Bob Crosby is a prime example of the gap between pop music that's popular when it's new, and pop music of historical significance. With vocals derivative of elder brother Bing, the band he fronted had jazz sidemen including white New Orleanians Miller and Bauduc plus excellent arrangers such as Haggart and Kincaide. He's remembered for several instrumentals including the Haggart-Bauduc composition ‘South Rampart Street Parade’ and the Haggart-Bauduc duet ‘Big Noise From Winnetka’.

But, if you consult Joel Whitburn's book Pop Memories 1890-1954 (as the compilers of this collection note), Crosby is listed for no fewer than 41 chart entries, all but three of them with adequate but forgettable vocals. They include occasional tunes that later became standards, and here we get all the “hits” plus ‘South Rampart’, ‘Big Noise’ and just a few other instrumentals. Yet there's no sign of his covers of ‘Honky Tonk Train Blues’ (the version that inspired Keith Emerson) or the remarkable gospel-quartet number ‘I’m Prayin’ Humble’.

If you want the jazz side of Bob Crosby, try to find the 1992 GRP/Decca CD, with its 20 instrumentals and no vocals.