"The voice of Bing Crosby," claimed Decca Records in 1954, "has been heard by more people than the voice of any other human being who has ever lived." Crosby himself considered this publicist "puff", but there is no denying that during the 1930s, '40s and well into the decades that followed, the crooner's voice, face and personality were everywhere, and that his influence on American popular culture was and remains immeasurable. Recordings, radio, and motion pictures--the 3 electronic inventions that transformed entertainment industry during those decades--and Crosby's brilliant understanding of the special requirements and potential of those new media, were at the core of this success and worked togeher to make him one of the biggest entertainers of all time. Between 1932 and the close of WWII Crosby starred and sang in 32 films. Most were for Paramount Pictures, many (although by no means all) were forgettable, and almost all introduced hit songs, some of which, like "White Christmas" from 1942's Holiday Inn remain among the largest selling songs of all time. Six films between 1940 and '52 were the Road To... comedies he made with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, and we will feature those in our Wednesday, August 7th matinee, Thanks For The Memory. For this evening's concert Ken and company pay tribute to Bing with a selection of our favorites from those pre-war years, including "Where The Blue of The Night Meets The Gold Of The Day" and "Pennies From Heaven" to "I'm An Old Cowhand", "White Christmas" and "Swinging On A Star". For more information, contact The Shedd Ticket Office (541-434-7000, 868 High Street)