Easy listening is a style of popular music and a radio format associated with smooth, melodic and generally unobtrusive music. It is closely related to middle of the road, light music, traditional pop, orchestral pop, lounge music and adult standards. The term is most often used for music that became commercially prominent from the 1950s to the 1970s, although the style drew on earlier traditions of light orchestral music, crooning, dance-band arrangements and popular song.
Easy listening recordings commonly feature relaxed tempos, polished arrangements, clear melodies, soft vocal delivery, string sections, light percussion and orchestral or jazz-influenced instrumentation. The style includes both vocal and instrumental music, ranging from interpretations of popular standards to instrumental covers of hit songs. It is often connected with background music, but easy listening is not identical to background music: many recordings were intended for attentive domestic listening, radio programming and album consumption rather than only for use in public spaces.
Terminology
The expression "easy listening" refers to music designed to be pleasant, accessible and relatively undemanding for the listener. The term has been used both as a genre label and as a radio-format term. Related labels include "mood music", "light music", "middle of the road" and "beautiful music", although these terms are not always interchangeable. "Beautiful music" usually refers more specifically to a radio format dominated by instrumental arrangements, while easy listening may include a greater proportion of vocal recordings and popular songs.
History
The roots of easy listening lie in early 20th-century light orchestral music, Tin Pan Alley song, dance-band music, big band arrangements, crooner vocal styles and film music. During the 1930s and 1940s, radio, cinema and the recording industry helped popularize polished arrangements of standards and sentimental songs. Singers such as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Nat King Cole and Doris Day became associated with a smooth vocal approach that later overlapped with easy listening and adult standards.
The style gained particular commercial importance in the postwar period. In the 1950s, the growth of the long-playing record, home hi-fi systems and stereo recording encouraged albums designed for domestic listening, cocktail parties and relaxed social settings.
In the United States, easy listening also developed as a radio format. Billboard's easy listening chart began in 1961 and later evolved into the Adult Contemporary chart.
Musical characteristics
Easy listening is usually characterized by clear melody, smooth texture, moderate or slow tempo, controlled dynamics and polished studio production. Arrangements often use strings, piano, light percussion, saxophone, vibraphone, organ, choir or full orchestra. The music generally avoids aggressive rhythm, harsh timbres, dense improvisation and heavy distortion.
Vocal easy listening tends to emphasize relaxed phrasing, clear diction and emotional restraint. Instrumental easy listening often consists of arrangements of standards, film themes, show tunes or popular songs. Some recordings are close to jazz or traditional pop, while others are closer to orchestral pop, lounge music or background music.
Relationship with lounge music and background music
Easy listening is frequently associated with lounge music, but the two terms are not identical. Lounge music usually suggests a specific atmosphere connected with bars, hotels, cocktail culture and mid-century leisure. Easy listening is a broader term that includes radio programming, vocal standards, orchestral pop and instrumental arrangements intended for relaxed listening.
Easy listening also overlaps with background music and Muzak, but the distinction is partly functional. Background music is defined mainly by its use in a space, while easy listening is also a commercial genre and radio category. A recording can function as background music while also being marketed and listened to as easy listening.