Happy Birthday Anniversary to Bing Crosby born #otd 1903. Getting a radio show starting in 1931 on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), that 15 minute program set new standards for singers. If you listen to those early recordings, Bing almost sounds like a tenor instead of the light baritone he was known for. Using the microphone to croon songs versus singing as in a large auditorium was an inspiration to those who followed, most famously Frank Sinatra. Crosby is important for some non-singing aspects of his career. After WWII with the discovery of the German tape recording system, Crosby put in $50,000 in to Ampex that developed tape recorders for broadcast use. What it really meant was that he could record his radio show in advance especially since shows on the West Coast had to be repeated for the time zone. He gave one of the first recorders to Les Paul! (And a quiet supporter of marijuana use telling one of his sons to lay of alcohol and smoke weed instead!) One last note, White Christmas from the 1942 movie was the biggest selling single of all time, only overtaken by Elton John’s reworking of Candle in the Wind for Diana’sfuneral in 1997.)