Famous Today, Forgotten Tomorrow (We've forgotten Hope & Crosby. Will we forget the Beatles?)

The Wall Street Journal ^ | Dec. 9, 2014 | Jim Fusilli

[presidio9]

Tributes to two of the most famous American entertainers of the 20th century serve as a reminder of how fame flees. The entertainers are Bing Crosby and Bob Hope; the reminders are the documentary “American Masters: Bing Crosby Rediscovered,” which had its premiere last week (and will run again on Dec. 26 ) on PBS, and “Hope: Entertainer of the Century,” a new biography by Richard Zoglin. Neither Crosby nor Hope have much cachet with contemporary consumers of art and culture, but the accounts of their careers make convincing cases that their contributions still influence their respective fields, even if some in those fields may not know it.

Given Crosby’s skill and stature as a vocalist, the PBS documentary raises the question of how future generations will think of the musicians of the ’60s who advanced popular music in their time. Will the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder be as marginalized, if not forgotten, as their significant predecessors?

-SNIP-

Thus, it would have been inconceivable in the mid-20th century that one day either man would be underappreciated or misunderstood. Few current-day music fans think of Bing Crosby as the man who invented the concept of the pop singer and elevated it to high art, swung with Louis Armstrong, and influenced Tony Bennett, Billie Holiday, Presley, Frank Sinatra and countless other vocalists and instrumentalists. In his time, Crosby was the pinnacle of popular music, but today he’s recalled primarily for his version of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” As for Hope, -SNIP-

[RedStateRocker]

Don’t even have to read it to call total BS

[x]

"Forgotten" is pretty harsh. This month you can't get away from White Christmas on TV, and Bing does seem to be more of a cultural presence than Danny Kaye, his co-star in the movie, who's closer to being forgotten than Crosby.

FWIW, having a Christmas movie has been a good way to achieve something like immortality, at least so far. Burl Ives has been almost completely forgotten, but your grandchildren may know this guy:

[dfwgator]

Some only know Bing from when he did that duet with David Bowie.

[presidio9]

Music might be man’s greatest invention (the birds may have a say in that debate). Anyone who limits their selections to what other people are currently listening to is missing out on endless possibilities. There has been great music (and terrible music) recorded in every single decade since Edison perfected the phonograph. Believe it or not, there is great music even today, but that is not all that anybody should be listening to.

Because recorded popular music is only a century old, I believe that many of the greatest examples (these would include every artist mention in the article) will continue to be heard as long as people are listening to music. However, I also believe that a large percentage of every generation is POSITIVE that theirs had the greatest music. When there are no more Boomers, people certainly will not appreciate the Beatles to the extent they were once appreciated(when is the last time you heard a Rolling Stones song on the radio?), but they will continue to be heard from.

[lee martell]

I’ll always remember the Beatles in their different forms and variations. I’ve always admired Bing Crosby’s singing, and I know to keep that separate from Bing the person. I’ve heard his first four sons were never that close, and Bing seemed okay with that. I would speculate that being world wide famous for so long, changes a person profoundly. It’s hard to go back to being ‘just you’.

Bob Hope, when I’ve seen him in movies and musicals, I could only take in small doses. Bob Hope, frankly, seemed annoying, like a Groucho Marx, or Robin Williams type who could almost never stop performing in some other character than their own. Everyone has their day in the sun, some longer than others.

[presidio9]

I would add to what I just said in my previous post that, to some extent, the Beatles are still held out as the template of Rock music. People who are familiar with the history of popular music know this not to be true. We also know that the music that “the kids are listening today” sounds nothing like the Beatles. Music continues to evolve. At some point, most of their catalogue (but probably not “A Day in the Life,” for example) will sound as antiquated as Glenn Miller does to millenials today.

[Red Badger]

TVLand, Turner Classic movies, Retro TV, MeTV..................

[SandRat]

all because..

[Alex Murphy]

they've already forgotten Red Skeleton too. 

Including how to spell his last name...it's "Skelton", not "Skeleton".

[sauropod]

Hopefully.

[Charles Martel]

I was surprised to recently find DVD copies of a number of the Bing Crosby TV Christmas Specials. I guess the entertainment industry is trying to squeeze the last few dollars out of him before interest finally dies.

[presidio9]

Some only know Bing from when he did that duet with David Bowie.

Not to make you feel really old, but David Bowie will turn 68 next month, and is therefore a dinosaur himself. I just asked my teenaged nephew, and he had no idea who David Bowie is. On the plus side, he has heard of Bing Crosby: "Was he a golfer?"

[libertarian27]

A great Bob Hope movie line
From ‘The Ghost Breakers’ - 1940
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWpU8sX10_4

[Don Corleone]

History...begins at best on the day you are born. Usually it starts several years later, maybe 6 or 7 when you begin to realize there is another world outside of your own home. People who were not around during the 30’s,40’s and 50’s will not even know the names anymore than us oldsters know the names of the “Stars” of the day in 1917.

[henkster]

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra also plays summer concerts across the street. On nights when they play straight classical music, like Strauss, Beethoven or Brahms, they draw an older crowd, probably numbering a few thousand. Last year they did a Led Zeppelin concert, enhanced with guitar, drums, and vocals. It was packed; 15,000 in attendance each night for two nights.

I would guess that a very popular act will endure one, perhaps two generations after it’s original listeners, and then not so much. The great classical composers have endured longer, but then only because their work was done before the advent of recorded music and mass distribution. In two generations, Sinatra, the Beatles and Strauss may all be known only to music trivia buffs.

[Alas Babylon!]

We've been fooled, again.

[nascarnation]

[chajin]

In one of my online college music courses, I once had a student who said that Michael Jackson would be remembered for all time. I wrote back asking the student if he knew who Eddie Cantor and Georgie Price were, and of course he said he'd never heard of them before. They were both child stars of the early 20th century, who grew up and became well-known singer/dancers in the 1920s and 30s, and influenced the performers after them--just like Michael Jackson. Only historians of early popular music remember them now, and the same will be true of Wacko Jacko in a generation or two.

[Vermont Lt]

I am a gen x’er. I love the Road Movies.

Much copied, never matched.

[Liberty Valance]

Didn't you hear? It's all about that bass now ...