the.com/crooner
the velvet voice that turned the microphone into a weapon of mass seduction
means A singer, typically male, who performs sentimental popular songs in a soft, smooth, intimate style.
from From the verb 'croon,' which came into English from Dutch or Low German 'kronen,' meaning to groan, hum, or lament. In Scots it long meant to sing in a low murmuring tone, especially the soothing hum of a lullaby. The 'crooner' as a label for a soft-singing pop vocalist took off only with the rise of the electric microphone in the early 20th century, which let a singer murmur close and quiet rather than belt to fill a hall — turning a gentle hum into a career.
- tech baby
- Crooning only existed once microphones could amplify whispers
- moral panic
- Critics called crooning effeminate and banned it from radio
- origin
- The term comes from a Scots word meaning to bellow
- sinatra empire
- Frank Sinatra weaponized intimacy into a billion-dollar persona
- swoon factory
- Bing Crosby's relaxed style sold over a billion records
bing crosby — american singer who dominated 1930s-1950s with smooth baritone, sold over 1 billion records
frank sinatra — new jersey-born vocalist who perfected the crooning style in 1940s-1960s, known as 'chairman of the board'
perry como — italian-american singer and tv personality whose relaxed crooning style made him #1 in 1950s-1960s