Note: This message was originally sent on December 2, 2019
Colleagues:
It was 62 years ago today that Bing Crosby's album "Merry Christmas", which gathers all his Christmas singles, hit the charts at Number 1 and stayed for seven weeks! However, this is not to be confused with this ranking……The Guinness World Records named the holiday single "White Christmas" (1942) by Bing Crosby as the best-selling single worldwide. According to Guinness, "White Christmas" has sold over 50 million copies.
This and many other ‘Bing Crosby’ stories may be found at the Bing Crosby Collection at Foley Library… Items in the Crosby Collection include photographs, audiovisual recordings, paintings and artwork, books, original manuscripts, memorabilia, research material, fan club periodicals, and the entire collection of the Bing Crosby Historical Society of Tacoma, Washington. We are grateful to Bing and members of his family for gifting these items to Gonzaga and to our colleagues – members of the University Archives and Special Collections team - for their care of this important GU/American/entertainment story.
PS - It’s back… GU’s very special Christmas Advent Calendar. Please take a minute to get in the spirit of the season and enjoy a special Gonzaga surprise behind each door of this year's online Advent calendar. Constituents will receive a weekly email to celebrate the countdown to Jesus' birth and provide highlights from that week's offerings. It's just a little something to say, "thank you for being part of the Gonzaga community!" I think you will appreciate the creativity that went into many of these offerings… please take a few minutes throughout the season ahead and consider who you might share the Advent calendar with as a way of spreading joy and GU cheer.