Showing 372 results

Authority record

Crosby, Bing, 1903-1977

  • LC50018853
  • Person
  • 1903-05-03 - 1977-10-14

Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. was an American singer, actor, and entrepreneur who remains one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. Crosby's career spanned almost 50 years, and in that time he recorded almost 400 charting singles, among which 41 reached #1—actually 43, since “White Christmas” reached #1 in 1945 and 1947 as well as 1942 (its original release). His most common recording partners were the Andrews Sisters, and onscreen he appeared in multiple films with Bob Hope.
Hope was born in Spokane, Washington. He got his famous nickname, Bing, at about age 7, from a parody hillbilly newsletter in the local paper. Although he graduated from high school and attended Gonzaga University, he never graduated. Instead, he sang in a series of singing groups and bands through the early 1920s until he and friend Al Rinker decided to try their fortunes in Los Angeles in 1925. In 1926, both were hired to sing with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. Touring with the band and his own singing group, The Rhythm Boys, cemented Crosby's reputation and eventually led to a solo recording contract with Brunswick and a weekly radio show with CBS. Crosby made his national broadcast debut in September 1931. Fame quickly followed.
Crosby would appear in his first full-length film, "The Big Broadcast", in 1932. He signed a recording contract with the brand-new company Decca, who he would remain with for much of his career, in 1934. In 1936 he became the host of NBC's "Kraft Music Hall", a post he would hold for the next decade. Crosby was one of the first singers to take advantage of the invention of the microphone, which enabled him to "croon" instead of "belt" and set the musical standard for the stars that followed him: Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin, among many others. As with many other singers of the era, Crosby toured extensively entertaining American troops during World War II. In 1942, Crosby starred in the movie "Holiday Inn" and recorded the song that still stands as the best-selling single of all time: "White Christmas". The song was issued and reissued so many times that Crosby had to rerecord it in 1947, as the original master had been damaged from repeated additional pressings.
In the 1950s and '60s Crosby continued to record and act, and appeared on nearly all of the television music variety programs of the era. He also changed the face of both radio and television broadcasting by, first in one medium and then the other, insisting on being able to pre-record his performances at times when each medium was typically performed live. As an avid investor in recording technology, Crosby appreciated and understood the value of being able to edit his performances to improve their quality. He pushed his contract studios to invest in the latest sound equipment and recording technology, particularly magnetic tape recorders, and his production studio pioneered many editing techniques that would be come industry standards.
Crosby died suddenly from a heart attack at the age of 74.

Wilk, Max

  • LC50017312
  • Person
  • 1920-07-03 - 2011-02-19

Garland, Judy

  • LC50015080
  • Person
  • 1922-06-10 - 1969-06-22

Beiderbecke, Bix, 1903-1931

  • LC50006777
  • Person
  • 1903-03-10 - 1931-08-06

Bix Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist who was an outstanding improviser and composer of the 1920s. He played with a distinctive tone and strikingly original improvisational style. He is considered the first major white jazz soloist. Beiderbecke’s only competitor among cornetists in the 1920s was Louis Armstrong, but the two cannot be compared due to their different styles and sounds.
Bix was born March 10, 1903 in Davenport, Iowa. His mother was a musician who played piano and was the organist for the First Presbyterian Church. Bix was a bit of a child prodigy, picking out tunes on the piano when he was three years old. While he had formal training in piano, he taught himself the cornet largely by ear, which led him to adopt a non-standard fingering some critics have connected to his original sound. Bix attended Davenport High School from 1918 to 1921, during which time he sat in and played professionally with various bands. His parents disapproved of his playing music so in 1921 they enrolled him in the exclusive Lake Forest Academy, just north of Chicago. However, his interest in music remained and he often visited Chicago to listen to jazz bands in night clubs and speakeasies. He was ultimately expelled from school and returned to Davenport in 1923.
That same year Bix joined the Wolverine Orchestra and recorded with them later the following year. In late 1924 Bix left the Wolverines to join Jean Goldkette’s Orchestra, but his inability to read sheet music resulted in him eventually losing the job. In 1926 he played with Frankie Trumbauer’s Orchestra with whom he recorded “In a Mist.” In 1927 Bix joined the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, which was the highest paid dance band of the 1920s. Bix played on four hit records, all under the Whiteman name: “Together,” “Ramona,” “My Angel,” and “Ol’ Man River,” which featured Bing Crosby on vocals. Bix made his greatest recordings in 1927; he helped define the jazz ballad with his solos on “Singin’ the Blues” and “I’m Coming, Virginia”. “In a Mist” (1927), one of a handful of his piano compositions and the only one he ever recorded, was a solo masterpiece that fused jazz with classical influences.
For Bix, the downside of being with Whiteman was the relentless touring and recording schedule, which exacerbated his lifelong troubles with alcohol. On November 30, 1928, while on tour in Cleveland, Bix suffered what was termed a “nervous crisis”; but it has been suggested that it was actually an acute attack of delirium tremens brought about by Bix’s attempt to curb his alcohol intake. Bix returned to Davenport in February 1929 to convalesce and Whiteman famously kept Bix’s chair open in his honor, hoping he would return.
Bix returned to New York in January 1930 but was never the same again. He did not rejoin the Whiteman Orchestra and performed only sparingly. On his last recording session in September 1930, Bix played on the original recording of Hoagy Carmichael’s new song, “Georgia on My Mind,” which would go on to become a jazz and popular music standard. He lived the rest of his life in a rooming house in Queens, New York, where he was known to drink heavily while composing his solo piano pieces, “Candlelight,” “Flashes,” and “In the Dark,” none of which he ever recorded. He died at age 28 on August 6, 1931 as the result of an alcoholic seizure.

Faye, Alice

  • LC50003081
  • Person
  • 1915-05-05 - 1998-05-09

Alice Faye (May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was a successful musical film star before walking off the lot of Fox Studios to focus on her personal life. Born Alice Jean Leppert in New York City, Faye began her career as a chorus girl before finding a spot in George White’s Scandals of 1931, a Broadway show in which Rudy Vallée starred. Vallée later hired her as a singer on his radio show. In 1934, she moved to film when Fox Studios turned the George White’s Scandals of 1931 into a movie and hired her to play Vallée’s love interest. Over the next eleven years, Faye showcased her warm contralto voice in over 30 films, mostly plotless, lighthearted entertainment. She was a favorite of Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Cole Porter, and introduced more songs to the Hit Parade than any other female Hollywood movie star. In 1945, Faye accepted a dramatic lead role in Fallen Angel; however, the final version emphasized Fox Studio’s new protégé Linda Darnell rather than Faye. She left the studio and did not return for seventeen years.

Armstrong, Louis, 1901 - 1971

  • LC50001506
  • Person
  • 1901-08-04 - 1971-07-06

Louis Armstrong was an American trumpet player and is considered one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time. Born and raised in New Orleans, as a child Armstrong worked for a local Jewish family, the Karnoffskys; they encouraged his interest in music, and as an adult Armstrong often spoke and wrote about their generosity. The first instrument he learned to play was the cornet, imitating performances by ear and receiving only a little formal training. By the time he was an adult, he was playing both cornet and trumpet on the riverboats that traveled up and down the Mississippi. It was during those years that he learned to sightread music and use written arrangements rather than playing entirely from memory, although he continued to improvise as well.
Armstrong moved to Chicago in the early 1920s, becoming an integral part of the city's jazz scene and issuing his first recordings. He moved to New York briefly in 1924 to play trumpet with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra before returning to Chicago. There he produced a series of recording with his "Hot Five" and "Hot Seven" (the Hot Five plus a drummer and a tuba). In 1929 he went back to New York to play in the all-black musical revue "Hot Chocolates". He spent much of the Great Depression touring both the United States and Europe before finally settling in New York.
Through the 1940s and '50s Armstrong recorded, toured, and acted almost continuously. He was an internationally recognized figure and traveled all over the world. In 1959 he suffered a heart attack, but he eventually recovered and in 1964 recorded the song "Hello, Dolly!". The song reached number one on the charts, displacing the Beatles for a time and making Armstrong the oldest person ever to have a number one hit. By the end of the 1960s, however, his failing health forced him to stop touring. He died of a heart attack barely a month before his 70th birthday.

Kostelanetz, Andre

  • LC2012035308
  • Person
  • 1901-12-22 - 1980-01-13

Andre Kostelanetz (1901-1980) was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He was a conductor and arranger, known for arranging and recording classical music for mass audiences. Kostelanetz pioneered microphone techniques still used today. He was married three times and had no children.

Lloyd, David

  • LC2011090811
  • Person
  • 1934-07-07 - 2009-11-10

Kennedy, Bob

  • LC2008153153
  • Person
  • 1922 - 2008-06-26

Andrews, LaVerne, 1911 - 1967.

  • LC2008129501
  • Person
  • 1911-07-06 - 1967-05-08

LaVerne Andrews was the oldest of the three Andrews sisters, the founder of the group, and usually sang the lowest harmony part in the trio. She died after a prolonged battle with cancer at the age of 55.

Kahn, Donald, 1918-2008

  • LC2008127545
  • Person
  • 1918-07-17 - 2008-04-11

Donald Gustav Kahn (July 17, 1918—April 11, 2008), the only son of Gus and Grace LeBoy Kahn, was born in Chicago during the early phase of his father’s songwriting career. He realized as a five-year old that he wanted to follow in his father’s musical footsteps, but as a composer and arranger, not a lyricist. Donald studied music at Pomona College and served in the Air Force during World War II. In 1956, he collaborated with noted lyricist Stanley Styne to create his most popular work, “A Beautiful Friendship.” The song was recorded by a number of artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Margaret Whiting, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole. In the 1970s, Donald wrote music for Sesame Street. Although he labored in the shadow of his father, he worked tirelessly to keep his father’s legacy alive and was a strong proponent for Whoopee!, a 1990s revival of Whoopee.

Staiger, Libi

  • LC2007035169
  • Person
  • 1928-01-10 - 2019-09-25

Hope, Dolores

  • LC2006038770
  • Person
  • 1909-05-27 - 2011-09-19
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