The Peggy Lee Bio-Discography's Picture Gallery:
Radio Collaborations With Bing Crosby
by Iván Santiago-Mercado

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Scope And Contents

This page focuses on albums which contain Peggy Lee performances taken from radio shows hosted by Bing Crosby. An album index can be found at the bottom of the page. (As for albums that consist of studio recordings by Crosby and Lee -- as opposed to radio material -- consult this page.)

I. MAIN PEGGY LEE - BING CROSBY RADIO ALBUMS




Album Covers Shown:

1. Title: It's A Good Day / Format: CD / Label: Parrot / Cat. Num.: (England) Parcd 001 / Rel. Year: 1992 / Tracks: 36

2. Title: I've Got A Crush On You / Format: CD / Label: Avid / Cat. Num.: (England) Avc 549 / Rel. Year: 1995 / Tracks: 25

3. Title: El Rancho Grande / Format: CD / Label: Sunflower / Cat. Num.: (England) Sun 2108 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Tracks: 23

4. Title: Just The Way You Are / Format: CD / Label: Sunflower / Cat. Num.: (England) Sun 2110 / Rel. Year: 2005 / Tracks: 20

General Note:
The four CDs listed above contain over 90% of Peggy Lee's commercially released performances from The Bing Crosby Show. The number of additional performances that have been commercially issued is less than 10. (Specifics on those "leftovers" are given below, in the notes at the bottom of the page.) Although these CDs share quite a few tracks, all four are indispensable, because each one has quite a few unique tracks as well. Even the collection with the most duplicates by far (El Rancho Grande) still has 6 numbers not found in any of the other three CDs. As for the three CDs and the cassette listed right under this paragraph, they contain only titles which can be found in the already discussed CDs. (However, two of them are worthwhile for their finer sound quality.)





Album Covers Shown:

5. Title: Bing Crosby With Ella Fitzgerald And Peggy Lee, Featuring Fred Astaire / Format: CD / Label: Avid / Cat. Num.: (England) Avc 624 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 25 + 36= 61 / Note: This 2CD set is a straight reissue of two CDs originally on Parrot Records: It's A Good Day (Parcd 001; #1 above) and My Happiness (Parcd 002, featuring Crosby with Ella Fitzgerald as his guest). The sound quality is slightly better than in the original Parrot issues. Incidentally, Parrott issued at least four more of these sets from The Bing Crosby Show, including the following ones: When You're Smiling (Parcd 003, with host Crosby in the company of guest Judy Garland) and Let Me Sing And I'm Happy (Parcd 004, with Al Jolson as Crosby's guest). These third and fourth Parrot issues were reissued by Avid in another 2CD set,, entitled Bing Crosby With Judy Garland And Al Jolson, with artwork very similar to the item under display. The fifth and sixth releases were both entitled Hollywood Guys And Gals, volumes 1 and 2, both credited to Crosby and "His Hollywood Guests." Those two volumes were also reissued as one CD by Avid (shown below, in section II).

6. Title: Peggy Lee ("The Essential Collection" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Avid / Cat. Num.: (England) Avc 876 / Rel. Year: 2007 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 57 / Note: This 2CD set is a Public Domain release whose second disc consists of Peggy Lee recordings from her Decca tenure. The first disc reissues the entire contents of #2 above -- in lesser sound quality, unfortunately. Also unfortunate is Avid's rather tacky artwork.




Album Cover Shown:

7. Title: Listen To The Magic / Format: CD / Label: President / Cat. Num.: (England) Plcd 550 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Tracks: 28 / Note: This CD combines Lee's performances from two sources. Of the 28 tracks, over 15 are taken from The Bing Crosby Show. The others were taken from The Uncollected Peggy Lee, an album on the Hindsight label. Almost all of the Bing Crosby Show tracks are sequenced right before the Hindsight tracks. Bearing in mind the source of this material (radio), this CD's sound quality is actually above average.



Other Relevant Album Covers, Not Shown Above:

8. Title: The Unforgettable Peggy Lee / Format: cassette / Label: Demand Performance - Legend / Cat. Num.: Dpc 707 / Rel. Year: 1985 / Tracks: 8 / Note: All tracks are Lee solo performances from The Bing Crosby Show.

II. ALBUMS THAT CONTAIN FULL EPISODES OF THE BING CROSBY SHOW, FEATURING PEGGY LEE




Album Covers Shown:

1. Title: Soundco Presents The Bing Crosby Show (Starring Bing Crosby, With Fred Allen & Peggy Lee) / Format: 8-track Cartridge / Label: Old Radio Shows / Cat. Num.: Ors 4 / Rel. Year: unknown / Contains one episode of The Bing Crosby Show, in which Lee does a solo performance ("A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes") and a duet with Crosby ("Sunshine Cake").

2a & 2b. Title: Bing's Beaus / Format: LP / Label: Flankenzudeutch Istanbul / Cat. Num.: (Germany) Mdtb 05 / Rel Year: unknown / Note: Contains two episodes of The Bing Crosby Show; Lee participates in one of them. She duets with Crosby in "Just The Way You Are" and does a solo version of "Would I Love You (Love You, Love You)." As can be seen herein, the humbly designed cover was issued in at least three different colors -- yellow, green and blue.

3. Title: Bing & Hoppy / Format: LP / Label: Critter-Jablon / Cat. Num.: Cbhc 8901 / Rel. Year: 1973 / Note: Contains two episodes of The Bing Crosby Show; Lee participates in one of them. She is heard both solo ("Orange-colored Sky") and in duets with Crosby ("Silver Bells," "A Bushel And A Peck").






Album Covers Shown:

4. Title: Having Fun; Bing & Louis / Format: CD / Label: Jazz Unlimited / Cat. Num.: (Denmark) Juccd 2034 / Rel. Year: 1997 / Tracks: 19 / Note: This CD contains almost the entire January 25, 1950 broadcast of The Bing Crosby Show. Included are Peggy Lee's solo "I'm Coming Virginia" and Crosby's three duets with guest Louis Armstrong. Left out is Crosby's one duet with Lee ("Sunshine Cake"). Moreover, this CD also contains two additional episodes in which Armstrong was also a guest, but in which Lee did not participate. (Besides Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald guests in one of those episodes, too.)

Incidentally, the label Jazz Unlimited released a sequel to Having Fun; Bing & Louis, aptly entitled Having More Fun!; Bing & Louis (Jucd 2035), in which Lee does not participate. (Instead of Lee and Fitzgerald, the female vocalists featured in the sequel are Dinah Shore and Toni Arden.) The covers of those two CD issues are identical except for their respective background colors (blue versus red). A second and more obvious difference is the presence or absence of the word "more" in the title.

5. Title: Bing And Louis; Having Fun / Format: CD / Label: Storyville / Cat. Num.: (Denmark) 1038405 / Rel. Year: 2007 / Volumes: 2 / Tracks: 44 / Note: This Storyville item is actually a twofer that reissues the pair of Jazz Unlimited CDs described in #4 above. According to various internet reviewers, its sound quality leaves a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, Storyville seems to have transferred some of the music at an unaceptably low speed. I have listened only to internet samples of this CD set. In those samples, Lee's "I'm Coming, Virginia" vocal (which happens to be among her very best from the Crosby shows) indeed sounds awfully slowed down, and thus unnatural. Notice also that, notwitstanding the personnel claims made in the back cover of this Storyville CD set, Peggy Lee does not appear in both discs, but only in the first.

6, 7 & 8. These three issues do not seem to contain any Peggy Lee vocals. They are included herein primarily for the purpose of clarifying any possible confusion with similar CDs which do feature Lee. Image #6 shows one of two LPs released by the American label Sounds Rare. Entitled Havin' Fun, it was released by Sounds Rare as Sr 5009, probably in the 1980s. Not shown herein is its sequel, More Fun (Sounds Great Sr 5010). I do not own either of these LPs, but I have received tentative information indicating that Lee's vocal is not heard in them. Those two LPs were reissued by the British label Jasmine, first on vinyl (image #7 shows one of them), later on CD (image #8). Released in 1997, this Jasmine CD is entitled Fun With Bing & Louis, 1949-1951 (Jascd 336).

In essence, we have two sets of issues with the same material (i.e., Bing Crosby broadcasts featuring Louis Armstrong) but the contents of one set are heavily abridged (#6, #7, #8). If we compare just the CDs, we find out that the Jasmine set (#8) contains 19 tracks, whereas the Unlimited and Storyville sets include 44 tracks.

Besides the above-described issues from Sounds Rare, Jazz Unlimited, Storyville, and Jasmine, there is a fifth alternative for the Armstrong-Crosby material, a 2004 boxed set entitled Swingin' With Bing. However, that set also falls outside of the purview of this discography, because -- rather annoyingly -- it skips all Peggy Lee tracks. (At least, it does include Crosby's solo version of the Peggy Lee lyric "It's A Good Day.")






Album Covers Shown:

9. Title: Bing Crosby With Peggy Lee, Jack Benny And Gary Cooper / Format: LP / Label: Black Lion / Cat. Num.: Blm 52033 / Rel. Year: 1983 / Note: Contains the Crosby-Lee duet "It Takes A Long, Long Train With A Red Caboose (To Carry My Blues Away)" and an ensemble performance of "Allá En El Rancho Grande."

10. Title: Hollywood Guys & Dolls / Format: CD / Label: Avid / Cat. Num.: / (England) Avc 626 / Rel. Year: 1999 / Volumes: 2 / Note: Contains "Allá En El Rancho Grande," with Crosby and Gary Cooper. Reissue of #13 below.

Related Issues, Not Shown Above:

11. Title: The Greatest Radio Broadcasts / Format: LP / Label: Bernard Fox's American Retrospectives / Cat. Num.: Mf 207 5 (419-422) / Rel. Year: 1978 / Volumes: 5 / Note: Released by arrangement with Bing Crosby Enterprises. Contains ten complete episodes of The Bing Crosby Show. Peggy Lee is heard in two episodes. She sings "For Sentimental Reasons" in one episode. The other episode is the same one from which the performances in items #9 and #10 above ("It Takes A Long, Long Train With A Red Caboose To Carry My Blues Away" and "Allá En El Rancho Grande") were taken, with guest Gary Cooper.

12. Title: Bing's Hollywood Party! / Format: CD / Label: HLC / Cat. Num.: Hlc 6644 / Rel. Year: 2000 / Note: Contains two numbers featuring Lee. One is the solo "It Takes A Long, Long Train With A Red Caboose," the other an ensemble performance of "Allá En El Rancho Grande" with Crosby and Gary Cooper. Believed to include the complete show.

13. Title: Hollywood Guys And Gals, Volume 2 / Format: CD / Label: Parrot / Cat. Num.: (England?) Parcd 006 / Rel. Year: 1994 / Note: Contains "Allá En El Rancho Grande," with Crosby and Gary Cooper. Reissued as #10 above; that reissue also includes volume 1 of the series. (Volume 1 does not feature Peggy Lee.)


Other Relevant Issues, Not Covered Above:

14. Title: On The Air; Bing Crosby & Peggy Lee / Format: CD / Label: HLC / Cat. Num.: Hlc 6649 / Rel. Year: 2000 / Note: Contains two complete episodes of The Bing Crosby Show, both in excellent sound quality. Sequenced first is an episode that was originally broadcast on December 29, 1948. Sequenced second is an episode originally broadcast on December 18, 1946. Peggy Lee participates in both shows, singing a total of five tracks: "Cuánto Le Gusta," I Got Lucky In The Rain," "Maybe You'll Be There," "It's All Over Now," and "Everything's Movin' Too Fast." Also included in the CD (as a bonus) is the Crosby - Lee duet "Boise, Idaho," which is not part of the two complete broadcasts. Curiously, this bonus track is advertised in the CD's front and back covers as a much sought after recording by fans of Bing and Peggy. The number is also identified as a previously unreleased song .... recorded at ABC Radio on Hollywood, CA on December 29, 1947 ... The original 78 rpm has been digitally restored and is presented for its historical significance. If correct, that recording date might have been taken from an acetate disc, or from the radio show's official paperwork. ("Boise, Idaho" was actually broadcast on the February 25, 1948 episode of Crosby's show.)

15. Title: Bing & Al, Volume 3 / Format: CD / Label: HLC / Cat. Num.: Hlc 6650 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Note: Presumed to contain complete episodes of The Bing Crosby Show in which Al Jolson was the featured guest. Said to contain two numbers sung by Peggy Lee from the show's February 8, 1950 episode, "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" and "Sunshine Cake." Since I have not seen a copy of this issue, I can only wonder why it includes those two tracks, neither one heard in episodes that had Jolson as a guest. My educated guess is that they were included as bonus tracks -- or that, otherwise, my information about the inclusion of such Lee tracks in this CD is erroneous.


  16. The no-longer-operating CDr mail company Redmond Nostalgia released quite a few 1946-1952 episodes of The Bing Crosby Show, many of them featuring Peggy Lee. Full   details will be found in this discography's Crosby radio sessions page, once it opens for viewing. (It is slated to do so in the spring of 2011.) Online sites that sell radio broadcasts on   MP3 files have also released a large quantity of these episodes.

III. MISCELLANEOUS ALBUMS WITH PEGGY LEE PERFORMANCES FROM THE BING CROSBY SHOW




Album Covers Shown:

1. Title: Crosby Classics / Format: CD / Label: Varese Sarabande / Cat. Num.: 066905 / Rel. Year: 2008 / Note: Legally licensed release, mastered from original tapes. Includes the duet "Down The Old Ox Road."

2. Title: A Crosby Christmas; Songs From His Classic Radio Broadcasts / Format: CD / Label: Varese Sarabande / Cat. Num.: 302 066 848 2 / Rel. Year: 2007 / Note: Legally licensed release, mastered from original tapes. Contains two duets, "Silver Bells" and "Here Comes Santa Claus."

3. Title: The Crosby Christmas Sessions / Format: CD / Label: Collectors' Choice / Cat. Num.: Ccm 2161 / Rel. Year: 2010 / Note: Legally licensed release, mastered from original tapes. Contains the duet "Here Comes Santa Claus."





Album Covers Shown:

4. Title: Bing's Magic / Format: LP / Label: Magic -Submarine / Cat. Num.: (England) Awe 1 / Rel. Year: 1980 / Note: (In this image, the photo seen next to the LP bears no relation to the album, nor to this discussion.) Peggy Lee is featured in the duet "Maybe You'll Be There" and in the numbers "What Is This Thing Called Love" and "Exactly Like You," both taken from a medley. The album's track listing erroneously lists Lee as duetting with Crosby on his solo "You Are Too Beautiful." Reissued as item #5 below.

5. Title: It's Magic / Format: LP & CD / Label: Submarine / Cat. Num.: (England) Dsoy 746 [CD] / Rel. Year: 1982 [LP] & 2007 [CD] / Volumes: 2 / Contains the Crosby-Lee duet "Maybe You'll Be There." Also includes the Lee solo "What Is This Thing Called Love?" and the duet "Exactly Like You," both segments from a medley in which the two vocalists alternate, singing now solo, now together. Digital reissue of item #4.

6. Title: Crosbyana / Format: LP / Label: Broadway Intermission / Cat. Num.: Br 111 / Rel. Year: unknown / Note: Lee and Crosby duet on "I Got Rhythm" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me," both excerpted from a medley of Gershwin songs.

7. Title: I Got Rhythm (Featuring Peggy Lee, Joe Venuti, Oscar Levant, Gloria Woods, The Rhythmaires) / Format: CD / Label: Sounds of YesterYear / Cat. Num.: (England) Dsoy 605 / Rel. Year: 2002 / Note: Digital reissue of item #8.

8. Title: Bing's Party / Format: LP / Label: Artistic / Cat. Num.: (England) 001 / Rel. Year: 1979 / Note: Peggy Lee and Bing Crosby sing a Gershwin medley, parts of it in duet, parts separately. They are heard together in " 'S Wonderful," " in "They Can't Take That Away From Me," and in "I Got Rhythm." Lee sings "I've Got A Crush On You" solo. Seemingly blue in the image shown above, the actual background coloring of this album color is light violet. (Or at least, my copy of the album sports that color; there is the possibility that the cover was pressed in different colors.) Reissued on CD as item #7.

9. Title: The Great Bing Crosby / Format: CD / Label: Rajon Music Group / Cat. Num.: R 0046 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Volumes: 2? / Note: Contains one number featuring Peggy Lee, in duet with Bing Crosby, "I Got Rhythm."





Album Covers Shown:

10. Title: Bing Crosby & Friends, Volume II / Format: CS & LP / Label: Magic - Submarine / Cat. Num.: (England) Cawe 10 & Awe 10 / Rel. Year: 1984 / Note: This volume II contains two duets with Peggy Lee, "Baby, You Can Count On Me" and "I Still Suits Me." As for volume 1 (catalogue number Awe 3 on LP), it does not feature Peggy Lee. Incidentally, some online reports suggest that volume 1 was issued on CD around 2001. I have caught no equivalent reports about volume 2.

11. Title: Bing Crosby & Friends / Format: CD / Label: Magic-Submarine (reissued by Sounds Of Yeasteryear) / Cat. Num.: (England) Dawe 3; resisued as Dsoy 752 / Volumes: 2 / Rel. Year: reissued 2008 / Note: Reissue of two volumes originally on Magic -Submarine. Same cover artwork as volume 1. Contains two duets with Peggy Lee, "Baby, You Can Count On Me" and "I Still Suits Me."





Album Covers Shown:
12. Title: The Early Bing Crosby Plus The Bing Crosby Show (With Jimmy Durante, Peggy Lee And The Rhythmaires) / Format: LP / Label: Ajaz / Cat. Num.: 526 / Note: Contains Peggy Lee's solo "Just An Old Love Of Mine."

13. Title: Al Jolson, Peggy Lee, At Their Rarest Of All Rare Performances / Format: LP / Label: Biac / Cat. Num.: (Belgium) Brad 10 530 / Rel. Year: 1976 / Volumes: 2 (Lee: 10531; Jolson: 10530) / Note: Contains 4 Peggy Lee solo performances from episodes of The Bing Crosby Show. They are "A Thousand Violins, "Way Back Home," "Sunshine Cake," and "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes. This LP set also includes five additional Lee performances, none of them from Crosby's show; see further details under Al Jolson entry, in this page.

14. Title: Bing Crosby’s All Star Chesterfield Show / Format: LP / Label: All-Star Products / Cat. Num.: Asp Lp 2000 / Note: Contains one Crosby-Lee due, a radio version of "The Moon Came Up With A Great Idea Last Night."

15. Title: Slightly Latin / Format: LP / Label: JGB Limited Edition Club / Cat. Num.: Jgb 1005 / Release Year: unknown / Note: Contains one number featuring Peggy Lee, "Baby, You Can Count On Me."





Album Covers Shown:

16. Title: Bing Swings / Format: CD / Label: Magic - Submarine / Cat. Num.: (England) Dawe 48 / Rel. Year: 1991 / Note: Contains the Lee-Crosby duets "You Was" and "Easter Parade."

17. Title: Live Duets, 1947-1949 / Format: CD / Label: Viper's Nest / Cat. Num.: Vn 1003 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Note: Contains three Crosby-Lee duets, "I Wanna Go Where You Go (Then I'll Be Happy)," "So In Love," and "Once And For Always."

18. Title: Great Moments With Bing Crosby And Friends, From The Radio Shows / Format: CS & CD / Label: On The Air - Blaricum / Cat. Num.: Ota 401978 & Ota 101978 / Volumes: 2 cassettes; 1 compact disc / Rel. Year: 1997 / Note: Contains the Crosby-lee duets "Maybe You'll Be There" and "I've Got A Crush On You." In the cassettes, "Maybe You'll Be There" appears in the first cassette (Ota 401978 1), "I've Got A Crush On You" in the second (Ota 409178 2).

19. Title: The Crosby Brothers; Bing & Bob / Format: CD / Label: Jasmine / Cat. Num.: (England) 651 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Volumes: 2 / Note: Contains a trio performance of "A Little Bird Told Me," featuring Lee in the company of brothers Bing and Bob Crosby.



Other Relevant Album Covers, Not Shown Above:

20. Title: Bing Crosby ("Legends In Music" Series, Volume 1) / Format: CD / Label: Legends-Wisepack / Cat. Num.: (England) Lecd 118 / Rel. Year: 1995 (approximately) / Contains one number featuring Peggy Lee, "Baby, You Can Count On Me."

21. Title: Bing Crosby ("Legends In Music" Series, Volume 2) / Format: CD / Label: Legends-Wisepack / Cat. Num.: (England) Lecd 119 / Rel. Year: 1995 (approximately) / Contains two numbers featuring Peggy Lee, "On A Slow Boat To China" and "Maybe You'll Be There."

22. Title: It's Magic / Format: CDr / Label: Gav Records / Cat. Num.: Gavcd 1003 / Rel. Year: unknown / Note: Contains a version of "Mañana" that Peggy Lee sang on The Bing Crosby Show. This item is from one of the various CDr companies that used to prepare Crosby CDrs. Those CDrs were carried just by some specialized record stores -- not everywhere.

23. Title: Glamour Stars Of Hollywood / Format: LP / Volumes: 2 / Label: Delta / Cat. Num.: (Germany) Da 50115 / Rel. Year: unknown / Note: Contains three Peggy Lee numbers from The Bing Crosby Show. One is her solo on "Golden Earrings." The others are duets with Crosby, misidentified as "Let's Go Back That Way" and "If You Would Ever Ask Me;" they probably are "Way Back Home" and "You Was." Unlike nearly all other items listed above, this is not an album credited to Bing Crosby, but a various artists compilation.

IV. GNP RECORDS, "CUÁNTO LE GUSTA," "ON A SLOW BOAT TO CHINA," AND "YOU CAME A LONG WAY FROM ST. LOUIS"




General Note:
Officially sanctioned by the Crosby estate, these GNP issues were responsible for disseminating a large number of radio performances from The Bing Crosby Show. Before the GNP releases, there had been a few other albums which contained the same radio numbers (see #5 - #10 below), but the ubiquity of the GNP pressings gave the material a degree of mainstream availability that it had not experienced before. Two of the radio performances were duets with Peggy Lee: "On A Slow Boat To China" and "Cuánto Le Gusta."


Album Covers Shown:

1a, 1b, 1c & 1d. Title: The Radio Years, Volume 2 / Format: 8-track & CS & LP / Label: GNP Crescendo / Cat. Num.: Gnps 9046 [same letter prefix in all configurations] / Rel. Year: 1985 / Note: Contains "On A Slow Boat To China." Image #1a shows the 8-track cartidge, image #1d the LP. The other two images display the cassette in its original GNP version (#1b) and in a special markets version (C 164297) pressed by GNP's distributor, RCA. There is also a RCA special markets version of the LP (R 164297).

2. Title: The Radio Years, Volume 4 / Format: CS & LP / Label: GNP Crescendo / Cat. Num.: Gnpcs 9048 [same letter prefix in all configurations] / Rel. Year: 1985 / Note: Includes "Cuánto Le Gusta" in the United States. There might also be an 8-track cartridge version of this volume, but I have yet to find confirmation of its existence.

The images already discussed show GNP's LP, cassette, and 8-track cartridge versions of The Radio Years, volumes 2 and 4. The images to be discusssed next (#3 and #4) display CD versions of the same material. Before moving on to those digital versions, I should clarify that, on LP and cassette, GNP also released The Radio Years, Volume 1 (Gnp 9044) and The Radio Years, Volume 3 (Gnp 9047). All four volumes in this GNP series feature the exact same photo of Crosby on their respective front covers, but differ in the color used as background (blue for the first volume, green for the third). In passing, it is also worth mentioning that all these GNP volumes receive widely varying release dates on the web, from 1987 to the late mid-1990s. However, the correct release year, found in the issues themselves (yet hardly ever on the web) is 1985. The variety of dates on the web may be an indication that these volumes were frequently reprinted.

3. Title: The Radio Years / Format: CD / Label: GNP Crescendo / Cat. Num.: Gnpd 9052 / Rel. Year: 1987 / Note: Contains both "On A Slow Boat To China" and "Cuánto Le Gusta." Although not identified as such in the cover, this is actually the second of two volumes. The first (catalogue number Gnpd 9051) bears an identical cover except for its violet background. It does not feature Peggy Lee.

4. Title: The Radio Years / Format: CD / Label: GNP Crescendo / Cat. Num.: Gnpbx 3012 / Rel. Year: 1987 [Apparently reissued or reprinted in 1990 and again in 2002] / Volumes: 2 / Note: A boxed digital version that holds all four original GNP volumes (or, same thing, both CDs mentioned in #3 above).





Album Covers Shown:

5. Title: The Murray Hill Radio Theatre Presents Bing Crosby And Friends / Format: LP / Label: Murray Hill / Cat. Num.: 894637 / Rel. Year: 1976 / Volumes: 4 / Note: Contains the duet "Cuánto Le Gusta." This might have been the premiere release of the radio material that would later be reissued on GNP, and that would eventually become widely disseminated. According to the liner notes, "[t]he producers of this album commemorating Bing Crosby's 50th year as an entertainer non pareil spent more than a year of research in order to make every selection worthy of such a tribute. And they are! The master tapes for these recordings are from Bing's personal archives and most of the performances have never been on phonograph records before. And if the performances are rare, so too is the fidelity and clarity for Bing's radio shows, like only a few other productions, were the first ever recorded on tape."

6. Title: HRB Music Proudly Presents Bing Crosby And Friends, On His 50th Anniversary In Show Biz / Format: LP / Label: HRB Music [also CMI] / Cat. Num.: Bcp 1001 [also V6 8420] / Rel. Year: 1977 / Note: Contains one track featuring Peggy Lee, "Cuánto Le Gusta." The available information about this 4LP box is confusing. It seems to be an authorized issue. Also, the date at hand suggests that it might have been released twice, each time on a different label.

7. Title: One Hour From The Bing Crosby Radio Shows / Format: LP / Label: Golden Age / Cat. Num.: Ga 5023 / Rel. Year: 1978 / Note: Contains the duet "Cuánto Le Gusta." I do not know if this is an authorized issue.





Album Covers Shown:

8. Title: Bing Crosby Radio Show / Format: LP / Label: MCA Victor / Cat. Num.: 9301 4 / Rel. Year: 1977 / Volumes: 4 / Note: Contains one performance featuring Peggy Lee, the duet "Cuánto Le Gusta."

9. Title: The Golden Age Of American Radio, Starring Bing Crosby / Format: LP / Label: United Artists / Cat. Num.: Uak 30115 / Rel. Year: 1978 / Note: Contains one performance featuring Peggy Lee, the duet "On A Slow Boat To China."

10. Title: Bing Sings Again / Format: LP / Label: Reader's Digest / Cat. Num.: Rda 4 138 / Rel. Year: 1980 / Volumes: 8 / Note: Contains the duet "On A Slow Boat To China." This issue may have been released in an earlier version, too, as a 4-LP set with catalogue number Rd4 138.

11. Title: The Radio Years; Authorized Archive Recordings / Format: CD / GNP Crescendo / Cat. Num.: (Japan) 240E 6848 / Rel. Year: 1988 / Note: Contains one performance featuring Peggy Lee, the duet "On A Slow Boat To China."



General Note:
After GNP made the above-discussed radio performance widely available in 1985 and in the years that followed, many bootleg and Public Domain labels proceeded to appropriate and re-released them. Below are the PD issues (#11 - #18) which I know to contain either of the two Crosby-Lee duets previously issued on GNP and on a few other legitimate labels. Most likely, these two performances have also been included on yet other PD issues, of which I am currently unaware. Notice that a third Crosby-Lee performances, "You Came A Long Way From St. Louis" appears in some of these PD collections, too. As far as I know, that third duet is not found in any of the GNP issues; thus I am left to wonder what was the original source from which the PD labels appropriated it.







Album Covers Shown:

12. Title: Bing Crosby On Radio In The Thirties; The Radio Years / Format: CD / Label: Radio Years - Enterprise / Cat. Num.: Ry 18 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Note: Online details about this issue are confusing. It may be that the issue actually consists of two CDs, and that in some sites only the first volume is being reviewed. If such is the case, the one track in which Lee is featured ("Cuánto Le Gusta," which was not recorded in the 1930s) would presumably be in the second volume. It's likelier, however, that the online sites in question are erroneously showing under this title the tracks of another CD. (Mistakes of this kind are not a rare occurrence in the internet.)

13. Title: The Radio Years / Format: CD / Label: Pickwick International's Hallmark / Cat. Num.: (England) Halmcd 303372 / Rel. Year: 1996 / Note: Contains the duets "On A Slow Boat To China" and "You Came A Long Way From St. Louis."

14. Title: The Old Groaner, Volume 1 / Format: CD / Label: ABM / Cat. Num.: (England) Abmmcd 1028 / Rel. Year: 1999 / Note: Contains the duets "On A Slow Boat To China" and "Cuánto Le Gusta."

15. Title: Duets ("Cocktail Hour" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Columbia River - Allegro / Cat. Num.: Crg 218058 / Rel. Year: 2001 / Note: Contains the duets "You Came A Long Way From St. Louis" and "On A Slow Boat To China."

16. Title: Duets / Format: CD / Label: Grammercy / Cat. Num.: unknown / Rel. Year: 2003 / Note: Contains the duets "On A Slow Boat To China" and "Cuánto Le Gusta."

17. Title: Bing And His Gal Pals / Format: CD / Label: Riff City Entertainment / Cat. Num.: Cdprga 50290 / Rel. Year: 2004 / Note: Contains three duets with Peggy Lee: "On A Slow Boat To China," "Cuánto Le Gusta," and "You Came A Long Way From St. Louis."

18. Title: Bing Crosby ("The Essential Collection - Westend" Series) / Format: CD / Label: Avid / Cat. Num.: (England) Avc 867 / Rel. Year: 2004 / Volumes: 2 / Note: Contains the duet "Cuánto Le Gusta."

19. Title: Bing Crosby & His Friends / Format: MP3 / Label: Hallmark / Cat. Num.: (England) __ / Rel. Year: 2011 / Volumes: 4 / Note: MP3 labels and PD CD labels of poor quality have of course continued using the Crosby and Lee material. This Hallmark MP3 file contain "Cuánto Le Gusta."

Index

The following alphabetical list includes every relevant album whose image is displayed in this page. To find a given album's location herein, use as your guideline the Roman numeral that follows each title.

At Their Rarest Of All Rare Performances {Al Jolson, Peggy Lee}: III
Bing Crosby Radio Show: IV
Bing And His Gal Pals: IV
Bing And Louis; Having Fun [Storyville]: II
Bing Crosby ("The Essential Collection - Westend" Series): IV
Bing Crosby & Friends [Submarine]: III
Bing Crosby & Friends, Volume II [Submarine]: III
Bing Crosby & His Friends [Hallmark]: IV
Bing Crosby On Radio In The Thirties; The Radio Years: IV
Bing Crosby Radio Show: IV
Bing Crosby With Ella Fitzgerald And Peggy Lee, Featuring Fred Astaire: I
Bing Crosby With Peggy Lee, Jack Benny And Gary Cooper: II
Bing Crosby’s All Star Chesterfield Show: III
Bing & Hoppy: II
Bing Sings Again: IV
Bing Swings: III
Bing's Beaus {Tallulah Bankhead, Marlene Dietrich}: II
Bing's Party: III
Crosby Christmas, A; Songs From His Classic Radio Broadcasts: III
Crosby Christmas Sessions, The: III
Crosby Classics: III
Crosbyana: III
Crosby Brothers, The; Bing & Bob: III
Duets [Grammercy]: IV
Duets ("Cocktail Hour" Series) {Bing Crosby}: IV
Early Bing Crosby Plus The Bing Crosby Show, The: III
Fun With Bing & Louis, 1949-1951 [Jasmine; no Peggy Lee tracks]: II
El Rancho Grande {Bing Crosby & Peggy Lee}: I
Golden Age Of American Radio, Starring Bing Crosby, The: IV
Great Bing Crosby, The: III
Great Moments With Bing Crosby And Friends, From The Radio Shows: III
Having Fun; Bing & Louis [Jazz Unlimited]: II
Hollywood Guys & Dolls {Bing Crosby}: II
HRB Music Proudly Presents Bing Crosby And Friends, On His 50th Anniversary In Show Biz: IV
It's A Good Day {Bing Crosby & Peggy Lee}: I
I Got Rhythm {Bing Crosby}: III
It's Magic {Bing Crosby}: III
I've Got A Crush On You {Bing Crosby & Peggy Lee}: I
Just The Way You Are {Bing Crosby & Peggy Lee}: I
Listen To The Magic {Peggy Lee}: I
Live Duets, 1947-1949 {Bing Crosby}: III
Murray Hill Radio Theatre Presents Bing Crosby And Friends, The: IV
Old Groaner, Volume 1, The {Bing Crosby}: IV
One Hour From The Bing Crosby Radio Shows: IV
Peggy Lee ("The Essential Collection" Series): I
Radio Years, The; Authorized Archive Recordings {Bing Crosby}: IV
Radio Years, The [GNP Crescendo] {Bing Crosby}: IV
Radio Years, The [Hallmark] {Bing Crosby}: IV
Radio Years, Volume 2, The {Bing Crosby}: IV
Redmond Nostalgia Releases: IV
Slightly Latin {Bing Crosby}: III
Soundco Presents The Bing Crosby Show (Starring Bing Crosby, With Fred Allen & Peggy Lee): II


Scope And Completeness

The present page focuses on radio performances from The Bing Crosby Show. Please notice that there is also a separate page for Peggy Lee's collaborations with Bing Crosby in the recording studio.


Collectors' Corner: Peggy Lee's Complete Performances From The Bing Crosby Show

In the first section of this page, I highlighted four CDs that contain over 90% of the Peggy Lee performances from The Bing Crosby Show that are commercially available. Here is a list of the remaining performances -- the ones not included in the four CDs -- accompanied by the titles of the issues in which they can be found:

If you are interested in collecting the remaining 10%, you will need to obtain the following issues:

Performance: "Boise, Idaho"
Available on: On The Air; Bing Crosby & Peggy Lee (Label: HLC)

Performance: "Down The Old Ox Road"
Available on: Crosby Classics (Label: Varese Sarabande)

Performance: "Here Comes Santa Claus"
Available on: A Crosby Christmas; Songs From His Classic Radio Broadcasts (Label: Varese Sarabande) and also on The Crosby Christmas Sessions (Label: Collectors' Choice)

Performance: "A Little Birdie Told Me So" [this is a trio version, different from the duo version found in one of the main CDs]
Available on: The Crosby Brothers; Bing & Bob (Label: Jasmine)

Performance: "The Moon Came Up With A Great Idea Last Night"
Available on: Bing Crosby’s All Star Chesterfield Show (Label: All-Star Products)

Performance: "Silver Bells"
Available on: A Crosby Christmas; Songs From His Classic Radio Broadcasts (Label: Varese Sarabande) and also on Bing & Hoppy (Label: Critter-Jablon)

Performance: "'S Wonderful"
Available on: Bing's Party (Label: Artistic) and also on I Got Rhythm (Label: Sounds Of Yesteryear)

Performance: "You Was"
Available on: Bing Swings (Label: Magic-Submarine) and also on Glamour Stars Of Hollywood (Label: Delta)


Please notice that we have been discussing commercially issued material only. Many additional Lee performances from The Bing Crosby Show remain commercially unissued; those will be listed in the Bing Cosby page of the sessionography, which is currently under construction.

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