio and on the screen--and Giddens tells it all about the first 37 years of Bing's life. I am not much of a reader of biographies, but this book makes me hunger for the sequel, which I suppose will be entitled The Later Years, 1941-1977. I cannot say enough good about this book, but I was especially enchanted with Giddens' description of the genesis of the Crosby-Hope relationship in the last chapter. The book is divided into 26 chapters in two parts. The first part--Bingo from Bingville--recounts Bing's life from birth to his debut in radio. The second part--Everybody's Bing--examines his transformation into the beloved treasure he became and concludes with an analysis of the impact of the first of the Road movies. Giddens, an important jazz critic for The Village Voice, wrote this book to help modern audiences understand the impact Bing Crosby had on popular music (his influence has no parallel)and the presentation of that music on radio and in movies. So, this book is not just for those who enjoyed and even revered Bing Crosby while he was alive, it is also a book for those who would like to put the contributions of musicians like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Madonna in proper perspective to say nothing of modern radio personalities and movie actors. Do yourself a favor--read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: The Authoritative Book on Bing's Early Years
Review: Gary Giddin's long-awaited biography gets off to a good start with the first volume, looking at the early years of Crosby. These are the years that made Bing Crosby into a national sensation. Those unfamiliar with Crosby's earlier work, may not quite realize what a significant figure he was in the evolution of popular music. Here was a white artist singing and legitimizing for a broader artist the songs, techniques, and feeling of black artists. Though the book's first two chapters detailing the arrival of Crosby's ancestors to the country (really, does anyone want to read about this??) are of interest only to other biographers, the book as a whole soon starts sailing into the life of Bing Crosby. It's all here, the good, the bad, and the ugly. While this volume doesn't yet get to the more difficult years described in Gary Crosby's book, the author's tone makes it clear he thinks Bing was a complex man. He's quick to dismiss the more unsavory biographies of Crosby written in the wake of his death, and his evidence seems to indicate that perhaps Crosby has been the victim of hatchet jobs. The book is also an outstanding chronicle of the Crosby records and films of this era, with very detailed recounts of the making of some of his most notable tracks and movies. It ends with the filming and release of "The Road to Singapore," and sets the stage for the next volume focusing on the Legendary Years.
Rating:
Summary: The definitive look at Crosby
Review: Gary Giddins has pealed away the mendacity that has surrounded Bing Crosby in published literature since his death. Bing was pilloried in books by his son Gary, and painted in other biographies as a philandering, cold-as-ice misanthrope. Finally Crosby fans can embrace a book which contains much positive information on one of the greatest and most influential Americans icons of the 20th century. Bing's brilliance has been inexplicably eclipsed since his death. Hopefully, this book will introduce the Crosby magic to those who have never been exposed to it. Without Bing Crosby, popular music would not sound the way it sounds today, it's that simple. When he first started singing with Paul Whiteman's band in the 20's as a member of the Rhythm Boys, all vocalists sounded the same: weak-kneed tenors warbling through megaphones, ala the insufferable Rudy Vallee. Bing's mellifluous, effortless baritone became the standard by which every other singer strove to emulate: Sinatra, Como, Dean Martin and every other singer initially copied Bing. Giddins correctly emphasizes Bing's influence on 20th century pop culture. He was a vocal innovator par excellence and his jazz phrasing, timing and cadence remains unmatched. Giddins also explores in great depth Crosby's numerous affairs, his tortured marriage to the alcoholic Dixie Lee, and brings out some interesting gossip: did you know Bing smoked pot regularly with Louis Armstrong in the early 30's? No more Mr. Goody Two Shoes! I've loved Bing Crosby all my life and have waited a lifetime for an intelligent and readable biography. Gary Giddins is an excellent writer and researcher and he has created a minor masterpiece. This is an essential addition to any Crosbyphile's bookshelf.
Rating:
Summary: Question the research
Review: I enjoyed reading this biography of Bing especially since it included information on my father, Mike Pecarovich. I have to point out the poor editing job, however. My father's name was consistently misspelled as Pecarovitch. I haven't seen the paperback edition but sincerely hope the mistake was corrected.
Rating:
Summary: An Very Biography-But Not Perfect
Review: I wish you could give half stars, coz this is better than 4 stars but not quite five.
When I first picked this book up I wondered "700+ pages on Bing Crosby?" Tho a Crosby fan (more of his early work than later), I wondered if there was enough material for 700+ pages, and that just in the first volume. There is, tho with some judicious editing it could have been cut down a bit. (There is some repetition in the book, especially the author's emphasizing again and again that "Bing made great contributions to American Music", as though we in the younger generations really had to be convinced.)
What I didn't like was the author's putting down some of Crosby's contemporaries. He was relatively kind to Russ Columbo, but scathing on Rudy Vallee. I'm not particularly a Vallee fan, but you have to credit the guy's popularity, and his longevity in show business as a big name. He had a wild, faddish vogue in the early part of his career, which was bound to fade when a more talented performer like Crosby came around, but he stayed in show business as a name to be reckoned with until the mid 60s. And tho he was portrayed as a blowhard and boaster, Vallee at least had enough of a sense of humor to mock his own image in movies like "The Palm Beach Story".
Also the author puts down John Boles, a popular actor of the 30s, who beat Crosby out of an important number in the early musical "The King of Jazz" (it was Crosby's own fault). Again, Boles is nobody in comparison with Crosby when it comes to fame or importance, but he had a decent film career, and before I saw "The King of Jazz", I mainly knew him from films like "Frankenstein" and "Stella Dallas", and when I first saw "The King of Jazz", I was impressed that he could sing at all.
Also, as a footnote, the author relates the story of a talent contest run in Spokane as part of a Bing Crosby homecoming celebration, noting that one of the winners was Janet Waldo, and not saying much more than that. Janet Waldo did make some movies, never becoming a film star, but she did later become one of the more durable voice artists in radio and television, specialising in teenage girls (famously as Corliss Archer and Judy Jetson-and in one particular episode of I Love Lucy) into what must have been her old age-sort of a female Arnold Stang (I hope that isn't an insult!) I thought this successful part of her career was worth a mention, especially since Hollywood talent contests of the time seemd to be mere publicity stunts, and that winners were usually given a bit part in a b-film and shipped straight home to obscurity.
But for the most part, I enjoyed the book very much. It was well written, well researched, and gave more information than you knew existed on Crosby's recordings and his movies. As someone who knows almost nothing about the more technical aspects of music, such as chord changes and harmonies, the technical descriptions of Crosby's singing went over my head and I didn't quite know what the author was talking about, but I guess that stuff is for the jazz buffs amongst the readership, and my ignorance is not the author's fault. The book was also especially good on one Crosby subject I had always been curious about: the break-up of the Rhythm Boys, and Crosby's subsequent relationships with Al Rinker and Harry Barris. I knew from seeing Crosby's films that Barris frequently had small parts in them, and figured they were probably favors from Crosby to an old pal. His split with Rinker was sadder, but from the descriptions in the book, probably inevitable. (I was so dumb on this subject that I never knew Mildred Bailey was Al Rinker's sister!)
Overall, very well worth buying and reading if you are interested in the history of American music, films or popular culture in general in the 20th Century.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book - still waiting for volume II!
Review: I, along with Candace Scott and David Lobosco (see below) am on the INTERNET BING CROSBY MUSEUM page, and invite you to join and do disccusion on the board thereon. Now to the book:
First to that sourpuss writing from Mexico, the guy who complained of Bing's (here were go again) Bing beinbg a "MONSTER" ,writing that Bing had a bad family career-he'll get to that later, but it doesn't mean Bing was a bad guy--girl swooned over him like happened with no one else! Like a lot of biographers on the topic, and as has been said, Giddins first didn't care for Bing but wanted to give fans what they wanted, it it was Bing, and he WAS a major star then turned out a major fan, maybe the biggest. Which applies to THIS project--there is a second volume coming out (with Sinatra, World War II, White XMAS and other factors Bing afloat down the historical pike!Not to mention the Andrews Sisters legendary duets,either!!) Bing was THE original white jazz popularizer. Vocal OR Instrumentla.With Paul WHiteman's1920s Rhythm Boys (Harris Barris and Al Rinker, cowriter of ongs for Disney's first post-Walt flick, "ARISTOCATS"), Bing became a legend. In 1931 CBS's William S.Paley signed him to an exclusive radio contractr, a new label Decca's Jack Kapp (1900-1949) did he same for Bing Crosby for disc, and legendry film pioneer Adolph Zukor of Paramount Pictures, of course, for flicks. Of course Giddins covers trhe rest and we know the rest, which as they say is history-and as Paul Harvey says, we know the REST of the story. Neither a critic nor a out and out "groupie" as such, Mr.Giddins, a famed VILLAGE VOICE jazz writer, has interesting things about the material of the man, and his thoughts, which sadly DO condescend toward Rudy Vallee and Nick Lucas, and other stars ofthe late 1920s. (One wonders hwther Vallee OR Crosby were the first crooners..) I wait with baited breath for the NEXT volume. If you're like a lot of people who THINK that they know their Bing---i.e., MINUTE MAID orange juice guy, amiable family guy on 1960s variety shows, White XMAS, Road trips, rock star David Bowie duet-ter, Andrews Sisters partner (but at least THERE ya gotta give him cedibility if you're a one of the growing swing fans..)....be prepared..be surprised..be fascinated. Vol.II hopefully will be out thsi yeaer, but I can't promise anything...
Rating:
Summary: The First Part.
Review: Out of the Bing bio's I have read, which is quite a few, I would
have to have to say that Gary Giddins book "A Pocketful of Dreams - The Early Years 1903-1940" was the best I have read so far. The book is so full of information, very detailed, and you could tell it had a lot of research gone into it. The book contains at the start a great amount of detail on his family also, before him, etc. The confusion of the date of Crosby's birth was an interesting part of the book, and has been explained well. Giddins clearly loves the topic in subject, and he has written this brilliantly. He discusses more than just his personal life, he talks about the recordings, the movies, etc. Fully detailing everything. Its a long book, and worthwile for any Crosby fan to read. It comes with a complete discography and filmography of Crosby up to 1940, where the book ends. I also await the second volume, which I am looking forward to, and I am sure it will be just as good, or atleast close to the first part.
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