What We So Proudly Hail

What So Proudly We Hail
Compilation album by Bing Crosby
Released Original 78 rpm album: 1946
Original LP album: 1950
Recorded 1939, 1940
Genre Popular, Patriotic
Length 16:10
Label Decca
Bing Crosby chronology
Bing Crosby – Stephen Foster
(1946)Bing Crosby – Stephen Foster1946		 What So Proudly We Hail
(1946)		 Favorite Hawaiian Songs,
Vol. One
(1946)String Module Error: Match not found1946

What So Proudly We Hail is a compilation album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby released in 1946 featuring songs that were sung by Crosby in an American-type patriotic style. This album featured Bing singing patriotic songs such as: "Ballad for Americans", "God Bless America" and "The Star-Spangled Banner". The songs were later presented in a 33 1/3 rpm split set with The Man Without a Country.

Background to "Ballad for Americans" recording

Crosby did not approach the project lightly. He studied the work before the session, and his concentration in the studio was intense. Usually, Crosby would record up to five tunes in two hours or so, rarely taking more than two takes, but with "Ballad for Americans", he devoted an hour to each of the four segments. New York Post critic Michael Levin wrote:

This is the finest recorded performance Bing had done to date and shows that in the last few years he has gone beyond binging and has really learned how to sing.

Levin made a comparison with Paul Robeson’s Victor set that would have pleased Decca chief Jack Kapp’s team:

For all of Robeson’s magnificent voice, we prefer the Crosby version. The recording is better, the orchestration is better, and the chorus is better trained.[1]

Track listing

These previously issued songs were featured on a 3-disc, 78 rpm album set, Decca Album No. DA-453.[2]

Side / TitleWriter(s)Recording datePerformed withTime
Disc 1 (23579):
A. "The Star-Spangled Banner"Francis Scott Key, John Stafford SmithMarch 22, 1939John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra and Max Terr's Mixed Chorus2:46
B. "God Bless America"Irving BerlinMarch 22, 1939John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra and Max Terr's Mixed Chorus3:12
Disc 2 (23580):
A. "Ballad for Americans – Part One"John La Touche, Earl RobinsonJuly 6, 1940The Ken Darby Singers and Victor Young's Decca Concert Orchestra2:26
B. "Ballad for Americans – Part Four"John La Touche, Earl RobinsonJuly 6, 1940The Ken Darby Singers and Victor Young's Decca Concert Orchestra2:16
Disc 3 (23581):
A. "Ballad for Americans – Part Two"John La Touche, Earl RobinsonJuly 6, 1940The Ken Darby Singers and Victor Young's Decca Concert Orchestra2:24
B. "Ballad for Americans – Part Three"John La Touche, Earl RobinsonJuly 6, 1940The Ken Darby Singers and Victor Young's Decca Concert Orchestra3:06

[3]

Other releases

The album with all of the same selections was transferred to a Dual 10" LP along with The Man Without a Country 78 rpm set in 1950 with the catalogue number DL 8020.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Giddins, Gary (2001). Bing Crosby, A Pocketful of Dreams, The Early Years, 1903–1940. New York: Little, Brown and Company. p. 554. ISBN 0-316-88188-0.
  2. ↑ "Bing Crosby1946 Decca DA 453 78RPM 3 Set What So Proudly We Hail Inside Pamphlet".
  3. ↑ "A Bing Crosby Discography – part 1b, Commercial Recordings – The Decca Years". Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  4. ↑ "CollectorsFrenzy – BING CROSBY Man Without A Country DECCA '50 LP SEALED".
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