Wwii Radio Broadcasts 3 [Import]

Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, backed by the Kraft radio music hall's John Scott Trotter & his Orchestra, Marilyn Maxwell & the Music Maids, the Charioteers, and special guests (in this case, Roy Rogers) 2 eipsodes, a half hour each, recorded live during 1943 & 1944. There's so much laughter, it's hard to imagine that there is a world of hate and death, sacrifice and shortage just outside the door. Humour, music, fun... it's a world lost to us, so enjoy yourself and take a peek thru this window in time. This is one of 5 recordings from the same program that I am aware of.

It was Bette Midler who got me wondering if it was possible to be nostalgic for an era one didn't actually live through. Between "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and the much later film (and soundtrack) FOR THE BOYS, one could actually find oneself waxing "nostalgic" for what seems to have been a simpler time in many ways--even if the world events were even more tumultuous than they are now. Perhaps, "nostalgia" isn't the correct term: there have always been people who have romanticized earlier eras, and usually they're completely off-base. But the sentiment I'm talking about would seem to be a common one. Consider the success of the Tom Brokaw books. What seems so "great" about the Greatest Generation's era is that singleminded sense of purpose, the shared sacrifice, and apparent cultural and political unity the country shared for a relatively brief period of time.

Yearning for those values and that sense of common purpose is very understandable. I'm not entirely sure that things really WERE that simple during the WW II years--I've talked to older friends and relatives who suggest that there was more ambivalence and even dissension about the War than is generally acknowledged today.

But you would never know that from listening to these two full-length radio broadcasts from Bing Crosby's show, complete with ads for Kraft (macaroni and cheese) "dinners" that reference "rationing points" and are suggestive of the sacrifices made on the homefront. In light of all that, the spiritedness of the music, the camaraderie and good humor of the banter and skits seem like the cultural equivalent of putting on a brave face during bitterly hard times.

Contemporary, so-called "post-modern" audience may find the humor a little corny. But I defy anyone not to find it endearing. You may groan here and there, but you'll be smiling too.

And unlike movies, TV shows made well after the fact, this is the real deal, a genuine artifact of the era. It's fascinating to hear.

Musically, well again, this may not be to everyone's taste these days. I've always liked Crosby's casual crooning, there's a kind of insouciance amid the corn that you have to acknowledge and appreciate. No one today--not even the schlockiest of middle-of-the-road schlockmeisters--would pen a piece of treacle like the title song for the film GOING MY WAY, a live broadcast version of which is included here. But you know what, this version is actually quite listenable. Whenever I've watched the film, it's made me cringe--"This road leads to Rainbowville," yeccchh--but without the film's trappings, Crosby's easygoing vocal makes it surprisingly enjoyable. That was his art.

And this was his era.

› Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews  4.5 out of 5 stars