1951 compilation album by Bing Crosby
Way Back Home is a Decca Records compilation 78rpm album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby featuring sentimental and homely songs .
Bing Crosby had enjoyed unprecedented success during the 1940s but his discography indicates that the hits were becoming less frequent. His record company - Decca - had enthusiastically embraced the relatively new vinyl long-playing discs by putting out many albums of his songs to counter the reduction in hit singles. This particular album was one of the last to be issued in all three formats of 78rpm and 45rpm albums as well as a 10-inch (250 mm) LP. Two of the songs had already been hits with "Just a Prayer Away" reaching the No. 4 spot and "'Way Back Home" charting also.[ 1]
Billboard did not review the album but it had reviewed many of the separate single issues.
'Way Back Home If it hadn't been for "Mule Train," this one would have swept at once. As it is, its success has only been delayed a bit. Song, an oldie, is a natural, and the Bing-Waring team do it mightily.[ 2]
The Iowa Indian Song Bing makes strong medicine, with the Waring council whooping and tom-toming.[ 2]
My Own Bit of Land
Bing spreads warmth and a homey flavor in warbling this pleasing chunk of homespun philosophy. Fine for the family trade.[ 3]
Just a Prayer Away — My Mother's Waltz There is plenty of vocal and instrumental embellishment to the spinning of these sides. But it's still to the credit of Bing Crosby that it is entirely his chanting that makes this couplet a desired one. For "Just a Prayer Away," singing the ballad at a moderately slow tempo, the Ken Darby Singers blend their voices with the organology of Ethel Smith and Victor Young's orchestra. Miss Smith's organ playing is pronounced throughout, and the entire company adds up to a simple setting that heightens Bing's simplicity in selling a song. Just as fitting and attractive is the setting created for Crosby's chanting of Dave Franklin's "My Mother's Waltz," rich in sentimental melodic and lyrical content, and sure to find immediate response among the three-quarter-time fans. For the phonos, "Just a Prayer Away" packs most of the nickel appeal where the fans are content to give a listen.[ 4]
The Last Mile Home
Bing evokes plenty of nostalgia with this warm rendition of a sentimental tune. Fine production backing.[ 5]
The Meadows of Heaven
Crosby and a chorus work over a pretty plug melody for attractive results.[ 6]
The songs were featured on a four-disc, 78 rpm album set, Decca Album No. A-826 .[ 7]
Side
Title
Recording date
Writer
Performed with
Time
Disc 1: (24800)
A.
"'Way Back Home"
June 17, 1949
Tom Waring, Al Lewis
Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians
3:11
B.
"The Iowa Indian Song (I-O-WUH)"
June 17, 1949
Meredith Willson
Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians
3:13
Disc 2: (27441)
A.
"My Own Bit of Land"
December 22, 1949
Alex Kramer , Joan Whitney
The Ken Darby Singers and rhythm accompaniment
3:09
B.
"Early American"
June 23, 1950
Jimmy Van Heusen , Johnny Burke
Victor Young and his Orchestra
2:44
Disc 3: (27442)
A.
"Just a Prayer Away"
July 24, 1944
Dave Kapp , Charles Tobias
Ethel Smith (organ), Victor Young and his Orchestra, and the Ken Darby Singers
3:00
B.
"My Mother's Waltz"
July 24, 1944
Dave Franklin
Ethel Smith (organ), Victor Young and his Orchestra, and the Ken Darby Singers
2:48
Disc 4: (27443)
A.
"The Meadows of Heaven"
May 11, 1949
Joseph Meyer , Joseph McCarthy
Victor Young and his Orchestra, and the Ken Lane Singers
3:14
B.
"The Last Mile Home"
May 11, 1949
Walter Kent , Walton Farrar
Victor Young and his Orchestra, and the Ken Lane Singers
2:53
The songs were also featured on a four-disc, 45 rpm album set, catalog number 9-204.
The songs were also featured on a 10" LP album, Decca DL 5310 issued in 1951.
Side 1
"'Way Back Home" "The Iowa Indian Song (I-O-WUH)" "My Own Bit of Land" "Early American"
Side 2
"Just a Prayer Away" "My Mother's Waltz" "The Meadows of Heaven" "The Last Mile Home"
^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. pp. 110–111 . ISBN 0-89820-083-0 .
^ a b "Billboard". Billboard . December 3, 1949.
^ "Billboard". Billboard . May 26, 1951.
^ "Billboard". Billboard . March 31, 1945.
^ "Billboard". Billboard . September 3, 1949.
^ "Billboard". Billboard . November 5, 1949.
^ "Discogs.com" . Discogs.com . Retrieved November 28, 2015 .
Albums
Music of Hawaii (1939)
Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. One (1939)
Patriotic Songs for Children (1939)
Cowboy Songs (Bing Crosby's first solo album) (1939)
Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. Two (1939)
George Gershwin Songs, Vol. One (1939)
Ballad for Americans (Bing Crosby's first solo studio album)(1940)
Favorite Hawaiian Songs (1940)
Christmas Music (1940)
Star Dust (1940)
Hawaii Calls (1941)
Small Fry (1941)
Crosbyana (1941)
Under Western Skies (1941)
Song Hits from Holiday Inn (w/ Fred Astaire ) (1942)
Merry Christmas (1945)
Selections from Going My Way (1945)
Selections from The Bells of St. Mary's (1946)
Don't Fence Me In (w/ The Andrews Sisters ) (1946)
The Happy Prince (1946)
Selections from Road to Utopia (1946)
Bing Crosby – Stephen Foster (1946)
What We So Proudly Hail (1946)
Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. One (1946)
Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. Two (1946)
Blue Skies (w/ Fred Astaire and Irving Berlin ) (1946)
Bing Crosby – Jerome Kern (1946)
St. Patrick's Day (1947)
Bing Crosby – Victor Herbert (1947)
Cowboy Songs, Vol. One (1947)
Selections from Welcome Stranger (1947)
Our Common Heritage (1947)
El Bingo (1947)
The Small One (1947)
The Man Without a Country (1947)
Drifting and Dreaming (1947)
Blue of the Night (1948)
Selections from Showboat (1948)
The Emperor Waltz (1948)
St. Valentine's Day (1948)
Bing Crosby Sings with Al Jolson, Bob Hope, Dick Haymes and the Andrews Sisters (1948)
Selections from Road to Rio (1948)
Bing Crosby Sings with Judy Garland, Mary Martin, Johnny Mercer (1948)
Bing Crosby Sings with Lionel Hampton, Eddie Heywood, Louis Jordan (1948)
Bing Crosby Sings the Song Hits from Broadway Shows (1948)
Cowboy Songs, Vol. Two (1948)
Auld Lang Syne (1948)
Bing Crosby Sings Cole Porter Songs (1949)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949)
Bing Crosby Sings Songs by George Gershwin (1949)
South Pacific (1949)
Christmas Greetings (1949)
Ichabod – The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)
Top o' the Morning / Emperor Waltz (1950)
Songs from Mr. Music (w/ Dorothy Kirsten and The Andrews Sisters ) (1950)
Go West Young Man (w/ The Andrews Sisters ) (1950)
Collectors' Classics, Vols. 1–8 (1951)
Way Back Home (1951)
Bing Crosby Sings the Song Hits from... (1951)
Bing and the Dixieland Bands (1951)
Yours Is My Heart Alone (1951)
Country Style (1951)
Beloved Hymns (1951)
Bing and Connee (w/ Connee Boswell ) (1952)
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling (1952)
Themes and Songs from The Quiet Man (w/ Victor Young ) (1952)
Selections from the Paramount Picture "Just for You" (w/ Jane Wyman and The Andrews Sisters ) (1952)
Road to Bali (w/ Bob Hope and Peggy Lee ) (1952)
Le Bing: Song Hits of Paris (1953)
Some Fine Old Chestnuts (1954)
Bing Sings the Hits (1954)
Selections from White Christmas (w/ Peggy Lee and Danny Kaye ) (1954)
Bing: A Musical Autobiography (1954)
The Country Girl / Little Boy Lost (1955)
Merry Christmas (later version of 1945 78rpm album) (1955)
Shillelaghs and Shamrocks (1956)
Home on the Range (1956)
Blue Hawaii (1956)
High Tor (w/ Julie Andrews and Everett Sloane ) (1956)
A Christmas Sing with Bing Around the World (1956)
Anything Goes (w/ Donald O'Connor , Mitzi Gaynor and Zizi Jeanmaire ) (1956)
High Society (w/ Frank Sinatra , Grace Kelly , and Louis Armstrong ) (1956)
Songs I Wish I Had Sung the First Time Around (1956)
Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings (1956)
Bing with a Beat (1957)
A Christmas Story (1957)
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1957)
New Tricks (1957)
The Bible Story of Christmas (1957)
Never Be Afraid (1958)
Jack B. Nimble – A Mother Goose Fantasy (1958)
Fancy Meeting You Here ( w/ Rosemary Clooney ) (1958)
Around the World with Bing! (1958)
Bing in Paris (1958)
That Christmas Feeling (1958)
In a Little Spanish Town (1958)
Bing’s Buddies and Beaus (1959)
Say One for Me (w/ Debbie Reynolds and Robert Wagner ) (1959)
How the West Was Won (w/ Rosemary Clooney ) (1960)
Join Bing and Sing Along (1960)
Bing & Satchmo (w/ Louis Armstrong ) (1960)
Songs of Christmas (1960)
101 Gang Songs (1961)
El Señor Bing (1961)
My Golden Favorites (1961)
The Road to Hong Kong (1962)
Bing's Hollywood (set of 15 albums) (1962)
On the Happy Side (1962)
I Wish You a Merry Christmas (1962)
Holiday in Europe (1962)
Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre (1963)
Return to Paradise Islands (1964)
America, I Hear You Singing (w/ Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring ) (1964)
Robin and the 7 Hoods (w/ Frank Sinatra , Dean Martin , and Sammy Davis Jr. ) (1964)
12 Songs of Christmas (w/ Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring ) (1964)
Bing Crosby Sings the Great Country Hits (1965)
That Travelin' Two-Beat (w/ Rosemary Clooney ) (1965)
The Summit (w/ Dean Martin , Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. ) (1966)
Bing Crosby's Treasury – The Songs I Love (1966)
Bing Crosby and The Columbus Boychoir Sing Family Christmas Favorites (w/ The Columbus Boychoir ) (1967)
Thoroughly Modern Bing (1968)
Bing Crosby's Treasury - The Songs I Love (1968 version) (1968)
Hey Jude/Hey Bing! (1969)
Goldilocks (1970)
A Time to Be Jolly (1971)
Bing 'n' Basie (w/ Count Basie ) (1972)
Rhythm on the Range (1972)
I’ll Sing You a Song of the Islands (1972)
A Southern Memoir (1975)
That's What Life Is All About (1975)
A Couple of Song and Dance Men (w/ Fred Astaire ) (1975)
Tom Sawyer (1976)
At My Time of Life (1976)
Bing Crosby Live at the London Palladium (1976)
Feels Good, Feels Right (1976)
Beautiful Memories (1977)
Bingo Viejo (1977)
Seasons (Bing Crosby's last studio album released during his lifetime) (1977)
A Little Bit of Irish (posthumous edition, recorded in 1966) (1993)
Bing Crosby: The Voice of Christmas (1998)
On the Sentimental Side (posthumous edition, recorded in 1962; Bing Crosby's latest studio album) (2010)
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