15 Minutes with Bing Crosby

15 Minutes with Bing Crosby was Bing Crosby's first solo radio series, which ran from September 2, 1931 until October 31 the same year. It was to have a major impact on his career.

Crosby had appeared on radio on many occasions as a member of The Rhythm Boys trio, first as part of the Paul Whiteman orchestra and later in the nightly broadcasts with Gus Arnheim from the Cocoanut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. It was at the Cocoanut Grove that Bing's solos made him stand out from the Rhythm Boys and a dispute with the management at the Grove more or less led to the break-up of the trio in May 1931. Bing had already started making records under his own name and then he made several short films for Mack Sennett which were well received.

A regular nationwide radio broadcast show was the next logical step in the development of his solo career. Bing and his attorney, Roger Marchetti, traveled from Los Angeles to New York seeking $1,500 a week on sustaining time and $3,000 a week if and when a sponsor was found. As Bill Paley, CEO of CBS, wrote; "It was an astounding price at the time, in fact an outrage, but I did not want to lose him. I negotiated as hard as I could, but we finally settled for his asking price. . . . What made Bing Crosby's first contract with CBS so extravagant was that he came to our network as new or developing talent, just as had Morton Downey, Kate Smith, the Mills Brothers, and others, to be put on the air on a sustaining basis; that is, without advertiser support. Under this new contract policy, we usually paid such talent a little over $100 a week, or at most $500 a week, until we could find a sponsor."

Variety announced the news on August 25, 1931 and touched on an ongoing problem with the musicians' union following the dispute with the Cocoanut Grove. "With CBS, Crosby will receive around $1,500 a week, from accounts, although in the east he is still an unknown on the radio. The Ambassador hotel contract which he broke would have paid him $250. According to the musicians' union ruling, Crosby can perform with union accompaniment anywhere but in Los Angeles. In that city he is barred from any amusement places that are considered opposition to Gus Arnheim at the Ambassador."

Much publicity heralded the planned debut of 15 Minutes with Bing Crosby on August 31, 1931 but after rehearsing all that afternoon at the CBS HQ at 484 Madison Avenue, Bing was unable to go ahead with the six nights-a-week show at 11 p.m. The next night Bing did not appear either and rumours started to circulate that he was either drunk or too nervous to sing. Finally on Wednesday September 2, came the answer. Rehearsing in air-conditioned rooms had given him laryngitis. Starting at 11 p.m. that night, Bing completed his first solo radio show with Eddie Lang playing guitar and with an orchestra conducted by Victor Young. He sang "Just One More Chance," "I Found a Million Dollar Baby," and "I'm Through with Love." The opening theme played by the orchestra was "Too Late" and the sheet music of this song quickly stated that it was from Fifteen Minutes of Bing Crosby.

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