MODERN MUSIC

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 74, 22 November 1940, Page 4

MODERN MUSIC

Sir-I have just perused two letters from readers of The Listener, in which the usual senseless attacks are made against so-called "crooners" and in particular, by one correspondent, against Bing Crosby. In reply to "Old Fashioned," would it surprise him (or her) to know that the artist he describes as the "prime moaner of the lot," presumably Bing, is my favourite entertainer? I say that with the utmost honesty, so that "Old Fashioned" will have to broaden the limits of his comprehension, or perhaps bring it up to date. As for his reference to Fuller’s Vaudeville, the singers of those days with their "stagey" style would definitely be out of place on the radio. A "crooner" is a singer whose style is adapted to the special conditions of microphone technique, and, as such, a comparison with vaudeville entertainers is rather pointless. Some crooners, e.g. Evelyn Dall, have successfully attempted stage work, by using amplifiers. Indeed, the microphone is now the rule in London revues. To return to Bing Crosby, it is obvious that "Old Fashioned" did not see Bing in a vaudeville role in the film "Starmaker." In this picture, Bing assisted by talented children, put over a vaudeville show that no Fuller’s show could even have hoped to approach. Moreover, the popularity of the film was unquestioned. "Another Average Listener" considers’ that "crooners" are an insult to intelligent listeners, but does not explain why. As he says, music in the early morning should be bright and cheerful, but Oscar Natzke is hardly either. Richard Crooks is played to death, and Peter Dawson has a monotonous "what-a-stout-fellow-am-I" style. I recommend him to listen to 2ZB for a bright morning session. The lighter touch introduced to the YA miscellaneous programmes is also appreciated, particularly the Crosby session at 2YA at 9.30 a.m. on Saturdays. "Crooners" in general are far from being all good. Many I consider terrible. Even Bing has made several "not-so-good" records, and his many imitators are not in the same street. Only Bing Crosby imparts to his songs what Lotte Lehmann called "verve." I therefore suggest that listeners such as your two correspondents, should learn to review their entertainment with tolerance. What they like, I hate, and vice versa, and I do not see why I should be deprived of my entertainment, seeing that my licence fee is also 25/. It is they who are the moaners, not Bing.

PLUV

(Wellington).