Personnel includes: Bing Crosby (vocals); John Scott Trotter, Bob Haggart, Victor Young, Matty Matlock, The Jeff Alexander Chorus, The Perry Bodkin String Band, The Jesters, The Mellowmen, The King's Men.

Digitally remastered by Paul Elmore.

Personnel: Bing Crosby (vocals).

Audio Remasterer: Paul Elmore.

Recording information: Los Angeles, CA.

Photographers: Dr. Demento; Frank Driggs; Wayne Knight; Geary Chansley.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Matty Matlock & His Orchestra; John Scott Trotter; The Jesters; Mellomen; Victor Young & His Orchestra; Bob Haggart.

Of the many musical genres Bing Crosby tackled, he probably felt closest to the Irish songs, many of which he must have heard when he was growing up in an Irish-American home. Crosby recorded 25 Irish-themed songs between 1940 and 1952, both traditional and newly written, and they appeared originally on singles, including the gold-selling Top Ten hits "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's an Irish Lullaby)," "MacNamara's Band," and "Galway Bay." In the LP era, the songs were gathered onto two albums, When Irish Eyes Are Smiling and Shillelaghs and Shamrocks, the latter becoming a best-seller in 1958. Top o' the Morning: His Irish Collection, a 24-track, 72-plus-minute disc, contains the contents of both those albums, the rarity "Rosaleen," and the original recording of "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral," unissued since the 1944 single. Within the Irish context, there are warm ballads and sprightly marches, and Crosby handles them all with ease. ~ William Ruhlmann

While this collection of Bing Crosby's Irish material contains more than double the amount of tracks on the singer's A LITTLE BIT OF IRISH, there is no overlap whatsoever between the two, which tells you something about the breadth of Irish tunes in the Crosby oeuvre. The approach to the songs here is similar to that found on A LITTLE BIT OF IRISH; pop-oriented orchestral arrangements hold sway instead of traditional folk-oriented instrumentation.

Nevertheless, the increased selection offered here affords the opportunity to dig a little deeper into Crosby's Irish repertoire. So while familiar tunes such as "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ra" and "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen" are present, there's also more obscure material, including such light-hearted romps as "Who Threw the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy's Chowder?" The extensive selection of TOP O' THE MORNING makes it the definitive Crosby Irish collection.