Bing Crosby by Gary Giddins audiobook

Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams; The Early Years, 1903–1940

By Gary Giddins
Read by Edward Lewis

Blackstone Publishing 9780316881883
22.24 Hours 1
Format : Digital Download (In Stock)
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From 1934 to 1954, Bing Crosby utterly dominated American entertainment. The number one movie star for five years in a row, he had more hit records than anyone in history. The rise of Bing Crosby was the rise of the American popular culture itself. In this commanding biography, eminent cultural critic Gary Giddins takes us on the remarkable journey that brought a provincial young law student from Spokane to the pinnacle of the entertainment world. Giddins chronicles Crosby's rise from vaudeville to Paul Whiteman's orchestra on to vast success in Hollywood, from his courtship of the beautiful and tragic Dixie Lee to his triumph as the sportsman who created the first celebrity pro-am golf tournament and helped build the Del Mar racetrack. Giddins reclaims Crosby's central role in American cultural history.

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Summary

Summary

One of the 2001 New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books for Nonfiction

From 1934 to 1954, Bing Crosby utterly dominated American entertainment. The number one movie star for five years in a row, he had more hit records than anyone in history. The rise of Bing Crosby was the rise of the American popular culture itself.

In this commanding biography, eminent cultural critic Gary Giddins takes us on the remarkable journey that brought a provincial young law student from Spokane to the pinnacle of the entertainment world. Giddins chronicles Crosby's rise from vaudeville to Paul Whiteman's orchestra on to vast success in Hollywood, from his courtship of the beautiful and tragic Dixie Lee to his triumph as the sportsman who created the first celebrity pro-am golf tournament and helped build the Del Mar racetrack. Giddins reclaims Crosby's central role in American cultural history.

Editorial Reviews

Editorial Reviews

“Those of us who have been waiting all these years to learn everything there is to know about Crosby can only be grateful.” New York Times Book Review
“The author’s boundless but utterly clear-eyed enthusiasm for his subject is contagious.” People
“He represses his style to a degree, as if to clear the decks for Crosby’s own remarkable story.” New York Newsday
“Giddins has done his work diligently…proves himself an alert…commentator.” Los Angeles Times
“An unusually detailed look at a life that was thought to be highly public.” San Diego Union Tribune
“An amazing job of rehabilitating Crosby’s record.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Reviews

Reviews

Author

Author Bio: Gary Giddins

Author Bio: Gary Giddins

Gary Giddins was a long-time columnist for the Village Voice and is a preeminent jazz critic who received the 1998 National Book Critics Circle Award, the Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award, and the Bell Atlantic Award for Visions of Jazz: The First Century. His other books include Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams—The Early Years, 1903–1940, which won the Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award and the ARSC Award for Excellence in Historical Sound Research; Weatherbird: Jazz at the Dawn of Its Second Century; Faces in the Crowd; Natural Selection; and biographies of Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker. He has won an unparalleled six ASCAP–Deems Taylor Awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Peabody Award in Broadcasting.

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Details

Details

Available Formats : Digital Download, Digital Rental, MP3 CD
Category: Nonfiction/Biography & Autobiography
Runtime: 22.24
Audience: Adult
Language: English