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S1E2: Stardust
Walk on By: The Story of Popular Song
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Walk on By: The Story of Popular Song S1E2: Stardust

  • Aired: 2001-03-24
  • Runtime: 60 minutes
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Overview

This week's programme tells the story of the momentous meeting of the voice of Bing Crosby and the trumpet of Louis Armstrong. Up until then, singers had merely been part of big jazz bands rather than stars in their own right. Crosby changed that, becoming the first true pop star of the recording era, and it was not long before Frank Sinatra was generating the kind of fan hysteria that today's bands would die for. A huge debt was due to Armstrong, whose free-flowing singing style paved the way for the likes of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.