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Who remembers "Easy Listening" albums from the 50s-60s-70s?

Posted by Scott R L @scottrl, Oct 20, 2023

I'm really showing my age here, but...

Who remembers easy listening music?

Groups like 101 Strings, orchestra leaders like Mantovani, Kostelanetz, Mancini, etc.? Or remembers some lesser-known arrangers/conductors like George Melachrino or Hugo Winterhalter?
Jackie Gleason had a bunch of albums, too. Readers Digest put out a number of CDs in the 90s, too.

My father loved this stuff. I rediscovered it a few years ago, and it sounds pretty good. Romantic, relaxing...just as advertised, easy to listen to.

A lot of this music is on YouTube, or you can buy CDs on Ebay if you don't like annoying ads.

Highly recommended when you need to unwind.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Just Want to Talk Support Group.

itchyd | @itchyd | Oct 26, 2023
In reply to @pkh3381 "I spent last night listening to Etta James [an extensive playlist of nearly every song AMZN..." + (show)
@pkh3381

I spent last night listening to Etta James [an extensive playlist of nearly every song AMZN Music has!] and Aretha Franklin, my Soul Queens. Etta James is heavy on the Blues, which is one of my favorites, too. One of my favoties by her is called, "A Lover Is Forever", which is bluesy and beautiful! You can listen to it on Youtube, if interested. It is soooo Sweet! The way I carry on, singing along, you would think I had a voice......trust me, I don't! Oh, how I love my music!
P

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I do a lot of crossword puzzles and Etta's name pops up frequently. But, I'd never listened to any of her songs until I gave your suggestion a shot. Great song! After that, Youtube suggested "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and that was very good, too. But, it reminded me to listen to my old Foghat tunes and I got lost in those for a while. Thanks for the suggestions!

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2 replies
Scott R L | @scottrl | Oct 26, 2023
In reply to @doane "Wasn't the term "semi-classical" used in the 60s and 70s for easy listening? That would be..." + (show)
@doane

Wasn't the term "semi-classical" used in the 60s and 70s for easy listening? That would be instrumental rather than for voice. It went along with the advent of bigger speakers with a broader sound range. People seemed to be wanting to build a den atmosphere to mellow out in.

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I don't remember that term...the derogatory "elevator music" waws pretty common, though.

A lot of these orchestras (made up mostly of studio musicians, I believe) did record some lighter classical works. Strauss waltzes, tone poems, melodic pieces from operas and ballets, and overtures, for example.

They probably introduced a lot of people to more serious classical works. I know my first exposure to classical music was this way, and I became a lifelong fan.

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pml | @pml | Oct 26, 2023

Thanks for the tip! I'll look into that.
PML

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pkh3381 | @pkh3381 | Oct 27, 2023
In reply to @itchyd "I do a lot of crossword puzzles and Etta's name pops up frequently. But, I'd never..." + (show)
@itchyd

I do a lot of crossword puzzles and Etta's name pops up frequently. But, I'd never listened to any of her songs until I gave your suggestion a shot. Great song! After that, Youtube suggested "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and that was very good, too. But, it reminded me to listen to my old Foghat tunes and I got lost in those for a while. Thanks for the suggestions!

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Anothe great tune by Etta James is, "Damn Your Eyes"! Hope you like it!
P

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cindyc | @cindysummit | Oct 28, 2023
In reply to @pml "Those are great sounds! I loved Henry Mancini! I am 77 and was born in 1946..." + (show)
@pml

Those are great sounds! I loved Henry Mancini! I am 77 and was born in 1946 but I loved the music from the 1940's! Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Guy Lombardo (New Year's Eve isn't anything without Guy Lombardo's Auld Lang Syne!) I was a teenager in the 1960's so I also liked Frankie Avalon and Annette. Also western music such as Merle Haggard, Hank Williams (and Jr. too). It's hard to find these songs these days except on CD's. There is a wonderful radio show that you can get online called "It Seems Like Old Times." (https://oldtimesradio.com/) You can pick a year and hear the popular music from that date all the way back to the 1920's! They also tell you the news of that date too. It's very interesting!
PML

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I love anything by Jimmy Webb.

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liv38556 | @liv38556 | Oct 29, 2023

I was born in 1959, raised in the 60’s and 70’s and I always thought Easy Listening was soft rock & roll music. I am going to try this though.

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jk77 | @jk77 | Nov 29, 2023

"Dude, you are *not* old enough to remember easy listening from the '50s or '60s" is what I was thinking when I read the title of your thread. Then I read that your father was the source.

I confess that this music is not quite for me -- I was born in 1961, and some of it was definitely in the background of parts of my childhood (I remember being about 4 or 5 and becoming impatient with the 60-ish woman who was babysitting me bc she was watching Lawrence Welk instead of playing cards with me) -- but it's a fun thread. Thanks.

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jk77 | @jk77 | Nov 29, 2023
In reply to @itchyd "I do a lot of crossword puzzles and Etta's name pops up frequently. But, I'd never..." + (show)
@itchyd

I do a lot of crossword puzzles and Etta's name pops up frequently. But, I'd never listened to any of her songs until I gave your suggestion a shot. Great song! After that, Youtube suggested "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and that was very good, too. But, it reminded me to listen to my old Foghat tunes and I got lost in those for a while. Thanks for the suggestions!

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I recommend "I'd Rather Go Blind," from 1967. It's incomparable. *She* was incomparable.

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1 reply
itchyd | @itchyd | Nov 29, 2023
In reply to @jk77 "I recommend "I'd Rather Go Blind," from 1967. It's incomparable. *She* was incomparable." + (show)
@jk77

I recommend "I'd Rather Go Blind," from 1967. It's incomparable. *She* was incomparable.

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Listened.

Liked !!

My optometrist is a big fan of hers, too.

I'll mention this song to him in January.

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