"Call Me Lucky remains one of the most enchanting of all show business memoirs. It not only chronicles, with reasonable accuracy, the life of a central figure in the popular culture of this century, but reproduces the merry, occasionaly guileful tone of Bing Crosby perfected on radio and in movies. This is Crosby the way he wanted to be known to his adoring public and in all likelihood to himself." -- Gary Giddins"Unlike most celebrity autobiographies of his time or ours, Crosby forgoes the usual tell-all confessional in favor of a collection of anecdotes and reminiscences that is as warm and witty as any Crosby performance. With his capacity for exploring the more esoteric echelons of the English language, Crosby could have surely become a full-time writer had his schedule not been taken up with being one of the great entertainers of the century." -- Will Friedwald
Bing Crosby said that writing his autobiography made him feel like an out-of-kilter juke box. "When I drop a nickel into it, I'm not sure which story it will play back." The hundreds it did play back combine into a candid portrait of one of the most gifted of all American entertainers -- a man who, when asked to explain his success, simply replied: "Every man hears me on the radio, believes firmly that he sings as well as I do, especially when he's in the bathroom shower."
Call Me Lucky is indeed written in the casual tone of a man singing to himself in the shower. Here Bing tells how he developed his unique singing style to produce an unequaled string of hit jazz and pop records. He tells stories about music, horses, golf, movies, and personalities -- Bob Hope, Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong. It all adds up to a rich and absorbing story in which, at the apex of his fame, Crosby looks back on his career and says with Bingian modesty, Call Me Lucky.
Pete Martin was a writer for The Saturday Evening Post; he co-wrote Bob Hope's autobiography, Have Tux, Will Travel. Gary Giddins is a columnist for The Village Voice; his books include Celebrating Bird, Rhythm-a-Ning, Ridding on a Blue Note, Satchmo, and a 3-volume biography of Bing Crosby in progress.
CONTENTS
ILLUSTRATION SECTION
Chapter One
A memorable party -- Leo's system -- Father Sharp -- "Just hovering" -- Pops Whitman
Chapter Two
Dixie Lee -- No sacrifice -- I haven't worked very hard -- prayer is a potent thing
Chapter Three
Mother and Dade -- "It'll do him good." -- Uncle George -- I become Bing -- Bim Crosland -- A ssmall knight -- A few with a yardstick -- Early jobs -- The Sholders
Chapter Four
Earliest theatrical experiences -- Ou est le Jug? -- The faculty and the tongs -- The Musicaladers -- Bailey's Music Company -- I gave up law -- Boo-boo-boo -- The Morrisey Music Hall Revue
Chapter Five
Debut with Whitman -- Bell-belting -- Bix -- Bix's crowd -- A real handy fellow -- Happy days are here again -- The act goes sour -- On to Hollywood -- Narrow escape -- Into durance vile
Chapter Six
The Montmarte -- The Coconut Grove -- End of The Rhythm Boys -- "The wrong Crosby" -- Snafu -- At the Paramount -- More movies
Chapter Seven
"The Old Ox Road" -- Jack Oakie -- Life with Marion -- My ears stay put -- Cake make-up -- Carole -- "Now, where were we?" -- Bear facts
Chapter Eight
Blessed events -- Lament for privacy -- The Crosby building -- Leo Lynn -- Doc Stevens -- Jack Kapp -- The skolinest cat -- The pluggers -- "In the morning you'll be jealous as hell again." -- How to get behind an eightball -- Self criticism -- Chalipin -- Everybody's taping
Chapter Nine
Bill Fields -- Our first Road picture -- "Tsk-tsk" -- Little Frankenstein -- Johnny Burke -- Rib -- "Wolf, wolf." -- "What's new? -- The Doctor
Chapter Ten
The Birth of the Blues -- Wingy -- Rhythm on the River -- Jimmy Cotterll -- Trouble in Morocco -- Working with Capra -- France -- Great Lady -- Life with Father -- Tribute to McCarey
Chapter Eleven
Relaxed and casual -- Look at them birdies! -- Fun at Pebble Beach -- Whistler -- Exhibitions -- Joker -- Special booking -- The doubter -- Jock McLean -- Hole in one -- Quick change -- Menace to mice -- Fanny and elbows -- Nose Bleed -- Harvey -- Rug-cutter -- The "Bandit" -- Ringer -- Republican postmaster -- Sixty-five per cent dive -- London
Chapter Twelve
Lucky, indeed -- Black Forest -- Help from Hope -- Jocky Club -- Seabiscut and Ligaroti -- The route to insolvency -- Dreamboat -- The "leaky roof" circuit -- Christmas spirit -- Parlay -- I'm offered a job
Chapter Thirteen
John O'Melveny -- Joe Venuti -- "I was going great." -- "I feel it coming on." -- Skull music -- John Scott Trotter -- Yates, the Eater -- Scotch scarcity -- Loss leader -- To Morrow -- Little man who wasn't there -- Society Kid Hogan -- Historical note -- The Taxi Driver's Revenge
Chapter Fourteen
Couple of loggers -- In the hands of the gendarmes -- Drop-ins -- Pants, too long -- The twins -- Trip overseas -- The Stytion Mawster -- Visit with General Bradley
Chapter Fifteen
Gary at Stanford -- My fuddy-duddy notions -- I haven't licked them lately -- Ensembles -- Our principal knotheads -- Hard money -- Ranch stuff -- The neighbors -- Fatherly pride -- Party line -- Miss Sleeping Bag
Chapter Sixteen
She was that way always -- "What a lady!" -- Last reunion -- Just as she'd always been
Chapter Seventeen
TV and me -- High spots -- Aloha
Index
Cover Design by Virginia Atkinson Design and Company
Cover Photographs of Bing Crosby c.1937 from Frank Driggs Collection
Review: "Mr. Boop-doop-a-doop"
You will find nothing in Crosby's book that is at all revelatory. There is no mention of his politics, or his prejudices, and his religion (Catholicism) is only touched upon. He devotes just twelve pages out of 333 to his late wife, Dixie. You will find little concrete information about his mercurial rise in the entertainment world.Near the end of "Call Me Lucky," Bing sums himself up by saying: "I don't think I've ever done anything really worthwhile," and "I will never create anything of lasting importance." The first statement is a surprising bit of hocus-pocus from a man who considers his life important enough to be permanently recorded on paper. And the second sounds like a hurdy-gurdy man crying that he can never play in Carnegie Hall. These jar a book that is, all in all, just another good Crosby performance. -- Whitney Balliett, The Saturday Review, June 27, 1953, p. 17