Soldiers in France listening to Bing Crosby sing “White Christmas” In December 1944, home must have seemed far away.
The legendary singer, who first sang the song that conjured memories of snowy childhood Christmases, once told his nephew, Howard Crosby, that singing “White Christmas” in front of teary-eyed troops before the Battle of the Bulge was the hardest moment of his career.
“I once asked Uncle Ping: What is the hardest thing you have ever had to do in your career?” “We were playing golf one day, and I didn't know what he was going to say,” Howard told Fox News Digital. “I didn't know whether he would say, 'Well, it was learning lines for movies or working with a difficult director.'”
He continued: “He didn't have to think about it at all. He said, 'Well, 1944, we're done with it.'” Use the band.' He said: We gave an open-air concert for 15,000 soldiers and Britons in an open square in France.
Bing Crosby once told his nephew, Howard Crosby, that singing “White Christmas” to tearful troops before the Battle of the Bulge was the hardest moment of his career. (Getty Images)
His uncle told him that Dinah Shore and the Andrews Sisters were at the show “We laughed a lot and the boys were having a great time and great fun.” But at the end of the show he said: “I had to sing 'White Christmas' and I had to perform the song with 15,000 young people crying Tears and not breaking down.”
“A lot of those boys died the next week in the Battle of the Bulge,” Howard added.
Watch: Bing Crosby said singing 'White Christmas' to WWII troops in 1944 was the hardest moment of his career
He said that his uncle loved to entertain the troops, considering it his patriotic duty.
The “High Society” star even tried to enlist but was told he was too old.
Howard said that General George C. Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff at the time, told him: “Look, Byng, we don't need you on the front lines. We need you raising money for the war effort.” .' “So, I think he looked at it as a patriotic duty, and I think he also felt a special kinship with the boys we served.”
Howard said that when Bing performed for troops, he refused to wear a wig.
“(W)e had a lot of laughs and the boys had a great time and great fun.” But at the end of the show, he said: “I had to sing ‘White Christmas’ and I had to perform the song with 15,000 young people in tears and not break down.”
“He hated that thing,” he said. “He called it a scalp mat. He never wore it unless he had to. But he said, 'If I enjoyed soldiers, I wouldn't wear anything so phony as a wig.' Forget it.’ So he went on stage without a troop wig, but he also insisted that the front rows at those shows were reserved for enlisted men, and there were no officers or seniors sitting in the front rows.”
Bing Crosby plays in New York after returning from visiting troops in England and France in 1944. (Getty Images)
Watch: Bing Crosby felt it was his “patriotic duty” to entertain the troops with the USO
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The star's story of singing in front of the troops echoes the opening scene of the 1954 film “White Christmas,” when Crosby, playing a soldier on Christmas Eve in 1944, sings the tune to his weary fellow men listening to the sounds of explosions.
The film, which stars Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen, celebrates its 70th anniversary this year and will be briefly re-released in some theaters this month.
The song the movie was originally named after Released in 1942 Crosby sang it in “Holiday Inn.”
Howard said his uncle knew the song would be an instant hit, even as a songwriter Irving Berlin He didn't do that.
He told Fox News Digital that when Berlin was going through all the holiday songs written for “Holiday Inn” in 1942, including “Easter Parade,” “I've Got a Lot to Be Thankful For” and “Song of Freedom,” everyone thought it was worth it. . The Valentine's Day song, “Be Careful, It's My Heart” will be a hit.
But when they got to “White Christmas” and Irving Berlin played it, Bing supposedly said to him — because Irving was always so nervous about whether the songs would be successful or people would like them — Bing apparently said to him, “Don’t worry about those “The song, Irving, that song's going to be all right.”
Bing Crosby signing autographs for American Expeditionary Forces in France circa 1944. (Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Of course, even Bing Crosby could not have imagined that the song would become the best-selling single of all time.
Howard said the song is “very well written.”
“It's a great song. It doesn't have a huge amount of range. So, you know, everyone feels like they can sing it, right?” said Howard, who is a singer himself and looks a lot like his uncle. “It's not like the Star-Spangled Banner, which no one can sing, right? And in Bing's version, you know, he had such a rich baritone. And in the lower notes, what he called money notes, you know, he said that if If you can sing the low notes richly, you can make a lot of money.”
Crosby certainly made his fortune as a rich baritone, but Howard said it was never about that for him.
As a devout Catholic who went to Mass every day with his mother as a child, Howard said, he refused to take money to sing a religious song like “Silent Night” or “O Holy Night.”
The “Going My Way” star was also humble and preferred the company of ordinary people rather than the rich and famous.
“He was more comfortable in the presence of caddies and bellboys and waiters than he was with community members,” he said. “He was very uncomfortable with people fawning over him and treating him like he was some hot celebrity or something. He didn't have an entourage either.”
Bing Crosby in a press shot for the movie White Christmas (George Reinhart/Corbis via Getty Images)
Howard revealed that the star also enjoyed receiving an “indirect compliment,” recalling the time his uncle gave him a record of his own to listen to.
“And he said, 'Hey Howard, have you listened to this recording?' “And I said, 'Yes, I listened to him.' He said, 'Well, what do you think?' You know, for an old man.” The Prime Minister, it wasn't half bad. And he laughed. You see, he liked a verbal compliment, but if it came out gushing, he wouldn't have liked it. He couldn't accept that kind of thing. It made him very uncomfortable. ”
Crosby had ranches in Northern California, Elko, Nevada, and Baja California, where he was able to get away from Hollywood and enjoy the outdoors.
He was also incredibly generous, Howard noted.
Entertainers Bob Hope and Bing Crosby perform on a USO tour in front of American troops circa 1942. (Michael Oakes Archives/Getty Images)
Howard said he first played golf with his uncle when he was 15, and Crosby gave him a sand wedge that he still keeps in his golf bag.
He remembered the time they went golfing together and asked Crosby if there were any caddy holders who played well when there were no other people on the course. So he and his uncle teamed up against two, with two others accompanying them.
“We're playing for 10 cents a point,” he explained, “and the other two carry the bags.” “And we finished all at 18. I think we beat them by about 40 cents each. So, we add up our dimes and then Bing tips everyone with a $100 bill. The two who played, the two who carried. But I thought for me at the time, There were hundreds of rich and prominent people here at Pebble Beach who would have given their teeth to be the other two members of that quartet, and Bing picks up two old cans… 20 years filled out our group and that was exemplary.”
WATCH: BING CROSBY WAS MORE COMFORTABLE WITH 'CANS AND SERVICE WORKERS' THAN 'SOCIETY' PEOPLE: HIS NEPHEW
Howard said Crosby was so humble that he told Barbara Walters in an interview months before his death that he didn't think he would leave a legacy.
“And she said, 'Well, obviously you realize that you're one of the greatest popular singers, certainly male singers of all time.' “No, Barbara, no, no, there are a lot of better singers than me,” Howard said Crosby told her. “But, you know, he couldn't stand the idea of flattery his way. So he didn't think he'd have any legacy at all. And he said, 'You know, I think people will forget me a few years after I'm gone. No one will remember anything I did.'
Bing Crosby's nephew said the singer was very humble and was “uncomfortable” when he was treated like a celebrity. (Jane Lister/Getty Images)
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Howard said he recently saw his uncle was No. 1 on the global iTunes singles charts beating out stars like Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga, and he thinks Crosby would be absolutely shocked to see his continued success so many years after his death.
“I think he'll be amazed when he thinks his song went to number one in the second week of December 2024, and he's absolutely amazed. He couldn't have imagined something like this.”
