The consummate American male singer in the 1940s and beyond, Frank Sinatra made married women swoon and made men wish they had that same swagger and style of old blue eyes. Johnny Mathis concentrated on holiday music and soft interpretations of jazz and pop standards like “Tender is the Night.” Tony Bennett bridged the gap as a jazz vocalist with his Gold Top-10 hit “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” firmly taking hold of America’s popular imagination.
Each of these crossover artists was remarkably prolific and also found success in other genres.
In the 1940s through 1960s, a host of versatile vocalists and crooners produced a string of ballads, lifting the love song to a veritable art form. Lombardo achieved wide acclaim for his annual New Year’s Eve radio broadcasts, making his rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” a national standard. As the nation was coming to terms with its identity, parents stayed home to watch Lawrence Welk and listen to Perry Como in their living rooms, while their sons and daughters went to teen clubs to dance to the burgeoning music of rebellion-rock-and-roll.Įasy1.jpg – 15960 BytesOne of the genre’s earliest success stories, Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians had a long string of hits in the 1940s and 1950s, selling well over 100 million records to the established adult market. Even the king of rock-and-roll, Elvis Presley, before his death in 1977 appeared on Easy Listening charts, appealing mainly to a middle-aged listening crowd.įollowing World War II, the original takers of Easy Listening were the silver-haired parents of the baby boomers. Often over time, as harder-edged artists or musical groups aged, they came to be considered part of the Easy Listening genre. One thing, however, has remained the same since the genre’s beginnings in swing and light orchestral arrangements–Easy Listening has basically always been considered the music of adults, the music of our parents, the music of a mainstream and conservative crowd. Ultimately, it’s considered a catchall phrase, defined by the gentle, melodic feel of the music, not a particular era or composition style. From the smooth vocals of Perry Como and Andy Williams to the lush instrumentals of Liberace and Henry Mancini to the contemporary sounds of Kenny G and Whitney Houston, Easy Listening features soothing melodies, soft rhythms, and-sometimes-even dreamy vocals.Įasy Listening encompasses a sweeping number of musical styles, and many of the artists bridge into other genres, such as jazz, big band, neo-classical, pop, or rock-and-roll.
Whether in an elevator, in a doctor’s office, on the telephone, or in the most comfortable room in your home, Easy Listening music can slip into the background like a well-designed wallpaper-adding ambiance, color, and interest without taking center stage.
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