1972 studio album by Bing Crosby and Count Basie
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic [1]
Bing 'n' Basie is a 1972 vinyl album recorded for Daybreak Records by Bing Crosby , accompanied by Count Basie and his Orchestra.[2] The orchestral tracks were laid down over three days at the end of February and the beginning of March, 1972 at Amigo Studios, North Hollywood. Crosby added his voice to the pre-recorded orchestral tracks during three sessions on March 14, 15, and 16, 1972 at Coast Recorders Studio, Bush Street, San Francisco.[3] Bing Crosby also added his voice to "If I Had a Hammer " and while this has appeared on pirate issues it has never been commercially released.[4]
The album was issued on CD by EmArcy Records (824 705-2) in 1988.
Reception [ ]
Howard Lucraft writing in Variety commented:"Interesting that Bing sounds better today to many than in his Paul Whiteman days over 40 years ago when his keys were about a third higher. He could be more adventurous range-wise back then. He used to feature "Old Man River" in D flat, going to a top F. On this new LP wisely tunes are mainly up-tempo. Crosby reportedly sang to tracks prerecorded by the Basie band. Sam Nestico's charts are swinging. Something should have been done about that final top D flat on "Put Your Hand in the Hand". Otherwise album is highly effective - simple with charm. The slower "Sugar, Don't You Know" by Louis Bellson is a great new number."[5]
Down Beat said: "This release is likely to do considerably more for Crosby's reputation than for Basie's. That's usually the way it works when a jazz group teams with a popular vocalist. On the other hand, it is Crosby's reputation that is in considerably greater need of a boost than Basie's, so perhaps in the long run it’s a fair shake for everyone... (Crosby) is in fine voice all the way, and the choice of material is from among the best contemporary tunes, excepting two ringers (Hangin', Day), which are the sort of nonentities that singers use to open TV variety specials."[6]
Track listing [ ]
Personnel [ ]
The Count Basie Orchestra
References [ ]
show Members 1951–1960
Dance Session (1952–54, Clef)
Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings (with Joe Williams ) (1955, Clef)
April in Paris (1955–56, Verve)
The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards (with Joe Williams ) (1956, Verve)
Basie in London (live) (1956, Verve)
One O'Clock Jump (with Joe Williams and Ella Fitzgerald ) (1957, Verve)
Count Basie at Newport (live) (1957, Verve)
E = MC² (1958, Roulette)
Basie Plays Hefti (1958, Roulette)
No Count Sarah (with Sarah Vaughan ) (1958, EmArcy)
Chairman of the Board (1958, Roulette)
Breakfast Dance and Barbecue (1959, Roulette)
Welcome to the Club (Uncredited) (Nat King Cole ) (1959, Capitol)
Basie/Eckstine Incorporated (with Billy Eckstine ) (1959, Roulette)
Strike Up the Band (with Tony Bennett ) (1959, Roulette)
In Person! (with Tony Bennett ) (1959, Columbia)
Everyday I Have the Blues (with Joe Williams ) (1959, Roulette)
The Count Basie Story (1960, Roulette)
I Gotta Right to Swing (Uncredited) (Sammy Davis Jr. ) (1960, Decca)
1961–1970
First Time! The Count Meets the Duke (with Duke Ellington ) (1961, Columbia)
The Legend (1961, Roulette)
Count Basie/Sarah Vaughan (with Sarah Vaughan ) (1961, Roulette)
Basie at Birdland (live) (1961, Roulette)
On My Way & Shoutin' Again! (Verve, 1963)
Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First (with Frank Sinatra ) (1962, Reprise)
Li'l Ol' Groovemaker...Basie! (1963, Verve)
This Time by Basie! (1963, Verve)
Ella and Basie! (with Ella Fitzgerald ) (1963, Verve)
Basie Land (1964, Verve)
It Might as Well Be Swing (with Frank Sinatra ) (1964, Reprise)
Basie Picks the Winners (1965, Verve)
Our Shining Hour (with Sammy Davis Jr. ) (1965, Verve)
Arthur Prysock and Count Basie (with Arthur Prysock ) (1965, Verve)
Basie's Beatle Bag (1965, Verve)
Broadway Basie's...Way (1966, Command)
Basie Meets Bond (1966, Capitol)
Hollywood...Basie's Way (1966, Command)
Sinatra at the Sands (live, with Frank Sinatra ) (1966, Reprise)
Basie's Beat (1967, Verve)
Half a Sixpence (1967, Dot)
The Board of Directors (with The Mills Brothers ) (1968, Dot)
The Board of Directors Annual Report (with The Mills Brothers ) (1968, Dot)
Basie Straight Ahead (1969, Dot)
Standing Ovation (1969, Dot)
Afrique (1970, RCA Victor)
1971–1980
Bing 'n' Basie (with Bing Crosby ) (Daybreak, 1972)
Jazz at Santa Monica Civic '72 (live) (1972, Pablo)
The Bosses (with Big Joe Turner ) (1973, Pablo)
Basie Big Band (1975, Pablo)
Fun Time (1975, Pablo)
I Told You So (1976, Pablo)
Prime Time (1977, Pablo)
Montreux '77 (live) (1977, Pablo)
Live in Japan '78 (live) (1978, Pablo)
On the Road (1979, Pablo)
Digital III at Montreux (live) (1979, Pablo)
A Classy Pair (with Ella Fitzgerald ) (1979, Pablo)
A Perfect Match (live, with Ella Fitzgerald ) (1979, Pablo)
Kansas City Shout (1980, Pablo)
1981–1990
Warm Breeze (1981, Pablo)
Send in the Clowns (Sarah Vaughan ) (1981, Pablo)
Farmer's Market Barbecue (1982, Pablo)
88 Basie Street (1983, Pablo)
Me and You (1983, Pablo)
Fancy Pants (final album with Count Basie ) (1983, Pablo)
Long Live the Chief (1987, Denon)
Diane Schuur & the Count Basie Orchestra (live, with Diane Schuur ) (1987, GRP)
The Legend, the Legacy (1990, Denon)
1991–2000
The George Benson Big Boss Band featuring The Count Basie Orchestra (1991, Warner Bros.)
The Count Basie Orchestra Live at El Morocco (1992, Telarc)
Joe Williams and the Count Basie Orchestra (1993, Telarc)
Live at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: The Count Basie Orchestra (1997, Blue Jackel)
At Long Last (with Rosemary Clooney ) (1998, Concord)
Count Plays Duke (1998, MAMA)
Swing Shift (1999, MAMA)
2001–present Small-group sessions
Basie Jam (1973, Pablo)
For the First Time (1974, Pablo)
Basie & Zoot (with Zoot Sims ) (1975, Pablo)
For the Second Time (1975, Pablo)
Basie Jam 2 (1976, Pablo)
Basie Jam 3 (1976, Pablo)
Kansas City 5 (1977, Pablo)
The Gifted Ones (with Dizzy Gillespie ) (1977, Pablo)
Basie Jam: Montreux '77 (live) (1977, Pablo)
Satch and Josh...Again (with Oscar Peterson ) (1977, Pablo)
Night Rider (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)
Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson – The Timekeepers (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)
Yessir, That's My Baby (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)
Kansas City 7 (1980, Pablo)
Kansas City 6 (1981, Pablo)
Mostly Blues...and Some Others (1983, Pablo)
show Albums
Music of Hawaii (1939)
Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. One (1939)
Patriotic Songs for Children (1939)
Cowboy Songs (1939)
Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. Two (1939)
George Gershwin Songs, Vol. One (1939)
Ballad for Americans (1940)
Favorite Hawaiian Songs (1940)
Christmas Music (1940)
Star Dust (1940)
Hawaii Calls (1941)
Small Fry (1941)
Crosbyana (1941)
Under Western Skies (1941)
Song Hits from Holiday Inn (w/ Fred Astaire ) (1942)
Merry Christmas (1945)
Selections from Going My Way (1945)
Selections from The Bells of St. Mary's (1946)
Don't Fence Me In (1946)
The Happy Prince (1946)
Selections from Road to Utopia (1946)
Bing Crosby – Stephen Foster (1946)
What We So Proudly Hail (1946)
Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. One (1946)
Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. Two (1946)
Blue Skies (w/ Fred Astaire ) (1946)
Bing Crosby – Jerome Kern (1946)
St. Patrick's Day (1947)
Bing Crosby – Victor Herbert (1947)
Selections from Welcome Stranger (1947)
Our Common Heritage (1947)
El Bingo (1947)
The Small One (1947)
The Man Without a Country (1947)
Drifting and Dreaming (1947)
Blue of the Night (1948)
Selections from Showboat (1948)
The Emperor Waltz (1948)
St. Valentine's Day (1948)
Bing Crosby Sings with Al Jolson, Bob Hope, Dick Haymes and the Andrews Sisters (1948)
Selections from Road to Rio (1948)
Bing Crosby Sings with Judy Garland, Mary Martin, Johnny Mercer (1948)
Bing Crosby Sings with Lionel Hampton, Eddie Heywood, Louis Jordan (1948)
Auld Lang Syne (1948)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949)
Bing Crosby Sings Songs by George Gershwin (1949)
South Pacific (1949)
Christmas Greetings (1949)
Ichabod – The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)
Top o' the Morning / Emperor Waltz (1949)
Songs from Mr. Music (1950)
Go West Young Man (1950)
Le Bing: Song Hits of Paris (1953)
Some Fine Old Chestnuts (1954)
Selections from White Christmas (1954)
Bing: A Musical Autobiography (1954)
High Tor (1956)
A Christmas Sing with Bing Around the World (1956)
High Society (w/ Frank Sinatra , Grace Kelly , and Louis Armstrong ) (1956)
Songs I Wish I Had Sung the First Time Around (1956)
Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings (1956)
Bing with a Beat (1957)
A Christmas Story (1957)
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1957)
Never Be Afraid (1957)
Jack B. Nimble – A Mother Goose Fantasy (1957)
New Tricks (1957)
Fancy Meeting You Here ( w/ Rosemary Clooney ) (1958)
How the West Was Won (1959)
Bing & Satchmo (w/ Louis Armstrong ) (1960)
101 Gang Songs (1960)
Holiday in Europe (1960)
The Road to Hong Kong (1962)
On the Happy Side (1962)
On the Sentimental Side (1962)
I Wish You a Merry Christmas (1962)
Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre (1963)
Return to Paradise Islands (1963)
Bing Crosby Sings the Great Country Hits (1963)
America, I Hear You Singing (w/ Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring ) (1964)
12 Songs of Christmas (w/ Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring ) (1964)
That Travelin' Two-Beat (w/ Rosemary Clooney ) (1965)
Bing 'n' Basie (w/ Count Basie ) (1972)
A Couple of Song and Dance Men (w/ Fred Astaire ) (1975)
Seasons (1977)
Bing Crosby: The Voice of Christmas (1998)
Family Related
Category