World-Wide Groaner

A man who was christened Harry Lillis Crosby last week won Hollywood's Oscar for the best cinemactor of the year (see PEOPLE). But it had just become apparent that he could boast of a far rarer distinction: his voice had been heard by more people than any other voice in history.

Nobody could put a finger on the exact point at which Bing Crosby attained this distinction, but the honor was definitely, securely his. For the past ten years "The Groaner" has averaged a new record every other week. Number of copies sold since he first began recording two decades ago: about 75 million. The Crosby voice has been heard oftener and by more people than even these figures hint at. Most U.S. radio stations play about twelve hours of recorded music a day. Day in & day out, from coast to coast, the singing voice heard oftenest in canned concerts is Crosby's.

Last week the latest listener-polls, as they have for years, put Crosby among the dozen most popular attractions in radio. The entertainment trade-sheet, Variety, considered him front page news. He had been a top-rank songster since the season of 1930-31, when a current pop tune was Crosby, Columbo and Vallee. Other singers have come and gone. Last week Crosby, 41, had never even been away.

How did he do it? Decca records, which Crosby has helped to make, put out statistics which offered a partial answer. Crosby can sing almost any type of song, and sing it well. His best-sellers are a ballad (White Christmas, 1,700,000 records), a hymn (Silent Night, 1,500,000), a cowboy song (Don't Fence Me In, 1,250,000), a romantic love song (Sunday, Monday and Always, more than one million).

How long will it go on? Crosby's current contract with Decca, the latest in a long, profitable series, runs into 1950.

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