Crosby, Bob (actually, George Robert)
Crosby, Bob (actually, George Robert)
Crosby, Bob (actually, George Robert) ,
singer, leader, brother of Bing Crosby; b. Spokane, Wash., Aug. 25, 1913; d. La Jolla, Calif., March 9, 1993. Attending Gonzaga Coll. with the intention of taking up law, he instead became a professional singer with Anson Weeks’ Orch. (1932). Two years later, he joined the Dorsey Brothers’ Orch. Early in 1935, Crosby was chosen as the front man for a new band put together by Gil Rodin, comprising of ex-Ben Pollack musicians. For the next seven years, the Bob Crosby Orch. (and the smaller band-within-a-band, The Bobcats) achieved great touring and recording success. The original lineup included Yank Lawson, Bob Haggart, Ray Baudoc, Nappy Lamare, arranger Deane Kincaide, Matty Matlock, and Eddie Miller. Others passing through included many of the best white musicians of the era. The band had dozens of hits, including “South Rampart Street Parade” and “Dogtown Blues,” both written by Haggart.
Crosby couldn’t conduct, but was a good pop singer who got better, and valued the company he was keeping; the band was satisfied with the deal. The original band broke up in Iatel942; Bob Crosby served in the U.S. Marines (1944–45). After an acting role in The Singing Sheri/, he formed a new band and featured them on his radio series. During the 1950s, he was mainly active as a solo artist with his own TV and radio shows and occasionally re-formed the band for specific engagements, often using many of his original sidemen. From 1960, he was mainly occupied with business interests outside of music, but regularly led reunion bands for jazz festivals, residencies in N.Y. and Las Vegas, and tours of Japan and the Far East (late 1964). Films that feature the Bob Crosby Band include Sis Hopkins (1941), Presenting Lily Mars (1942), and As Thousands Cheer. The band also did the soundtrack for Holiday Inn (1942). Crosby led his band on several concert tours during the 1970s and appeared at the Reagan White House (1985).
Discography
South Rampart Street Parade (1936); I Remember You (1941); Bob Crosby’s Bob Cats (1954); Bobcats on Parade (1957); Bob Crosby’s Bobcats in Hi Fi (1957); Mardi Gras Parade (1966).
Bibliography
C. Jones, Bob Crosby Band (London, 1946); J. Chilton, Stomp Off, Let’s Go! The Story of Bob Crosby’s Bob Cats and Big Band (London, 1983).
—John Chilton/Music Master Jazz and Blues Catalogue