Sometimes the music is the only thing I want to matter
by
Not with Bix but certainly with Bing Crosby the music is the only thing that I want to matter.
Here's how this goes or my explanation. I have enjoyed the music of Bing Crosby since I was a kid. I love his innovative singing with the Rhythm Boys and his hot jazz singing period. I also enjoy him in many Paramount films he made. But in the beginning I didn't know anything about him. Just the Hollywood image of all the actors and singers of that time as "great guys"
Then someone recommends I read this book called Bing The Hollow Man. I read how Crosby disremembered people like Harry Barris and others he had no use for anymore. People said he was a real mean guy. I read what his kids said about him. I read he was not that nice with Dixie Lee.
This is really disturbing stuff to me. I don't like reading any of this about a singer I have liked so much.
This isn't true with Bix. Everyone says he was the greatest guy. No one has anything negative to say about Bix like what I have read about Crosby.
It gets to the point I read so much bad stuff about Bing I don't care about it anymore and I just disregard it.
Then we get to my statement in the beginning of this:
Sometimes the music is the only thing I WANT to matter. I like Bing's singing so much with the Rhythm Boys and early jazz years I just can't handle the negative facts upon facts about the man.
I just don't let the negative facts matter to me and get in the way of my appreciation and pleasure of listening to him sing. I put on a video of Reaching For The Moon-the Fairbanks talkie from 1930 with a cameo appearance by Bing singing in the hot style I like. That Bing on the screen and the singer is what matters. Not some mean guy in real life.
Or I watch a segment from Confessions of Co-Ed on youtube with Bing singing Out Of Nowhere and the Rhythm Boys doing Ya Got Love (not sure of exact title)
That is not the Bing who ditches Barris and Rinker and not the bad guy in books.
By making the music the only thing that matters I can disregard all the unpleasant things that might get in the way of me enjoying his singing.