Crooner

A crooner is a singer (usually male) of a certain kind of popular music, often called "standards" or "American standards". The style, which is characterized by a relaxed and intimate posture by the performer, became possible with the invention of electric amplification in the early 20th century. Prior to the introduction of this technology, in order for a singer to be heard in a large venue, he or she had to be able to project the voice a substantial distance. This skill usually required extensive formal voice training. Singers of the pre-electronic-amplification era are characterized by powerful, professionally trained voices. However, with amplification, singers who did not possess powerful, trained voices could aspire to become popular performers. Crooning became one of the early styles made possible by these circumstances. Indeed, this form of music dominated popular American music from the 1940s to the 1960s. After that time, popular music became dominated by other styles, such as rock 'n' roll. However, crooners have not completely disappeared, with contemporary performers such as Harry Connick Jr., and Michael Bubl? keeping the form alive. While both male and female singers sang in this style, the label "crooner" is rarely used to describe a female singer.

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20th century: The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar. Common usage sometimes regards it as lasting from 1900 to 1999, but this is often considered incorrect due to the nonexistence of a "Year Zero" before AD 1. The 20th century is also sometimes known as the nineteen hundreds (1900s)...

1960s: The 1960s, or The Sexy Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. The Sixties has come to refer to the complex of inter-related cultural and political events which occurred in approximatel...

Rock 'n' roll: For the musical genre, see rock and roll....