Ballad For Americans (album)
   HOME
*





Ballad For Americans (album)
''Ballad for Americans'' is a studio album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby released in 1940 featuring the popular "Ballad for Americans" sung by Crosby in an American-type patriotic style. In 1946, the two records in this album were put into a new album called '' What We So Proudly Hail''. This was Crosby's first studio album that was not a reissue of earlier singles. Reception Crosby biographer Gary Giddins discussed the recording in his book ''Bing Crosby, A Pocketful of Dreams, The Early Years, 1903-1940'': :Bing did not approach the project lightly. He studied the work before the session, and his concentration in the studio was painstaking; everything had to be right. In contrast to his usual speed (five tunes in two hours, rarely more than two takes), he devoted an hour to each of the four segments. If the reviews were not overtly political, political righteousness fueled the cheers of latecomers to the world of popular music. "Bing Crosby came of age, musically speaking ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. He made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. His early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed, such as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Dick Haymes, Elvis Presley, and John Lennon. ''Yank'' magazine said that he was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. In 1948, ''Music Digest'' estimated that his recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hou ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


What We So Proudly Hail
''What So Proudly We Hail'' is a compilation album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby released in 1946 featuring songs that were sung by Crosby in an American-type patriotic style. This album featured Bing singing patriotic songs such as: "Ballad for Americans", "God Bless America" and "The Star-Spangled Banner". The songs were later presented in a 33 1/3 rpm split set with ''The Man Without a Country''. Background to "Ballad for Americans" recording Crosby did not approach the project lightly. He studied the work before the session, and his concentration in the studio was intense. Usually, Crosby would record up to five tunes in two hours or so, rarely taking more than two takes, but with "Ballad for Americans", he devoted an hour to each of the four segments. New York Post critic Michael Levin wrote: :This is the finest recorded performance Bing had done to date and shows that in the last few years he has gone beyond binging and has really learned how to sing. Levin made a ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Bing Crosby Albums
Bing most often refers to: * Bing Crosby (1903–1977), American singer * Microsoft Bing, a web search engine Bing may also refer to: Food and drink * Bing (bread), a Chinese flatbread * Bing (soft drink), a UK brand * Bing cherry, a variety of cherry * Twin Bing or Bing, a candy made by Palmer Candy Company Names * Bing (surname), a German-language surname * Bing (Chinese surname) (邴), a Chinese surname Places * Bing Prefecture, an ancient Chinese province * Bing, Hormozgan, a village in Hormozgan Province, Iran * Binag, Sistan and Baluchestan, a village in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran * Manor of Byng, Suffolk, England Television * ''Bing'' (TV series), a British children's television series *Bada Bing or the Bing, a fictional strip club in ''The Sopranos'' * Bing or Evan Chambers, a character in ''Greek'' Other uses * Bing (company), a German company that manufactured toys and kitchen utensils * Bing (dog), a British dog who served in World War II * Bing (m ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Victor Young
Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to have been born in Chicago on August 8, 1900, but according to Census data and his birth certificate, his birth year is 1899. His grave marker shows his birth year as 1901. He was born into a very musical Jewish family, his father being a tenor with Joseph Sheehan's touring opera company. After his mother died, his father abandoned the family. The young Victor, who had begun playing violin at the age of six, and was sent to Poland when he was ten to stay with his grandfather and study at Warsaw Imperial Conservatory (his teacher was Polish composer Roman Statkowski), achieving the Diploma of Merit. He studied the piano with Isidor Philipp of the Paris Conservatory. While still a teenager he embarked on a career as a concert violinist with th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Ken Darby
Kenneth Lorin Darby (May 13, 1909 – January 24, 1992) was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. He provided vocals for the Munchkinland mayor in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939), who was portrayed in the film by Charlie Becker. Darby is also notable as the author of ''The Brownstone House of Nero Wolfe'' (1983), a biography of the home of Rex Stout's fictional detective. Personal life Kenneth Lorin Darby was born in Hebron, Nebraska, on May 13, 1909, to Lorin Edward Darby and Clara Alice Powell.Cook, Page, prelude to Ken Darby's ''Hollywood Holyland: The Filming and Scoring of 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' ''. Metuchen, New Jersey : Scarecrow Press, 1992 pp. xiii–xxx Darby was married to Vera Matson from 1932 to his death in 1992. Career Ken Darby's choral group, The Ken Darby Singers, sang backup for Bing Crosby on the original 1942 Decca Records ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Earl Robinson
Earl Hawley Robinson (July 2, 1910 – July 20, 1991) was a composer, arranger and folk music singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington. Robinson is remembered for his music, including the cantata "Ballad for Americans" and songs such as " Joe Hill" and "Black and White", which expressed his left-leaning political views. He wrote many popular songs and music for Hollywood films, including his collaboration with Lewis Allan on the 1940s hit "The House I Live In" from the Academy Award winning film of the same name. He was a member of the Communist Party from the 1930s to the 1950s. The jazz clarinetist Perry Robinson (19382018) was his son. Career in music Robinson studied violin, viola and piano as a child, and studied composition at the University of Washington, receiving a BM and teaching certificate in 1933. In 1934 he moved to New York City where he studied with Hanns Eisler and Aaron Copland. He was also involved with the depression-era WPA Federal Theatre Project, and ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


John La Touche (lyricist)
John Treville Latouche (La Touche) (November 13, 1914, Baltimore, Maryland – August 7, 1956, Calais, Vermont) was a lyricist and bookwriter in American musical theater. Biography John Treville Latouche was born in Baltimore, Maryland. His family moved to Richmond, Virginia, when he was four months old. There he attended school, before going north to Columbia University. He became involved in music and theater, writing for the Varsity Show and joining the Philolexian Society. He did not graduate. In 1937 Latouche contributed two songs in the revue '' Pins and Needles''. For the show ''Sing For Your Supper'' (1939), he wrote the lyrics for "Ballad for Uncle Sam", later retitled "Ballad for Americans", with music by Earl Robinson. It was featured at both the 1940 Republican Convention and the convention of the American Communist Party, and was extremely popular in 1940s America. This 13-minute cantata to American democracy was written for a soloist and as well a full orches ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his political stances. In 1915, Robeson won an academic scholarship to Rutgers College. While at Rutgers, he was twice named a consensus All-American in football and was the class valedictorian. He received his LL.B. from Columbia Law School while playing in the National Football League (NFL). After graduation, he became a figure in the Harlem Renaissance with performances in ''The Emperor Jones'' and '' All God's Chillun Got Wings''. Robeson performed in Britain in a touring melodrama, ''Voodoo'', in 1922, and in ''Emperor Jones'' in 1925. In 1928, he scored a major success in the London premiere of ''Show Boat''. Living in London for several years with his wife Eslanda, Robeson continued to establish himself as a concert artist and starred ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Gary Giddins
Gary Giddins is an American jazz critic and author. He wrote for ''The Village Voice'' from 1973; his "Weather Bird" column ended in 2003. In 1986 Gary Giddins and John Lewis created the American Jazz Orchestra which presented concerts using a jazz repertory with musicians such as Tony Bennett. For five years, Giddins was the executive director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Selected works Books *''Riding on a Blue Note'' (1981) *''Rhythm-a-ning'' (1985) *''Celebrating Bird'' (1987) *''Satchmo'' (1988) *''Faces in the Crowd'' (1992) *''Visions of Jazz: The First Century'' (1998) *''Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams - The Early Years, 1903-1940'' (2001) *''Weather Bird'' (2004) *''Natural Selection'' (2006) *''Jazz'' (2009) *''Warning Shadows: Home Alone with Classic Cinema'' (2010) *''Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star - The War Years, 1940-1946'' (2018) Films *1987 ''Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Ballad For Americans
"Ballad for Americans" (1939), originally titled "The Ballad for Uncle Sam", is an American patriotic cantata with lyrics by John La Touche and music by Earl Robinson. It was written for the Federal Theatre Project production, ''Sing for Your Supper'' that opened on April 24, 1939. Congress abolished the project on June 30, 1939. The "Ballad of Uncle Sam" had been performed 60 times. Producer Norman Corwin then had Robinson sing "Ballad of Uncle Sam" for the CBS brass. CBS was impressed and hired Paul Robeson to perform the song. Corwin retitled the song "Ballad for Americans". Robeson and Robinson rehearsed for a week. On Sunday, November 5, 1939, on the 4:30 pm CBS radio show ''The Pursuit of Happiness'', Robeson sang "Ballad for Americans". Norman Corwin produced and directed, Mark Warnow conducted, Ralph Wilkinson did the orchestration (in Robeson's key), and Lyn Murray handled the chorus. Robeson subsequently began to perform the song, beginning with a repeat ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Traditional Pop
Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western culture, Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards or American standards. The works of these songwriters and composers are usually considered part of the canon known as the "Great American Songbook". More generally, the term "Standard (music), standard" can be applied to any popular song that has become very widely known within mainstream culture. AllMusic defines traditional pop as "post-big band and pre-rock & roll pop music". Origins Classic pop includes the song output of the Broadway theatre, Broadway, Tin Pan Alley, and Hollywood show tune writers from approximately World War I to the 1950s, such as Irving Berlin, Frederick Loewe, Victor Herbert, Harry Warren, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammer ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




1940 In Music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1940. Specific locations * 1940 in British music * 1940 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1940 in country music * 1940 in jazz Events * January 30 – Soprano Sophie Wyss gives the first complete performance of Benjamin Britten's ''Les Illuminations'', with Boyd Neel conducting his Orchestra at the Wigmore Hall, London. * February 24 – Frances Langford records ''When You Wish Upon a Star'' *March 28 – Antonio Brosa gives the first performance of Britten's Violin Concerto with the New York Philharmonic conducted by John Barbirolli in Carnegie Hall, New York. *April 26 – Woody Guthrie records most of his ''Dust Bowl Ballads'' at Victor Talking Machine Company, RCA Victor studios in Camden, New Jersey. *May 27 – Quartetto Egie perform in public for the first time. *July 20 – Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine publishes its first "Music Popularity Chart". *August – Edmundo Ros forms his o ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]