Why Bing Crosby Struggled to Sing ‘White Christmas’ to Soldiers
By Movieguide® Contributor
American singer and actor Bing Crosby is mode widely known for his song “White Christmas.”
In a new interview with Crosby’s nephew, Howard Crosby, he explained the time his uncle had to sing the song in front of teary-eyed military men.
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Howard revealed to Fox News Digital, “I asked Uncle Bing one time, ‘What was the single most difficult thing you ever had to do in your career?’ We were out playing golf one day, and I didn’t know what he was going to say. I didn’t know if he was going to say, ‘Well, it was, you know, learning lines for the movies or working with a difficult director.’
“He didn’t have to think about it at all. He said, ‘Well, 1944, we were over with the USO troupe.’ And he said, ‘We gave an open-air concert for 15,000 GIs and British Tommies in an open-air field in France,'” Howard continued.
Howard said his uncle “had to sing ‘White Christmas.’ And I had to get through the song with 15,000 guys in tears and not break up myself.'”
“And a lot of those boys died the next week in the Battle of the Bulge,” Howard said.
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It was after that performance that Bing wanted to enlist in the army himself. The pride and admiration he had for his country shown through, however, he was too old.
The chief of staff of the Army during that time, General George C. Marshall, told Bing, “We don’t need you in 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 like a special kinship with the boys that we’re serving.”
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