Dim the lights, close your eyes, and welcome a style of music that many thought was gone forever.
The soft soulful sound of crooning is getting a second run. A new generation of traditional singers is reviving old standards from the Great American Songbook. Harry Connick Jr. and Michael Buble are two notable modern singers who sell out concert halls and top music charts.
The early days of singing
The crooner style of singing was introduced to America in the 1920s, but it really gained momentum in the 1930s and 1940s. By the 1960s, the popularity of this style of music was declining dramatically. Some of the crooner icons managed to maintain a following in the 1960s and early 1970s, but theirs was a larger audience of loyal fans. Iconic names like Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Nat King Cole have passed away, but thanks to a new crop of singers, their music lives on.
Harry Connick Jr.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1967, Harry Connick Jr. showed talent at a very young age. The child prodigy was destined for greatness; he was playing keyboards by the age of three, and by ten, Harry had performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 Opus 37 with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra. A renowned vocal and instrumental musician, Connick has released more than 20 albums and has earned more US No. 1 jazz albums than any other artist in jazz chart history.
The cementing of her status as a modern singer came after releasing hits like It had to be You and But not for me from the 1989 soundtrack When Harry Met Sally. A new generation of fans has overwhelmingly welcomed Harry Connick Jr., as well as the traditional soft sounds of the crooning style. Interestingly, Connick has followed in the footsteps of his singing predecessors in that he has embraced the big screen and found great success as a leading actor in movies and television.
michael buble
Born in Canada in 1975, this global heartthrob’s vocal talent caught the attention of his parents when they heard him sing. white Christmas at the age of thirteen. Michael Bublé was singing in nightclubs at the age of sixteen. A shining star moment for the young performer came after he won a Canadian youth talent show. Bublé signed with an agent and took on every available gig imaginable. From cruise ships to hotel lounges, Michael was determined to get in front of the people.
Again, as with his ex-singer counterparts, Bublé landed television and movie roles as a way to gain exposure in show business. A turning point came in 2000 when Bublé decided to change course and pursue a career in journalism, but a chain of unplanned events led to his introduction to Grammy Award-winning producer David Foster. Foster agreed to produce an album for the aspiring artist and the rest is musical history.
Finding much success with memorable standards like, for once in my life and come and fly with me, Bublé has also had chart-topping originals. Bublé went gold with his hit single Home, which topped the pop and country music charts. Often compared to the vocal style of the late Frank Sinatra, Bublé is giving a new generation a taste of the singer’s true technique.
It is not a passing whim
Singing may have reached its heyday in the mid-20th century, but some brilliantly talented young performers refuse to let the musical style go away. Dusting off and reviving the standards of the Great American Songbook, as well as offering original songs, these modern singers are introducing the soft, soulful musical style to a whole new generation.