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Easy Listening

Easy Listening music is instrumental music that was designed to be soothing and relaxing. Unlike jazz, which demands your utmost attention, easy listening slips into the background, which is the very reason many critics and listeners dismissed the music as nothing more than disposible fluff. Although some records certainly fall into that category, there were a number of inventive arrangers and conductors working in the genre, such as Martin Denny, Les Baxter and Esquivel, who distinguished... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Ray Conniff | Ferrante & Teicher | Esquivel | Henry Mancini | Les Baxter | Command All-Stars | Arthur Lyman | Nelson Riddle | Richard Clayderman | Liberace | Martin Denny | 101 Strings Orchestra | Xavier Cugat | Enoch Light | Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
Exotica/Lounge

Exotica and Lounge were two of the prime styles of easy listening music in the '50s and '60s -- so symbolic of the sound of their era that they seemed to define easy listening in the minds of many listeners, particularly those that came upon the genre in its '90s revival. Exotica draws upon world music, but it doesn't aim for authentic replication. Instead, exotica's primary concern is lightweight entertainment, gathering readily identifiable ethnic sounds into a smooth, easily digested pop... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Esquivel | Martin Denny | Arthur Lyman | Command All-Stars | Eden Ahbez | Yma Sumac | Steve Allen | Walter Wanderley | Ferrante & Teicher | The Three Suns | Les Baxter | Henry Mancini | Bruce Haack
Vocal Standards

Traditional Pop refers to post-big band and pre-rock & roll pop music. Traditional pop drew from a repertoire of songs written by professional songwriters and were performed by a vocalist that was supported by either an orchestra or a small combo. In traditional pop, the song is the key. During the golden age of the American popular song (around 1915-60), several dozen very talented composers wrote a countless number of flexible songs that were adopted (and often transformed) by creative jazz... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Nina Simone | Tony Bennett | Dinah Shore | Frank Sinatra | Kay Starr | Lena Horne | Betty Carter | Paul Robeson | Jo Stafford | Bobby Vinton | Betty Roché | Fred Astaire | Ella Fitzgerald | The Platters | The Andrews Sisters
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