Crooner

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For the film, see Crooner (film).
"Croon" redirects here. For the rower, see Bernardus Croon.
Frank Sinatra in 1947

A crooner is a singer that performs with a smooth, intimate style that originated in the 1920s. The style was made possible by better

bobby soxers". The crooning style developed out of singers who performed with big bands
, and reached its height in the 1940s to late 1960s.

Crooning is epitomised by jazz vocalists like Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, although Sinatra once said that he did not consider himself or Crosby to be "crooners".[1] Other performers, such as Russ Columbo, also rejected the term.[2]

History

Gene Austin
"Learn to Croon"
Bing Crosby demonstrates how to croon in this 1933 recording
Problems playing this file? See media help.

This dominant popular vocal style coincided with the advent of radio broadcasting and

electrical recording. Before the advent of the microphone, popular singers like Al Jolson had to project to the rear seats of a theater, as did opera singers, which made for a very loud vocal style. The microphone made possible the more personal style.[3] Al Bowlly, Bing Crosby, Gene Austin, Art Gillham and, by some historical accounts, Vaughn De Leath[4][5] are often credited as inventors of the crooning style, but Rudy Vallée achieved more widespread popularity,[3]
beginning in 1928; he could be heard by anyone with a phonograph or a radio.

In his popular radio program, which began with his floating greeting, "Heigh ho, everybody," beamed in from a New York City night club, he stood like a statue, surrounded by clean-cut collegiate band musicians and cradling a saxophone in his arms.

— Ian Whitcomb[3]

His first film,

midget golf."[3] Voice range shifted from tenor (Vallée) to baritone (Russ Columbo, Bing Crosby).[3] Still, a 1931 record by Dick Robertson, "Crosby, Columbo, and Vallee", called upon men to fight "these public enemies" brought into homes via radio.[3]

Some female singers, such as Vaughn De Leath, Annette Hanshaw, Mildred Bailey (at the beginning of her career), Harriet Lee, and Helen Rowland have been cited in the category of crooners.

Country crooners

Due to the country songs popularized by Bing Crosby, the crooning style of singing became an enduring part of

Ray Price are especially well known for their country crooner standards.[8][9][10]

UK Singles Chart
.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ CBS Special "Sinatra The Legend" recording of It Was A Very Good Year (1965)
  2. ^ "Russ Columbo Doesn't Croon". Milwaukee Journal. 1 November 1931. Retrieved 24 June 2010.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Whitcomb, Ian. "The Coming of the Crooners". Survey of American Popular Music. Sam Houston State University. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  4. ^ Father of Radio: The Autobiography of Lee de Forest, 1950, page 351.
  5. ^ Irving Settel, A Pictorial History of Radio, p. 58, Grosset & Dunlap (1967).
  6. OCLC 46976469
    .
  7. ^ Bing Crosby, "I'm an Old Cowhand," original mono recordings from 1933-1944, ASV Mono, Living Era, 1995.
  8. Country Music Television
    . Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  9. ^ Dauphin, Chuck (1 August 2014). "billboard.com: A Tribute to Country Crooner Jim Reeves on the 50th Anniversary of His Death". Billboard. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  10. ^ Wilonsky, Robert (16 December 2013). "dallasnews.com: Influential country crooner Ray Price dies at 87". Retrieved 6 September 2014.

Further reading

  • Gary Giddins, Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams: The Early Years, 1903–1940. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 2001.
  • Allison McCracken, Real Men Don't Sing: Crooning in American Culture. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2015.
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