Because of this, Crosby gradually let himself slow down, however this was all to change. Following the Christmas of 1973, Bing started having serious health issues. By New Year’s Eve, Crosby was rushed to a hospital, and it turned out he had a tumor in his lung. Thankfully it wasn’t cancerous, and it was able to be removed, albeit two fifths of his left lung had to be removed. Speculation started on whether he would be able to sing again, but after his recovery he came back fiercely.

After the operation and recovery period, Bing came back with a vengeance. He signed a deal to do a few albums for United Artists, along with recording two TV specials. In 1975 alone he would record 5 albums and an audiobook along with many TV appearances in the United Kingdom to promote his upcoming albums.

Later that year, the realization he had been in show business for 50 years led Bing to get back on the concert stage throughout 1976, something he hadn’t done since the early 1930s. He did numerous shows throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1976 alone Crosby took the stage thirty-five times. Performances from the London Palladium were turned into an album, although he recorded two other albums along with his yearly Christmas special and other various TV appearances.

1977 seemed like a great year for Bing. Concept albums, worldwide tours, and more TV shows were on the horizon. The first show was a televised version of his usual concert to complete the 50th anniversary celebration. After the show had completed, triumph went to tragedy as he fell twenty-five feet off of the stage when taking bows. Thankfully he didn’t suffer any major injury, only breaking a disc in his back. This had put a lot of plans for 1977 on the fence.

However, by August he was feeling well enough to go on the road again. He did his last American concert on the day Elvis Presley died, and went to Norway to do a show for the Red Cross. In September, Bing recorded a concept album, a Christmas TV special with David Bowie, and started another two week stay at the London Palladium. Going into October, the London Palladium performances continued, and he would do one last show on October 10. The next day he would do a photoshoot for his latest album and make his final recordings. Three days later, after winning a game of golf, Bing died from a heart attack at the age of 74, leaving a massive legacy behind him. All of the accomplishments in his last few years alive would be impressive alone, but when you add on the quality of them, it really shows what he could do at this time of his life.

If you found any of this interesting, be sure to check out Crooners’ Chronicles every Monday at 6pm on KRUI 89.7fm, hosted by yours truly.

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Take a Breath was one of the bands that played; they are an alternative rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They played songs off their album ‘The Anatomy of a Rose’ . For the most part the crowd consisted of about twelve fan girls that were front and center for almost all the acts that night. They had a good stage presence, but the sound was up way too high and they sang to close to the microphone, so it caused a lot of distortion and was not pleasing to the ears. Besides that, after listening to their tracks online, they’re very good and if it were under different circumstances, I’m sure they sound better live.

Time Atlas was the main act of the night and definitely were the most talented ones that played. They are a pop/alternative rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota that formed in 2015. They sound scarily similar to the previous group, and were not very different in that aspect. They do have promise and are relatively popular but there was nothing about them that really stood out to me. They just released their debut EP “Clarity” and you can check that out here.

Kickbox is a pop punk group from Chicago, Illinois. They reminded me a lot of Real Friends as far as their sound goes, it was almost like they were trying to mimic them. They really got all the fan girls going with their teenage angst lyrics, and when they would accentuate

the f-word anytime they sang it in one of their songs. Overall they were good enough to keep my attention which is a pretty big accomplishment. You can check them out here.

The rest of the acts that played that night were singer/songwriters that all pretty much sounded exactly the same. I know that may seem a little harsh but if you want to make it as a singer/song writer you have to find a way to differentiate yourself from all the other ones that are out there or else you are pretty much just background music for the audience.

One of the singer/songwriters was Brian Moroney. He is from Chicago, and also plays in Airways an indie rock band from Peterborough, England. Brian had a really nice voice and played an all acoustic, but like I

said, he wasn’t very unique in that aspect. He did draw in a lot of attention from the ladies though and had a pretty good presence on stage.

Next is Clay Borrell, a 19-year old singer/songwriter and entertainer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was very good at getting the crowd going; well, the crowd that was there

with his young Justin Bieber type of sound. The fan girls went crazy over him which made him even more energetic on stage. If you’re interested here is the link to his to YouTube account.

Lastly, there was Cup Check: a female-fronted pop punk band from Chicago, Illinois. Their female lead singer has a great voice but not a very attention-capturing presence. It may have that way just because it was an all acoustic set rather

than their usual rowdy pop punk sound. The lyrics were very well-written and they had an overall good sound but sounded very similar to the other bands that were there. The only thing that made them different was their female lead singer.

Overall it was a good show; it wasn’t the greatest one I’ve ever been to, but it was still entertaining. None of the bands sucked so I would say it was worth the trip back to Iowa City for the night.

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