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Research dossier · Arts & Letters

Small Fry (album)

1941 compilation album by Bing Crosby

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 18, 2026
Entity authorityQ20814068 ↗
Source-derived summary

Small Fry is a compilation album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby released in 1941 featuring songs centered on the main song, "Small Fry", which was sung by Bing Crosby in the 1938 film Sing You Sinners.

Track listing

These previously issued songs were featured on a 5-disc, 78 rpm album set, Decca Album No. 202.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Small Fry (album)” as 1941 compilation album by Bing Crosby. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Small, album and compilation.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1941, 1938—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1941. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Small, album and compilation providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Small Fry (album)”, the useful work is to connect “1941 compilation album by Bing Crosby” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q20814068. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1941 and 1938.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Small Fry (album)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Small Fry (album) primary sources, Small Fry (album) archive and Small research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Small Fry (album)”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Small Fry (album)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.