Linda Edition Mapper
▶ Bing Crosby

What's New

Bing Crosby (1939) → Linda Ronstadt (1983)

Traditional Pop / Vocal
→
Traditional Pop / Orchestral Torch Ballad
1939 — when Tin Pan Alley standards ruled radio and the charts
Original
Bing Crosby — 1939

Traditional Pop / Vocal

After Johnny Burke added lyrics to Bob Haggart's 1938 instrumental “I'm Free,” Bing Crosby cut “What's New?” with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra. The hit recording fixed the tune as a vocal standard.

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Linda
Linda Ronstadt — 1983

Traditional Pop / Orchestral Torch Ballad

At the height of her arena-rock fame, Ronstadt defied industry skepticism and teamed with Nelson Riddle. She turned the conversational torch song into a bel canto-powered orchestral statement that reintroduced the Great American Songbook to a rock generation.

Bing Crosby's 1939 hit standard is reopened in 1983 by Ronstadt and Nelson Riddle as an orchestral torch revival for modern pop listeners.

From original to Linda

What to listen for

Bing Crosby's 1939 hit standard is reopened in 1983 by Ronstadt and Nelson Riddle as an orchestral torch revival for modern pop listeners.

  • Scale of the chart

    From 1930s pop orchestra to Nelson Riddle's full, counterpoint-rich arrangement

  • Vocal stance

    From crooner / radio intimacy to a bel canto-backed frontal torch delivery

  • Where the era sits

    A pre-war standard restaged for 1980s pop audiences

  • Where it reached

    From a 1939 chart hit to the title track of a triple-platinum standards album

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