Representative Albums: "South Rampart Street Parade," "His Orchestra & Bob Cats: 1937-1939," "The Complete Bob Cats, Vol. 1: In the Beginning"
Representative Songs: "South Rampart Street Parade," "Big Noise from Winnetka," "Dogtown Blues"
Biography
Bob Crosby, Bing's younger brother, often found himself in the odd position of being the least important member of his own orchestra. Indeed, he couldn't play an instrument or read a note of music, which didn't stop him from enjoying a long career in music, in that very odd position. He was born George Robert Crosby in Spokane, WA, in 1913, and like his older brother he did start out on a conventional career path, attending college -- and like brother Bing, he also dropped out of college in favor of getting work as a singer. Actually, it was a somewhat less direct route from student to crooner, as Crosby was, by his own account, supporting himself picking cucumbers in Spokane when bandleader Anson Weeks tapped him for the singer spot in his band, where he remained for two years, from 1932 through 1934. Those were tough years, as the effects of the Great Depression swelled and lingered, and it was good to have a steady gig, especially as he learned a lot about vocalizing during this period -- he jumped to a six-month stay with the Dorsey Brothers' band in 1934, and then, in 1935, fate took a hand.
A group of musicians working for bandleader Ben Pollack had quit en masse and organized themselves under the direction of saxophonist Gil Rodin, as a cooperative venture, with all of the members owning an equal share in the group -- the Casa Loma Orchestra had done the same thing at the start of the decade and were reaping big rewards, and this group had at least as much talent as the Casa Lomans did. What they needed was a vocalist who could also provide them with a name and personality that the public could appreciate; ironically, it was "Cork" O'Keefe, their agent -- who'd also played a key role in organizing the Casa Lomans, who steered them toward Bob Crosby. He could, by then, sing in a winning, popular style, at his best moments nearly as well as his brother -- and Bing Crosby by then was selling enough 78s to turn newly established Decca Records into a major label -- and he had a personality that the listening public liked. And he had an unassuming ego that allowed him, even as the presumptive "leader," to yield center stage to the various soloists, which included trumpet man Yank Lawson, clarinetist Matty Matlock (later succeeded by Irving Fazola), and saxman Eddie Miller -- and to top it off, they had Ray Bauduc, no less, as their drummer.
In the middle of that company was Crosby, an okay singer who held the popular audience. The band had its feet planted astride two -- or three -- musical worlds; Crosby's singing gave them their pop side and their personality, while arranger Bob Haggart (and, later, Matlock as well) wrote charts that were as contemporary as any jazz of the second half of the 1930s; but the band also kept some aspects of its sound rooted in familiar 1920s attributes, and their devotion to Dixieland jazz was unmistakable (especially with Miller, Bauduc, and Nappy Lamare, New Orleans natives all, in the lineup). Eventually, the Bobcats -- or, sometimes, Bob Cats -- coalesced from within the larger orchestra; a Dixieland octet, they proved phenomenally popular in their own right.
The 1935-1942 period was Crosby's heyday, with his band featuring such classic soloists as Billy Butterfield, Joe Sullivan, Bob Zurke, Jess Stacy, and Muggsy Spanier. During an era when swing was the thing and New Orleans jazz was considered by many to be ancient history, Crosby's crew led the way to the eventual New Orleans revival. Such classic recordings as "South Rampart Street Parade" and "What's New" (both composed by bassist Haggart) along with the many Dixieland stomps kept the band quite popular. The other secret to their success was the radio -- in the late winter of 1938, the orchestra got a gig at the Blackhawk Restaurant in Chicago, which included 11 national broadcasts each week, which gave them all of the exposure they needed. Fans of their Dixieland sound rallied to the call and orders for their recordings soared; their subsequent performances of the Camel Caravan show proved just as important in carrying them to the end of the decade. And it didn't hurt that the orchestra was nearly as fortunate in its choice of female singers as it had been in finding Crosby -- Doris Day (who left because the 17-year-old was overwhelmed by the ungentlemanly antics of the members, finding a safer haven with Les Brown) and Kay Starr were among the distaff luminaries who sang with them. Crosby also made movies with the band -- though he was never remotely the screen presence that his brother was, Bob Crosby and his band showed up in performance clips in movies such as Columbia's Reveille with Beverly, and he got to do some acting (while the band was featured several times) in Republic's Sis Hopkins, and they played on the soundtrack to the Paramount production Holiday Inn, one of the most popular musicals of the early '40s (and the film that introduced the song "White Christmas").
The orchestra broke up in September of 1942, and Crosby served in the Marines during 1944-1945, and then spent the rest of his life in a variety of activities, often bringing back versions of the Bobcats for special concerts and recordings, taking an occasional vocal but mostly letting his sidemen play. Bob Crosby passed away in 1993, and in the years since many of his best recordings have remained in print on CD. Indeed, the existence of several CD anthologies covering the Crosby orchestra's and the Bobcats' seven-year history is testimony to the continuing popularity of their brand of music; similarly, the showings of the Crosby-featured (or co-starring) movies Reveille with Beverly (1944) and Sis Hopkins (1942) at New York's Film Forum in 2007 proved to be among the most heavily attended of the theater's three-week "B-musicals" series. ~ Scott Yanow & Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
Career Highlights: The Five Pennies, Senior Prom, My Gal Loves Music
First Major Screen Credit: Rookies on Parade (1941)
Biography
Though he pretended to find it amusing, singer/bandleader Bob Crosby was rather sensitive about being constantly bracketed with his older brother Bing. At one point, Crosby observed in 1958, "it got so bad that whenever someone asked me what my occupation was, I used to answer automatically 'Bing Crosby's brother.'" To many jazz aficionados, however, Bob was the only Crosby, by virtue of his famous musical aggregation "The Bobcats," which he formed in 1935. Crosby and his able musicians Yank Lawson, Bob Haggart, Ray Bauduc, Eddie Miller, Bob Zurke, Jesse Stacey and Joe Sullivan delivered some of the hottest jazz ever to emanate from a primarily white orchestra. Because of Bing's movie popularity, Bob's handlers decided that records, radio and nightclubs weren't enough: the "other Crosby" would have to have a movie career as well, thus Bob made his film debut in 1935's Rhythm on the Roof. Crosby made a few tentative stabs at playing characters other than himself in films like Let's Make Music (1940) and The Singing Sheriff (1944), but he seemed more comfortable playing "himself' in guest spots. One of his more enjoyable screen appearances was in Two Tickets to Broadway (1951), wherein Crosby genially poked fun at brother Bing in the delightful production number "Let's Make Comparisons." He also popped up unbilled from time to time in Bing's pictures: in Road to Bali, Bob walks on, says hello to his brother, fires a gun into the air and walks off, whereupon Bing explains "I promised him a shot in this picture." Entering television as orchestra leader for The Jack Benny Show (a job he'd taken over from Phil Harris on radio), Crosby successfully starred on his own daytime program for CBS, which ran from 1953 through 1957; he then moved to NBC, where he headlined a prime-time summer replacement series for Perry Como in 1958. Bob Crosby made his final film appearance along with several other jazz greats in the Red Nichols biopic The Five Pennies (1959). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
He was the youngest of seven children: five boys, Larry (1895-1975), Everett (1896-1966), Ted (1900-1973), Harry (1903-1977, popularly known as Bing Crosby) and Bob; and two girls, Catherine (1905-1988) and Mary Rose (1907-1990). His parents were English-American bookkeeper Harry Lowe Crosby (1871-1950) and Irish-American Catherine Harrigan (1873-1964), (affectionately known as Kate), the daughter of a builder from County Mayo in Ireland.
Career
Bob Crosby began singing with Anson Weeks (1931-34) and the Dorsey Brothers (1934-35). He led his first band in 1935, when the former members of Ben Pollack's band elected him as titular leader. His most famous band, the Bob-Cats, was a Dixielandjazz group with members from the Bob Crosby Orchestra. Both the Bob Crosby Orchestra and the smaller Bob-Cats group specialized in Dixieland jazz, presaging the traditional jazz revival of the 1940s. Crosby's singing voice was remarkably similar to that of his brother Bing, but without its range.
The orchestra was actually led by sax player Gil Rodin, with Crosby himself simply the front man, chosen for his personality, looks, and famous last name.[2]
Hits included "Summertime" (theme song), "In a Little Gypsy Tea Room", "Whispers in The Dark", "South Rampart Street Parade", "March of the Bob Cats", "Day In, Day Out", "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby", "Dolores" and "New San Antonio Rose" (last three with Bing Crosby). A bass and drums duet between Haggart and Bauduc, "Big Noise from Winnetka," became a hit in 1938-39.
Three of his songs were featured in the successful 2008 role-playing video game Fallout 3. The tracks included were the hits "Way Back Home" (from the 1949 Danny Kaye film "The Inspector General"), "Happy Times" and "Dear Hearts and Gentle People", variously played either on the in-game radio station 'Galaxy News Radio' or the promotional trailers.
Radio
During World War II, Bob Crosby spent 18 months in the Marines, touring with bands in the Pacific. His radio variety series, The Bob Crosby Show, aired on NBC and CBS in different runs between the years 1943 to 1950, followed by Club Fifteen on CBS from 1947 through 1953 and a half-hour CBS daytime series, The Bob Crosby Show (1953-1957). He introduced the Canadian singer Gisele MacKenzie to American audiences and subsequently guest starred in 1957 on her NBC television series, The Gisele MacKenzie Show.
On September 14, 1952, Bob replaced Phil Harris as the bandleader on The Jack Benny Program, remaining until Benny retired the radio show in 1955 after 23 years. In joining the show, he became the leader of the same group of musicians who had played under Harris. According to Benny writer Milt Josefsberg, the issue was budget. Because radio had strong competition from TV, the program budget had to be reduced, so Bob replaced Phil. Prior to joining Benny on the radio, Crosby, who was based on the East Coast, would often play with Benny during Benny's live New York appearances, and he was seen frequently throughout the 1950s on Benny's television series.
As a performer, Crosby had tremendous charisma and wit combined with a laid back persona. He was able to swap jokes competently with Benny, including humorous references to his brother Bing's wealth and his string of losing racehorses. Crosby was married and had five children, three girls and two boys.
The enduring popularity of the Bob Crosby Orchestra and the Bob Cats - whose biography was written by British jazz historian John Chilton, was evident during the frequent reunions in the 1950s and 1960s. Bob Haggart and Yank Lawson organized a band that kept the spirit alive, combining Dixieland and swing with a roster of top soloists. From the late 1960s until the mid-1970s, the group was known as The World's Greatest Jazzband. Since neither leader was happy with that name, they eventually reverted to The Lawson Haggart Jazzband. The Lawson-Haggart group was consistent in keeping the Bob Crosby tradition alive.
Bob Crosby starred in a late evening TV show in Australia in the 1960s.
Bob Crosby died in 1993 due to complications from cancer.[3]
