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What We So Proudly Hail

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For similarly named articles, see What So Proudly We Hailed (disambiguation).
What So Proudly We Hail
Compilation album by
Bing Crosby
ReleasedOriginal 78 rpm album: 1946
Original LP album: 1950
Recorded1939, 1940
GenrePopular, patriotic
Length16:10
LabelDecca
Bing Crosby chronology
Bing Crosby – Stephen Foster
(1946) 		What So Proudly We Hail
(1946) 		Favorite Hawaiian Songs,
Vol. One
(1946)

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

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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

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

Side / Title Writer(s) Recording date Performed with Time
Disc 1 (23579):
A. "The Star-Spangled Banner" Francis Scott Key, John Stafford Smith March 22, 1939 John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra and Max Terr's Mixed Chorus 2:46
B. "God Bless America" Irving Berlin March 22, 1939 John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra and Max Terr's Mixed Chorus 3:12
Disc 2 (23580):
A. "Ballad for Americans – Part One" John La Touche, Earl Robinson July 6, 1940 The Ken Darby Singers and Victor Young's Decca Concert Orchestra 2:26
B. "Ballad for Americans – Part Four" John La Touche, Earl Robinson July 6, 1940 The Ken Darby Singers and Victor Young's Decca Concert Orchestra 2:16
Disc 3 (23581):
A. "Ballad for Americans – Part Two" John La Touche, Earl Robinson July 6, 1940 The Ken Darby Singers and Victor Young's Decca Concert Orchestra 2:24
B. "Ballad for Americans – Part Three" John La Touche, Earl Robinson July 6, 1940 The Ken Darby Singers and Victor Young's Decca Concert Orchestra 3:06

Other releases

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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.[2]

References

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  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. ^ "CollectorsFrenzy – BING CROSBY Man Without A Country DECCA '50 LP SEALED".
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