Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s encompassing such genres as exotica, easy listening and space age pop. Exotica is a musical genre named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the 1950s to mid 1960s typically with the Suburban Easy listening music is a style of Popular music and radio format that emerged in the mid-20th century evolving out of swing and Big band music Space age pop is a general and loosely based term for a Music genre associated with certain American Composers and songwriters in the Space Age of the Lounge music ranges from beautiful music-influenced instrumentals, to modern electronica with chillout or downtempo influences, while maintaining its focus on retro-space-age cultural elements. Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, or BM / EZ for beautiful music / easy listening) is a mostly-instrumental music format that Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary Electronic music designed for a wide range Downtempo (or Downbeat) is a laid-back Electronic music style similar to Ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike The Space Age is a contemporary period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, Space exploration, space technology and the cultural developments The earliest forms of lounge music appeared in the 1920s and 1930s, known as light music. Light music is a generic term applied to a mainly British musical style of "light" orchestral music which originated in the 19th Century and had its heyday during Lounge music is a form of mood music, intended to create the feeling of another place such as a jungle, an island paradise, or outer space. [1]
Lounge music may also refer to music played in the lounges and bars of hotels and casinos, or at standalone piano bars. A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging usually on a short-term basis A casino is in the modern sense of the word a facility that houses and accommodates certain types of Gambling activities A piano bar (also known as a piano lounge) consists of a Piano or Electronic keyboard played by a professional Musician, located in
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Retrospective usage
Exotica, space-age pop, and some forms of easy listening music popular during the 1950s and 1960s are now broadly termed lounge. Easy listening music is a style of Popular music and radio format that emerged in the mid-20th century evolving out of swing and Big band music The term lounge does not appear in textual documentation of the period, such as Billboard magazine or long playing album covers, but has been retrospectively applied. See Billboard (Turkish magazine Billboard is a weekly American Magazine devoted to the Music industry A gramophone An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially-released audio recording product or Album.
While rock and roll was generally influenced by blues and country, lounge music was derived from jazz and other musical elements borrowed from traditions around the world. Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States
Exotica from such artists Les Baxter, Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman sold millions of records during its heydey. Exotica is a musical genre named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the 1950s to mid 1960s typically with the Suburban Les Baxter ( March 14, 1922 – January 15, 1996) was an American musician and composer Martin Denny ( April 10, 1911 – March 2, 2005) was an American piano-player and composer best known as the "father of Exotica. Arthur Lyman ( February 2, 1932 &ndash February 24, 2002) was a prolific American Jazz Vibraphone and Marimba It combined music that was popular outside the USA, such as various Latin genres (e. g. , Bossa Nova, Cha-Cha-Cha, Mambo), Polynesian, French, etc. Mambo is a Cuban musical form and Dance style The word mambo (which means conversation with the gods) is the name of a priestess in Haitian into a relaxed,[2] palatable sound. Such music could have some instruments exaggerated (e. g. , a Polynesian song might have an exotic percussion arrangement using bongos, and vocalists imitating wild animals. ) Many of these recordings were portrayed as originating in exotic foreign lands, but in truth were recorded in Hollywood recording studios by veteran session musicians. Another genre, space age pop, mimicked space age sound effects of the time and reflected the public interest in space exploration. The Space Age is a contemporary period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, Space exploration, space technology and the cultural developments History First orbital flights The first successful orbital launch was of the Soviet unmanned Sputnik With the advent of stereophonic technology, artists such as Esquivel used spatial audio techniques to full effect, creating whooshing sounds with his orchestra. Stereophonic sound, commonly called stereo, is the reproduction of Sound, using two or more independent audio channels through a Symmetrical Juan García Esquivel ( January 20 1918 &ndash January 3 2002) often simply known as Esquivel!, was a Mexican
A good deal of lounge music was pure instrumental (i. e. , no main vocal part, although there could be minor vocal parts). Sometimes, this music would be theme music from movies or TV shows, although such music could be produced independently from other entertainment productions. These instrumentals could be produced with an orchestral arrangement, or from an arrangement of instruments very similar to that found in jazz, or even rock and roll such as the Hammond Organ or electric guitar. The Hammond organ is an electric organ which was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder
Lounge singers
Swinging music of the era is also considered lounge and consisted of a schmaltzy continuation of the swing jazz era of the 1930s and 1940s, but with more of an emphasis on the vocalist. Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of Jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United The legendary Rat Pack of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr., along with similar artists such as Bobby Darin, Jackie Gleason, Wayne Newton, Louis Prima and Sam Butera are notable examples. The Rat Pack was a group of popular entertainers most active between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (December 12 1915 &ndash May 14 1998 was an American singer and actor Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7 1917 &ndash December 25 1995 was an American Singer, Film Actor, television personality Samuel George “Sammy” Davis Jr (8 December 1925 &ndash 16 May 1990 was an American Entertainer. Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert "Bobby" Cassotto, May 14 1936 &ndash December 20, 1973) was one of the most popular Herbert Walton Gleason Jr, baptized John Herbert "Jackie" Gleason ( February 26, 1916 – June 24, 1987) was an Carson Wayne Newton' (born April 3, 1942) is an American Singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas Nevada. Louis Prima ( December 7, 1910 Legacy The Prima-Butera arrangements and recordings continued to be copied by younger musicians including David Sam Butera (born August 17 1927 is a Saxophone player best noted for his collaborations with Louis Prima and Keely Smith. The music of Burt Bacharach was soon featured as part of many lounge singers' repertoires. Burt Bacharach (ˈbækəræk born May 12, 1928) is an American Pianist and Composer. Such artists performed mainly at featured lounges in Las Vegas casinos. Las Vegas ( Spanish: "The Meadows" is the most populous City in the state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally
Lounge singers have a lengthy history stretching back to the decades of the early twentieth century. The somewhat derisive term lounge lizard was coined then, and less well known lounge singers have often been ridiculed as dinosaurs of past eras[3] and parodied for their smarmy delivery of standards. [4] In any event, these lounge singers, perhaps performing in a hotel or cocktail bar, are usually accompanied by one or two other musicians, and they favor cover songs composed by others, especially pop standards, many deriving from the days of Tin Pan Alley. In Popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition ( Performance or Recording) of a previously recorded commercially released Traditional pop or Classic pop or Standards music denotes in general Western (and particularly American popular music that either wholly predates the advent of Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City -centered music publishers and Songwriters who dominated the popular
Many well known performers got their start as lounge singers and musicians. The Beatles performed first as a lounge act at a bar in Hamburg, Germany. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany Although he claims not to have worked for very long, Billy Joel worked as a lounge musician and penned the song "Piano Man" about his experience. William Martin Joel (born May 9 1949 is an American Pianist and Singer-songwriter. " Piano Man " was Billy Joel 's first major hit and is considered Joel's Signature song. Not all lounge singers, however, sing lounge music.
Resurgence
Lounge emerged in the late 1980s as a label of endearment by younger fans whose parents had played such music in the 1960s. It has enjoyed resurgences in popularity in the 1980s and 1990s, led initially by ironic figures such as Buster Poindexter and Jaymz Bee. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 Irony is a literary or Rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity or Discordance between what one says or does and what one means or David Johansen (born January 9 1950, in Staten Island, New York) is an American rock, punk, Blues Jaymz Bee is a Canadian musician writer and radio personality who was born and raised in North Bay, Ontario.
In the early 1990s the lounge revival was in full swing and included such groups as Combustible Edison, Love Jones, The Cocktails, Pink Martini. Combustible Edison was a group founded in the early 1990s in Providence Rhode Island, and was one of several Lounge music acts that led a brief resurgence of interest Love Jones is an American band formed in Louisville Kentucky in spring 1990 by Ben Daughtrey (drummer and Barry Thomas (bassist with Chris Hawpe (singer/guitarist Pink Martini is a "little orchestra" from Portland Oregon, formed in 1994 by Pianist Thomas M Alternative band Stereolab demonstrated the influence of lounge with releases like Space Age Batchelor Pad Music. Stereolab are an Alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England AKA Space Age Bachelor Pad Music AKA The Groop Played "Space Age Batchelor Pad Music" A The lounge style was a direct contradiction to the grunge music that dominated the period. [5][6] These groups wore suits and played music inspired by earlier works of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Esquivel, Louis Prima and many others. Antonio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim ( January 25, 1927 in Rio de Janeiro &ndash December 8, 1994 in Brazil) also Louis Prima ( December 7, 1910 Legacy The Prima-Butera arrangements and recordings continued to be copied by younger musicians including David
In the 2000s Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine has added to this resurgence by covering metal, punk rock, and other alternative rock hits in the style of a lounge singer. Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine is a Cover band and comedy act based in Los Angeles California Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of Other artists have taken lounge music to new heights by recombining rock with pop, such as Jon Brion, Pink Martini, the Buddha-Lounge series, and the surrounding regulars of Café Largo. Jon Brion (born December 11, 1963) is an American rock and pop multi-instrumentalist Singer, Songwriter, Pink Martini is a "little orchestra" from Portland Oregon, formed in 1994 by Pianist Thomas M Largo is a Nightclub and Cabaret in Los Angeles CA, known informally as Café Largo or Club Largo, known for its retinue of musical The movie The Rise and Fall of Black Velvet Flag (2003) is a documentary about three older punk rockers who created a lounge-punk band.
In film
The 1989 film The Fabulous Baker Boys starred Jeff Bridges, Beau Bridges, and Michelle Pfeiffer as a successful lounge act. The Fabulous Baker Boys is a 1989 film written and directed by Steven Kloves about two brothers (played by real-life brothers Jeff and Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is a four-time Academy Award -nominated American Actor and Musician. Michelle Marie Pfeiffer ( IPA: /mɪˈʃɛl ˈfаɪfɜr/ born April 29 1958 is an American Actress. The film Swingers was set during the late 1990s lounge and swing revival in Los Angeles, and featured legendary performers like Dean Martin, Louis Jordan and Tony Bennett, as well as modern lounge acts like Love Jones, Joey Altruda and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Swingers is a film released in 1996 about the lives of single unemployed Actors living on the 'eastside' of Hollywood California during the 1990s The Swing Revival was a late 1990s and early 2000s period of renewed popular interest in swing and Jump blues music and dance from the 1930s and 1940s as Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7 1917 &ndash December 25 1995 was an American Singer, Film Actor, television personality Louis Jordan ( July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was a pioneering American Jazz, Blues and Rhythm & blues Tony Bennett (born Anthony Dominick Benedetto; August 3 1926) is an American Singer of popular music, standards Love Jones is an American band formed in Louisville Kentucky in spring 1990 by Ben Daughtrey (drummer and Barry Thomas (bassist with Chris Hawpe (singer/guitarist Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a contemporary swing band from southern California. The Circle Jerks perform as a very poor lounge act in the 1984 cult film, Repo Man directed by Alex Cox. The Circle Jerks are a Hardcore punk band formed circa 1979 in Hermosa Beach California. Alexander Cox (born December 15, 1954) is a British Film director and sometime Actor, notable for his idiosyncratic style and approach
In the movie The Blues Brothers, most of the members of the band were reduced to performing as "Murph and the Magictones" (headlining at a Holiday Inn) after band leader Jake Blues went to prison. The Blues Brothers are a Grammy Award -nominated American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd Holiday Inn is a Brand name applied to Hotels within the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG Interestingly, when the band takes a break to speak with Jake and his brother Elwood, Murph switches on a Muzak version of "Just the Way You Are", performed by Billy Joel, a former lounge musician himself. This article refers to the 1977-song For the 1984 movie with the same title see Just the Way You Are (film. William Martin Joel (born May 9 1949 is an American Pianist and Singer-songwriter.
Comedy
Andy Kaufman portrayed Tony Clifton. Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman (January 17 1949 &ndash May 16 1984 was an American Entertainer, Actor and Performance artist While often referred A parody of show biz entitlement and excess, Clifton is untalented, lazy (often not bothering to remember the words to the songs), and abusive to his audiences. Bill Murray also portrayed a particularly bad lounge singer on Saturday Night Live, Nick The Lounge Singer, best known for providing his own lyrics to the John Williams theme from Star Wars and performing an over-the-top version of the Morris Albert hit "Feelings". For the British actor see Billy Murray (actor. William James "Bill" Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an Saturday Night Live ( SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute American Sketch comedy / Variety show based in New York City Nick The Lounge Singer was Bill Murray 's most popular recurring character during his tenure on Saturday Night Live. John Towner Williams (born February 8 1932) is an American Composer, conductor and Pianist. Star Wars is an epic Space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas during the 1970s and significantly expanded Morris Albert (born Maurício Alberto Kaisermann, 7 September 1951 São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil) is a Brazilian Singer and " Feelings " is a Song by Morris Albert, first recorded by him as the Title track of his 1975 debut album Later, Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer portrayed a goofy married duo of lounge-style musicians, but in incongruous venues such as high school dances. John William "Will" Ferrell (ˈfærəl born July 16, 1967) is an American Comedian, Actor, Voice actor, Ana Kristina Gasteyer (born May 4, 1967) is an American actress and Comedian. High school is the name used in some parts of the world (in particular Scotland, North America and Australia) to describe an institution British comedians Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones appeared as a cheesy keyboard and bass duo during the end credits of one series of their long-running sketch show. Mel Smith (born in Chiswick, London on 3 December, 1952) is an English Comedian, Actor, Film director Griffith Rhys Jones (born 6th November or 16th November (depending on source speakers agent (6th or BBC (16th 1953 in Cardiff, Wales An electronic keyboard or digital keyboard is a type of Keyboard instrument. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the
See also
References
- ^ Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith, "Lounge Caravan: A Selective Discography," Notes 61, no. Kitsch /kɪtʃ/ is a term of German or Yiddish origin that has been used to categorize art that is considered an inferior tasteless copy of an existing Tiki culture refers to a mid-20th-century theme used in Polynesian style restaurants and clubs originally in the United States and then to a lesser degree around the world Easy listening music is a style of Popular music and radio format that emerged in the mid-20th century evolving out of swing and Big band music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, or BM / EZ for beautiful music / easy listening) is a mostly-instrumental music format that Light music is a generic term applied to a mainly British musical style of "light" orchestral music which originated in the 19th Century and had its heyday during Downtempo (or Downbeat) is a laid-back Electronic music style similar to Ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike Groovera (aka Groovera Chilled Web Radio is an independent multi-channel commercial-free and listener-supported Internet-only radio station dedicated to the loosely-typed genres 4 (2005): 1060. Available at Project Muse at "http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/notes/v061/61.4goldsmith.html"
- ^ Album notes for Exotica! The Best of Martin Denny by Martin Denny [CD]. Rhino Records (R2 70774).
- ^ “American Notes LAS VEGAS--- Stop the Music!”, Time, August 21, 1989, <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,958377,00.html>
- ^ Sean Elder. "Bill Murray", Salon.com. Saloncom, part of Salon Media Group ( often just called Salon, is an online Retrieved on 2008-01-18. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor
- ^ Spindler, Amy M. . "Review/Fashion; Chic Prevails Over Grunge", New York Times, March 7, 1995. Retrieved on 2007-12-12. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian
- ^ Lacayo, Richard. "Ring-A-Ding Ding", Time, May 25, 1998. Retrieved on 2008-01-17. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 38 BC - Octavian marries Livia Drusilla. 1287 - King Alfonso III of Aragon invades Minorca
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