Hey Jude

Bing Crosby was the first modern singer. Though his iconic star has been in eclipse over the past few musical generations, his vocal innovations absorbed into the common-law vocabulary of popular song, there is little question that he forever changed the way the human voice could be projected and humanized. Elvis Presley, for one, has more of Der Bingle in him than one might imagine, and then there's Nick Cave and Iggy Pop….

Not much of a writer himself (though he is credited with penning the first verse of "Where the Blue of the Night"), Bing was primarily an interpreter of song. Many of his recordings are the definite version of pop standards — "White Christmas," anyone? — and his warm butterscotch baritone curled itself comfortably around all manner of Tin Pan Alley's creations, especially during his '40s heyday. But by the time of the late-'60s, with music in severe flux, even Bing found himself out of his element. It was a problem for many of his song-stylist contemporaries; and though he didn't score the oddball hit like Frank Sinatra ("Something Stupid" with daughter Nancy) or Dean Martin ("Everybody Loves Somebody"), he kept making records and selecting… read more »