Bing Crosby Show - March 5, 1953

The old crooner ambles his way in to the blog again this week as we hear the "Bing Crosby Show" broadcast of March 5, 1953.  It's one of a set of KCBS/KCBS-FM airchecks I came across a couple of months ago on Radio Recorders lacquers.

The first tune on the show is "Bye Bye Blues" and guests Jimmy Boyd and Joe Venuti show up for the proceedings.  Announcer Ken Carpenter and Bing engage in the usual banter, mentioning UFOs, and Venuti gives us a spirited version of "I Got Rhythm" later in the program.  You might not remember Jimmy Boyd too well today, but he was pretty famous in the early 50s with his hit record "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus".  Boyd doesn't do that number here, but gives us a taste of the country-western music he would pursue in his later career. Being an aircheck, the show has an interesting "extra".  The start of the show is delayed for a special CBS news bulletin on the death of Stalin, noting that the President is sending his condolences to the Soviet Union.  (I guess the condolences weren't too warm since we were in a Cold War at the time.)  Also, since Bing's show was transmitted from tape, you get to hear some dropouts and other anomalies with the master recording as it was originally heard on the network, no doubt causing Ampex execs all manner of distress. The mp3 was transferred directly from an original KCBS/KCBS-FM aircheck recorded on a Radio Recorders lacquer.