Do You Hear What I Hear: New "Bing at Christmas" Features Crosby Backed by London Symphony

Do You Hear What I Hear: New “Bing at Christmas” Features Crosby Backed by London Symphony

October 21, 2019 By Joe Marchese — No Comments

The Christmas season is almost here – that time of year when the indelible sound of the late Harry Lillis Crosby once again takes the airwaves. This year, however, there may be a twist. On November 22, Decca Records will release Bing at Christmas, melding Crosby’s classic vocals with new orchestrations recorded by The London Symphony Orchestra. Nick Patrick, producer of similar symphonic albums from Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Roy Orbison, helmed Bing at Christmas.

“White Christmas,” of course, is included among the album’s 14 tracks. It’s still the world’s best-selling single with over 50 million copies sold and 1.8 billion streams, and probably the most beloved Christmas song of all time. Irving Berlin’s standard, introduced by Crosby on a Christmas Day 1941 radio broadcast was immortalized by the crooner the following year for Decca. It’s presented twice here – once as a duet with Pentatonix and once solo. Bing and The Andrews Sisters’ immortal swing rendition of “Jingle Bells” is featured, too, with The Puppini Sisters, spiritual successors to Patty, Maxene, and Laverne, adding new vocals. The Puppinis show up on “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” too. They’re not the only special guests: The London Symphony has reinterpreted the classic “Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth” duet with David Bowie, while The Tenors have added new vocals to Mel Tormé and Robert Wells’ “The Christmas Song.” (Like “White Christmas,” it’s also heard in a solo version.)

Bing at Christmas also showcases “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,” “Winter Wonderland,” and the wartime favorite “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” among its instantly-recognizable tracks. Bing’s widow Kathryn Crosby, who announced the release with their children Harry, Mary, and Nathaniel, notes in the press release, “Hearing Bing’s voice with these completely new, beautifully recorded, orchestral accompaniments makes it seem as though he’s back after all these years. It’s magic.”

Look for Bing at Christmas from Decca on November 22 on CD and digital/streaming formats. You’ll find the track listing and pre-order links below. You might also want to take a listen to the first single, “White Christmas,” streaming now!

Bing Crosby and The London Symphony Orchestra, Christmas with Bing (Decca, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Sleigh Ride
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
White Christmas – feat. Pentatonix
I’ll Be Home for Christmas
Jingle Bells – with The Andrews Sisters, feat. The Puppini Sisters
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Do You Hear What I Hear?
The Christmas Song
Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth – with David Bowie
Twelve Days of Christmas – feat. The Puppini Sisters
Winter Wonderland
The Christmas Song – feat. The Tenors
White Christmas (Solo)

Categories:

News

Formats:

CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming

Genres:

Holiday, Popular Standards/Vocal

Tags:

Bing Crosby

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others.

Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams.

Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.

Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.