Frontis Burbank Wiggins' Collection of Bing Crosby Materials, 1920-2020

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Frontis B. Wiggins Collection on Bing Crosby
Creator
Wiggins, F. B.
Collection Number
CAM.BING.2020
Extent
141 boxes
Date
1920-2020
Abstract
The Frontis B. Wiggins Collection on Bing Crosby consists of an extensive collection of Bing Crosby, an American popular singer, radio host and actor, recordings, books, films, periodicals and materials related to the management of several Bing Crosby fan clubs, all assembled by F.B. Wiggins.
Language
English .
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman)
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Kathryn Miller Haines from 2020-2022.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of the estate of Frontis Burbank Wiggins in 2019.

Biographical / Historical

Frontis Burbank (Wig) Wiggins, Jr. (1929-2019), was a retired Foreign Service Officer and internationally recognized Bing Crosby expert. He served for decades as the American Representative for the International Club Crosby, a Bing Crosby fan club. In his role with the Club, he developed enduring friendships with Bing enthusiasts all over the world, trading rare recordings and documenting and preserving Bing's musical legacy. Wiggins was not only a fan of Crosby's; he also co-authored a book The Definitive Bing Crosby Discography: From 78s to CDs; assisted MCA Records in a series of re-issues of Bing's recordings, involving over a dozen CDs; and was also instrumental in Hofstra University's 2002 "Bing! Crosby and American Culture" conference.

Bing Crosby (Harry Lillis) (b Tacoma, WA, May 3, 1903; d Madrid, Spain, Oct. 14, 1977) was an American popular singer, radio host and actor. After touring with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra as one of The Rhythm Boys, Crosby established himself, from 1930-1932, as a successful solo singer after mastering use of the electric microphone to create an intimate, nuanced performing style called crooning that was later adopted by many of his peers.

In 1934 Crosby made his first records for the upstart label Decca, a venture that helped to revive the struggling record business and made him the top-selling recording artist of the 1930s and 40s. He remained with Decca through 1955, expanding his repertoire beyond romantic songs and jazzy tunes, assembling a range of commercially oriented Americana—Hawaiian songs, Irish lullabies, cowboy ditties, ballads, various kinds of patriotic tunes, Dixieland novelties, Christmas carols, and even hymns.

Crosby began hosting the Kraft Music Hall radio show in January 1936. He could be heard weekly on the show through 1954, and entertained audiences of 50 million listeners. He starred in 55 feature films between 1932 and 1972. He spent virtually his entire film career at Paramount, which exploited Crosby's likeable singing leading man persona across a surprisingly wide range of film genres, most notably in the enduring holiday films White Christmas and Holiday Inn; the Road movies with Bob Hope; and playing the role of Father Chuck O'Malley in Going My Way (for which he won an Oscar) and The Bells of St. Mary's (for which he was nominated for another Oscar).

Bing was actively involved in entertainment efforts during World War II, releasing dozens of v-discs, raising 15 million dollars in war bonds, and performing abroad for the troops.

Crosby first appeared on television in 1948, singing "Silent Night" on a Christmas special. He appeared frequently as the guest star or host on variety shows and in 1954 initiated a series of occasional television specials, usually called "The Bing Crosby Show," that ran until his death. During the 1964–1965 season he hosted his own weekly variety series, and between 1964 and 1970 he appeared on 32 episodes of "The Hollywood Palace," including its premiere and finale. His Christmas specials were a national institution; the last aired just weeks after his death.

Having made over 2,000 commercial recordings and approximately 4,000 radio programs in addition to his extensive list of film and television appearances, Bing Crosby remains the most-recorded performer in history.

Crosby's interest in music technology had important effects in the immediate postwar years. In 1946 he demanded that his weekly radio show be broadcast from transcription discs rather than performed live, marking the first step towards the end of live broadcasting as the norm for network radio. In 1947 he financed Jack Mullin's early efforts to develop magnetic tape—a German military technology Mullin had brought back to the U.S.—for use by the music industry. The successful results led to fundamental changes in how popular music was made and released.

Arrangement

This collection contains 141 boxes arranged in the following series:

Series I: Phonodiscs

Series II: Moving Pictures

Series III: Compact Discs

Series IV: Cassettes

Series V: Books

Series VI: Periodicals

Series VII: Newsclippings

Series VIII: Realia

Series IX: Scores

Series X: Personal & Business Correspondence.

Preferred Citation

Frontis B. Wiggins Collection on Bing Crosby, 1920-2020, CAM.BING.2020, Center for American Music, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Copyright

The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.

Access Restrictions

No Restrictions.

Scope and Contents

The vast majority of the Frontis Burbank Wiggins' Collection of Bing Crosby Materials consists of sound recordings of Crosby's major performances and records in a variety of formats, released both in the United States and abroad. The collection also contains an almost complete set of Crosby's television and film appearances, and an extensive collection of publications about Crosby, including books, periodicals, and newsclippings.

The creator of the Collection, F.B. Wiggins, was actively involved in a variety of Bing Crosby fan clubs and served as the head of one of the International Club Crosby for many years. His correspondence reflects his role in these various organizations, as well as his own Bing Crosby research and assistance he provided for a number of commercially released Bing Crosby projects.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • International Club Crosby

    Personal Names

    • Crosby, Bing, 1903-1977

    Genres

    • Sound recordings
    • Compact discs
    • Phonograph records
    • Video recordings (physical artifacts)
    • Videotapes
    • Periodicals
    • Clippings (Information artifacts)
    • Books
    • Correspondence
    • Realia

    Other Subjects

    • Singers -- United States -- 20th century
    • Actors
    • Popular music -- United States
    • Fan clubs -- United States

Container List