Bing Crosby started his recording career at 23 in a duo with Al Rinker, singing a vocal chorus in "I've Got the Girl" by Don Clark & His Hotel Biltmore Orchestra, the first track heard here. Crosby and Rinker then joined Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra, and the rest of the recordings heard here were made under Whiteman's auspices, including tracks on which the two singers perform with the orchestra, ones in which they are joined by three other singers, and, eventually, with the addition of a third singer, Harry Barris, as part of the Rhythm Boys trio, who are finally heard on their own, notably on the comic medley, "Mississippi Mud"/"I Left My Sugar." There is only one Crosby solo among the 13 selections and seven alternate takes, a rendition of "Muddy Water" that shows him to have developed some of his vocal mannerisms already. On some tracks, he is all but inaudible, on others, clear and clearly himself. Most of the songs are forgotten now, though "Muddy Water," "Side by Side," and "I'm Coming, Virginia" reached the charts, "My Blue Heaven" hit number one, and "Ain't She Sweet" became a standard. This first disc in Jonzo's massive reissue of Crosby's recordings is primarily for Crosby collectors, to whom it is a godsend, and secondarily for Whiteman fans.