Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Richard Crooks – Just To Linger In Your Arms
Tenor in English with Orchestra
Written by Ernst Arnold
78 RPM audio transfer from the Bowness Arts collection of vintage records
Richard Crooks – Just To Linger In Your Arms / Gipsy Moon
Label: His Master's Voice – D.A.1283 (UK)
Format: Shellac, 10", 78 RPM
Released: 1932
Genre: Pop, Classical
Style: Vocal
Other side of this record: Gipsy Moon
youtu.be/9MVKRzKPvw8
Richard Alexander Crooks, an American tenor and a leading singer at the New York Metropolitan Opera, was born on June 26, 1900, in Trenton, New Jersey. Following several concert seasons as an oratorio and song recital specialist, including the American premiere of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, he traveled to Germany where he made his operatic debut in Hamburg as Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca in 1927. After touring other European cities, Crooks returned to the United States and made his American debut in 1930 in Philadelphia. He became a star of the Metropolitan Opera, specializing in French and Italian operas. From 1928 to 1945, Crooks was the host of "The Voice of Firestone" radio broadcasts, in which he sang operatic arias, patriotic songs, folk songs, and popular hits such as "People Will Say We're in Love" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! in 1943. Health problems forced Crooks to retire in early 1945. However, he continued to sing at his church and elsewhere, with some of his performances being taped. He had married his childhood sweetheart and spent his later years in Portola Valley, California. Diagnosed with cancer in the mid-1960s, he battled the disease until his death on September 29, 1972, in Portola Valley, California, at the age of 72.
Note: The first 78 RPM record came into existence around 1894, and in 1912 the Gramophone Company established 78 Rotations Per Minute as their recording standard. The production of shellac records continued throughout the 78 rpm era, with "non-breakable" 78 rpm vinyl records being introduced in the 1940s. The popularity of the 33 1/3 rpm "Long Play" record, initially released in 1948, caused the 78 rpm record to become obsolete before the end of the 1950s. As these 78 rpm recordings are quite old, they may contain derogatory language and/or negative stereotypes. It is important to evaluate such recordings within their historical context and consider them as a reflection of the attitudes prevalent at the time. These recordings form an integral part of the historical record and do not represent the views of this poster, channel, or Bowness Arts.
Richard Crooks – Just To Linger In Your Arms
Tenor in English with Orchestra
Written by Ernst Arnold
78 RPM audio transfer from the Bowness Arts collection of vintage records
Richard Crooks – Just To Linger In Your Arms / Gipsy Moon
Label: His Master's Voice – D.A.1283 (UK)
Format: Shellac, 10", 78 RPM
Released: 1932
Genre: Pop, Classical
Style: Vocal
Other side of this record: Gipsy Moon
youtu.be/9MVKRzKPvw8
Richard Alexander Crooks, an American tenor and a leading singer at the New York Metropolitan Opera, was born on June 26, 1900, in Trenton, New Jersey. Following several concert seasons as an oratorio and song recital specialist, including the American premiere of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, he traveled to Germany where he made his operatic debut in Hamburg as Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca in 1927. After touring other European cities, Crooks returned to the United States and made his American debut in 1930 in Philadelphia. He became a star of the Metropolitan Opera, specializing in French and Italian operas. From 1928 to 1945, Crooks was the host of "The Voice of Firestone" radio broadcasts, in which he sang operatic arias, patriotic songs, folk songs, and popular hits such as "People Will Say We're in Love" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! in 1943. Health problems forced Crooks to retire in early 1945. However, he continued to sing at his church and elsewhere, with some of his performances being taped. He had married his childhood sweetheart and spent his later years in Portola Valley, California. Diagnosed with cancer in the mid-1960s, he battled the disease until his death on September 29, 1972, in Portola Valley, California, at the age of 72.
Note: The first 78 RPM record came into existence around 1894, and in 1912 the Gramophone Company established 78 Rotations Per Minute as their recording standard. The production of shellac records continued throughout the 78 rpm era, with "non-breakable" 78 rpm vinyl records being introduced in the 1940s. The popularity of the 33 1/3 rpm "Long Play" record, initially released in 1948, caused the 78 rpm record to become obsolete before the end of the 1950s. As these 78 rpm recordings are quite old, they may contain derogatory language and/or negative stereotypes. It is important to evaluate such recordings within their historical context and consider them as a reflection of the attitudes prevalent at the time. These recordings form an integral part of the historical record and do not represent the views of this poster, channel, or Bowness Arts.
