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Bing Crosby - A Little Bit Of Irish (1966)

Track listing:
  1. The Isle Of Innisfree 3:02
  2. MacNamara's Band 2:32
  3. When Irish Eyes Are Smiling 2:52
  4. Ah! Sweet Mystery Of Life 2:51
  5. The Donovans 2:27
  6. St. Patrick's Day Parade 2:26
  7. Top Of The Mornin' 1:41
  8. That Tumbledown Shack In Athlone 3:12
  9. Dear Old Donegal 2:39
  10. Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's An Irish Lullaby) 3:57
  11. Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral 3:20

Notes

Mar 17, 1938 - Sep 21, 1966

In September 1966, Bing Crosby went to Dublin to tape a television special, A Little Bit of Irish, which then was broadcast the following St. Patrick's Day. Nearly 29 years later, Atlantic Records released this album, which contains three performances drawn from the soundtrack and seven other tracks reflecting Crosby's lifelong affection for his Irish musical heritage. If the album was really a soundtrack for the TV show, it would be more valuable. As it is, it runs less than 26 minutes and features some sparkling performances from Crosby's radio shows of the 1940s and '50s, plus Crosby's 1938 recording of Victor Herbert's "Ah! Sweet Mystery Oof Life" (Herbert was born in Ireland), which was a Decca and thus, one would have assumed, now an MCA recording. Collectors will welcome these otherwise rare recordings, but the superior Crosby Irish set is MCA's Top O' the Morning/His Irish Collection, also released for St. Patrick's Day 1996.