Bob Hope was a credible crooner in addition to being the favorite comic of several U.S. presidents, and
Thanks for the Memories compiles his Decca recordings from 1938-1957. All are duets that tie in with his motion pictures, with the exception of "Penthouse Serenade," a stand-alone duet with his frequent co-star,
Shirley Ross.
Ross and
Bing Crosby are
Hope's singing partners on every track except "The Boys with the Proboscis," a duet with
Jimmy Durante that pokes fun at the two comedians' most distinctive facial feature.
Peggy Lee, too, pops up with
Hope and
Crosby on "Merry-Go-Runaround." "Two Sleepy People" and "Road to Morocco" were charting pop hits, and "Thanks for the Memories" served as
Hope's personal theme song. As a rule,
Hope's duets with
Shirley Ross are romantic tunes on which he croons straightforwardly, while his efforts with
Bing Crosby are humorous songs full of playful banter and spoken asides. Most of the songs are taken from
Hope and
Crosby's popular road movies, and previously unreleased alternate takes of "Put It There Pal" and "Road to Morocco" pad out what would otherwise be less than 30 minutes of material. The latter performance finds
Crosby and
Hope catching a case of the giggles in the middle but soldiering through to the end. It's hard to imagine
Dean Martin and
Jerry Lewis -- or even
Red Foley and
Ernest Tubb -- having recorded their classic comedy songs without the precedent of
Hope and
Crosby. ~ Greg Adams