Lounge music

Lounge music refers to music played in the lounges and bars of hotels and casinos, or at standalone piano bars. Generally, the performers include a singer and one or two other musicians. The performers play or cover songs composed by others, especially pop standards, many deriving from the days of Tin Pan Alley. Notionally, much lounge music consists of sentimental favorites enjoyed by a lone drinker over a martini, though in practice there is much more variety.

Overview

While the performers are often minimally paid, many people attempting a musical career start as lounge musicians. For example, the Beatles performed first as a lounge act at a bar in Hamburg, Germany. Billy Joel worked as a lounge musician and penned the song "Piano Man" about his experience.

Related Topics:
The Beatles - Billy Joel

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Patrons of the lounge have been known to request the performers to play music which the performers are ill-equipped musically to play. For example, a duo of a singer and a piano player could be requested to perform "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin. The resultant performance could be considered as bad music, a parody or both (a travesty).

Related Topics:
Led Zeppelin - Travesty

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An example of stereotypical interaction between a lounge musician and audience might be:

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:Audience member: Do you know "Rhapsody In Blue"?

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:Lounge musician: No, but if you hum a few bars I can fake it.

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Reputedly, the most-requested lounge song is either "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", or "Misty".

Related Topics:
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - Misty

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Lounge music has enjoyed brief resurgences in popularity in the 1980s and 1990s, led by deliberately ironic figures such as Buster Poindexter and Jaymz Bee. Richard Cheese's Lounge Against The Machine have added to this resurgence, by parodying metal music and other alternative rock hits in the style of lounge music. Other artists have taken lounge music to new heights by recombining rock with pop, such as Jon Brion and the surrounding regulars of Café Largo.

Related Topics:
1980s - 1990s - Ironic - Buster Poindexter - Jaymz Bee - Richard Cheese - Lounge Against The Machine - Metal music - Alternative rock - Jon Brion - Café Largo

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