Bing Crosby

To hear Bing sing is to feel that everything's OK with the world. One of popular music's holy trinity of ultra-icons (alongside Elvis and the Beatles), Crosby delivered his soothing baritone via radio, record, and the silver screen. December without his heartwarming "White Christmas" would be a complete travesty.

The '40s were the glory years for Bing Crosby. The decade saw the start of his road-movie series, and brought a happy rash of C&W covers like "New San Antonio Rose" and the hillbilly boogie "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy." In addition, he recorded several tunes with the Andrews Sisters, including "Pistol Packin' Mama."

During the '20s, Bing Crosby established himself on the West Coast vaudeville and jazz scenes, but his reputation really started to soar in the '30s, when he began recording solo on a regular basis. "Out of Nowhere" and "Just One More Chance" were just a couple of the smashes he put out on the Brunswick label in 1931.

The legend christened Harry Lillis Crosby picked up the nickname "Bingo" as a kid from the comic strip The Bingsville Bugle. The shortened version, Bing, came to represent everything that was top-notch, fine, and dandy about American music and culture. Although his last #1 hit was "Now Is the Hour" in 1948, Crosby continued recording and performing through the mid-'70s. He died in 1977 (playing golf), 'round about the time that punk was rewriting the rules of pop. We give you Bing . . .