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. For other uses, see Hotel (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A piano bar (also known as a piano lounge) consists of a piano or electronic keyboard played by a professional musician, located in a cocktail lounge or bar . ... In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. ... The term pop standards refers to an American songwriting, arranging, and singing style that is widely considered as the high point of Western vocal popular music. ... Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. ...

The term can also refer to laid-back electronic music, also named downtempo, because of the reputation of lounge music as low-key background music. For other uses, see Electronic music (disambiguation). ... Downtempo (or Downbeat) is a laid-back electronic music style similar to Ambient music. ... Although background music was by the end of the 20th Century generally identified with Muzak or Elevator music, there are several stages in the development of this concept: // In the Baroque and Classical music era music could be performed as a background to other activities, for instance: French kings of...

Overview

While the performers are often minimally paid, many people who have attempted a musical career start as lounge musicians. For example, the Beatles performed first as a lounge act at a bar in Hamburg, Germany. Although he claims not to have worked for very long, Billy Joel worked as a lounge musician and penned the song "Piano Man" about his experience. The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... William Martin Billy Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist, songwriter, composer and musician. ... Piano Man track listing Travelin Prayer (1) Piano Man (2) Aint No Crime (3) Piano Man was Billy Joels first major hit, and is considered Joels signature song. ...

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 covering metal music, punk rock, 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. The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Ironic redirects here. ... David Johansen on the cover of his 1987 eponymous debut as Buster Poindexter David Johansen (born January 9, 1950, Staten Island, NY) is an American rock, punk, blues and pop singer, songwriter and actor. ... Jaymz Bee is a Canadian musician, writer and radio personality. ... Categories: Music stubs | American musical groups ... Lounge Against the Machine is the first album from Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine, released October 17, 2000. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Heavy metal music. ... Alternative music redirects here. ... Jon Brion at The Sunset Tavern in Seattle (photo by Nadja Dee Tanaka) Jon Brion (born 1962) is an American rock and pop multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, composer and record producer. ... Largo is a nightclub and cabaret in West Hollywood, CA, known informally as Café Largo or Club Largo. ...

Golden Age of Lounge Music

Lounge music can also specifically refer to a form of "hip" (not "hip-hop") generally easy listening music that was popular during the 50's and 60's, yet distinct from what was "pop rock" of that era. This is considered to be the golden age of lounge music. At this time, while pop rock music was more popular with younger folks, lounge music was more popular with older folks. Typically, teenagers of the time would listen to pop rock, while their older siblings or parents would listen to lounge. However, the phrase lounge does not appear in textual documentation of the period, such as Billboard magazine or long playing album covers. Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ... Billboard can refer to: Billboard magazine Billboard (advertising) Billboard antenna In 3D computer graphics, to billboard is to rotate an object so that it faces the viewer. ... Manufacturers put records inside protective and decorative cardboard jackets and an inner paper sleeve to protect the grooves from dust and scratches. ... An album cover is a cover used to package commercial audio recordings such as the printed cardboard covers that were typically used to package 12 gramophone records from the 1960s through to the 1980s when the 12 record was the major format for distribution of popular music. ...

While some of the lounge music during this period was truly slow, easy listening, a lot of the music was uptempo, with the distinction being sometimes blurred. While pop music was generally country, blues, or rock and roll, lounge music was anything that wasn't strictly of those genres (or a mix of them), but which still was meant for popular consumption (and indeed, was popular with most folks who weren't interested in pop music.) For other uses, see Pop music (disambiguation). ... country music, see Country music (disambiguation) Country music, the first half of Billboards country and western music category, is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States. ... Blues music redirects here. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ...

One interesting subgenre of lounge music was swinging music, which was nothing more than a schmaltzy continuation of the swing jazz era of the 1930's and 40's, but with more of an emphasis on the vocalist. The legendary Rat Pack of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr., along with similar artists such as Jackie Gleason, Wayne Newton, Louis Prima and Sam Butera, are a prime example of this subgenre. Such artists performed mainly at featured lounges in Las Vegas casinos. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Sinatra redirects here. ... Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti, June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, film actor, and comedian. ... Sammy Davis, Jr. ... Herbert John Jackie Gleason (February 26, 1916 – June 24, 1987) was an American comedian, actor, and musician. ... Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942, in Roanoke, Virginia) is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. ... Louis Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American entertainer, singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. ... Sam Butera is a saxophone player. ... For further information, see Las Vegas metropolitan area and Las Vegas Strip. ...

A good deal of lounge music was pure instrumental (i.e., no main vocal part, although there could be minor vocal parts.) Sometimes, this music would be theme music from movies or TV shows, although such music could be produced independently from other entertainment productions. These instrumentals could be produced with an orchestral arrangement, or from an arrangement of instruments very similar to that found in jazz, or even rock and roll such as the Hammond Organ or Electric Guitar. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into electrical current, which is then amplified. ...

Another subset of lounge music was exotica, showcasing music that was popular outside the USA, such as various Latin genres (e.g., Bossa Nova, Cha-Cha-Cha, Mambo), Polynesian, French, etc. Such music could have some instruments exaggerated (e.g., a Polynesian song might have an exotic percussion arrangement using bongos, and vocalists imitating wild animals.) Many of these recordings were portrayed as originating in exotic foreign lands, but in truth were recorded in Hollywood recording studios by veteran session musicians. One of the exotica subgenres could be called space age pop music, which attempted to give the feeling of zooming into outer space, which is an activity that had high public interest at the time (see space exploration.) (Here, consult the oeuvre of Esquivel.) Martin Dennys breakthrough album, Exotica Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the late 1950s to mid 1960s typically with the suburban set who came of age during World War II. The musical colloquialism exotica means tropical ersatz... For other uses, see Bossa nova (disambiguation). ... For the dance, see Cha-cha-cha (dance). ... Mambo is a Cuban musical form and dance style. ... Layers of Atmosphere - not to scale (NOAA)[1] Outer space, sometimes simply called space, refers to the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. ... Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer space, both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft. ... Juan García Esquivel (January 20, 1918 – January 3, 2002) often known as simply Esquivel!, was a Mexican band leader, pianist, and film composer. ...

Retrospective use of Lounge conception

When much of this music was originally made, particularly the instrumental music of Les Baxter or Arthur Lyman, the word lounge was not used. (These performers specialized in the exotic theme, as mentioned in the previous paragraph.) "Lounge" emerged in the late 1980s as a label of endearment by young adults whose parents had played such music in the 1960s. A label used for the instrumental music of this genre in the 1950s or 1960s was exotica. Vocal music was simply labeled pop, which of course included artists ranging from Pat Boone to the Everly Brothers. Les Baxter (March 14, 1922 - January 15, 1996) studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory before moving to Los Angeles for further studies at Pepperdine College. ... Arthur Lyman (February 2, 1932 - February 24, 2002) popularized a jazzy style of Hawaiian music during the 1950s, and gathered a following as a purveyor of so-called exotic music or Exotica. ... Martin Dennys breakthrough album, Exotica Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the late 1950s to mid 1960s typically with the suburban set who came of age during World War II. The musical colloquialism exotica means tropical ersatz... For other uses, see Pop music (disambiguation). ... Charles Eugene Patrick Pat Boone (born June 1, 1934) is a singer whose smooth style made him a popular performer of the 1950s. ... Don (born February 1, 1937 in Brownie, a small coal-mining town (now defunct) near Central City, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky) and Phil Everly (born January 18, 1939 in Chicago, Illinois) are country-influenced rock and roll performers who had their greatest success in the 1950s. ...

In the early 1990s a lounge revival lead by groups like Love Jones, The Coctails, Pink Martini, the Buddha-Lounge series, and Combustible Edison was a direct contradiction to the Grunge music that dominated the period. These groups wore suits and played music inspired by earlier works by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Louis Prima, and many others. Love Jones unique mix of musical styles rose from a love for pop music in all its forms, from doo wop and samba jazz to sweet soul and bubble gum AM confections. ... Pink Martini is a band from Portland, Oregon, consisting of 12 band members. ... Combustible Edison was a group founded in the early 1990s in Boston, MA, and was one of several lounge music acts that led a brief resurgence of interest in the genre during the mid-1990s. ... Grunge music (sometimes also referred to as the Seattle Sound) is an independent-rooted music genre that became a commercially successful offshoot of hardcore punk, thrash metal, and alternative rock in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ... Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (January 25, 1927 in Rio de Janeiro – December 8, 1994 in New York City), or Tom Jobim (as he is fondly known in his home country), was a Brazilian composer, arranger, singer, pianist/guitarist and one of the primary forces behind the creation... Louis Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American entertainer, singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. ...

The move "The Rise And Fall Of Black Velvet Flag" (2003) is a documentary about three older punk rockers who created a lounge-punk band.

Popular culture

Lounge music and musicians are a common theme in popular culture. The 1989 film The Fabulous Baker Boys, starred Jeff Bridges, Beau Bridges, and Michelle Pfeiffer as a successful lounge act. The film Swingers was set during the late '90s lounge and swing revival in Los Angeles, featuring legendary performers like Dean Martin, Louis Jordan and Tony Bennett, as well as modern lounge acts like Love Jones, Joey Altruda and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. The Fabulous Baker Boys is a 1989 film about two brothers who perform a duo piano show together in small clubs. ... Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor. ... Beau Bridges, (born Lloyd Vernet Bridges III on December 9, 1941 in Los Angeles, California), is an American actor. ... Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (born April 29, 1958) is a three-time Academy Award-nominated and internationally known American actress. ... For the sexual lifestyle, see swinging. ... Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti, June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, film actor, and comedian. ... Louis Jordan swinging on sax, Paramount Theatre, NYC, 1946 (Photo: William P. Gottlieb) Louis Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was a pioneering African-American blues, jazz and rhythm & blues musician and songwriter who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. ... For other persons named Tony Bennett, see Tony Bennett (disambiguation). ... Love Jones unique mix of musical styles rose from a love for pop music in all its forms, from doo wop and samba jazz to sweet soul and bubble gum AM confections. ... Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a contemporary swing band from southern California. ...

In the movie The Blues Brothers, most of the members of the band were reduced to performing as "Murph and the Magictones" (headlining at a Holiday Inn) after band leader Jake Blues went to prison. Interestingly, when the band takes a break to speak with Jake and his brother Elwood, Murph switches on a Muzak version of "Just The Way You Are", performed by Billy Joel, once a former lounge musician himself. Incidentally, Joel's 1973 hit "Piano Man" was based on his experiences as a lounge singer. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... William Martin Billy Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist, songwriter, composer and musician. ... Piano Man track listing Travelin Prayer (1) Piano Man (2) Aint No Crime (3) Piano Man was Billy Joels first major hit, and is considered Joels signature song. ...

Comedians have long lampooned lounge acts or lounge singers. Perhaps the most famous character was the loathsome Tony Clifton, portrayed by Andy Kaufman. A parody of show biz entitlement and excess, Clifton is untalented, lazy (often not bothering to remember the words to the songs), and abusive to his audiences. Bill Murray also portrayed a particularly bad lounge singer on Saturday Night Live, best known for providing his own lyrics to John Williams' theme from Star Wars and performing an over-the-top version of the Morris Albert hit "Feelings". Later, Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer portrayed a goofy married duo of lounge-style musicians, but in incongruous venues such as high school dances. British comedians Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones appeared as a cheesy keyboard and bass duo during the end credits of one series of their long-running sketch show. William James Bill Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an Academy Award-nominated, Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-winning American comedian and actor. ... This article is about the American television series. ... Williams conducting the London Symphony Orchestra during the recording of the score for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. ... This article is about the series. ... Morris Albert Kaisermann is a Brazilian singer. ... Feelings is a song by Morris Albert, first recorded by him as the title track of his 1975 debut album. ... John William Will Ferrell (born July 16, 1967[1]) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated American comedian, actor and writer who first established himself as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, and has since gone on to a successful film career. ... Ana Kristina Gasteyer (born May 4, 1967) is an American actress and comedian. ... For other uses, see High school (disambiguation). ... Mel Smith Mel Smith is an English actor, film director, writer, producer born in London on December 3, 1952) He attended New College, Oxford. ... Griff Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a British comedian, writer and actor. ... An electronic keyboard. ... A sunburst-colored Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ...

The Circle Jerks perform as a very poor lounge act in the 1984 cult film, Repo Man directed by Alex Cox. The Circle Jerks are a hardcore punk band formed circa 1979 in Hermosa Beach, California. ... For other uses, see Repo Man (disambiguation). ... Alexander Morton Cox (b. ...

Rapper Eminem's album, The Slim Shady LP, featured a track called 'Lounge', in which a group of people sing a Lounge version of the next song, 'My Fault'. Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known as Eminem or Slim Shady, is a Grammy and Academy Award-winning American rapper, record producer and actor from the Detroit, Michigan area. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Musician Richard Cheese and his band Lounge Against the Machine have achieved a cult following by playing comedic lounge covers of popular Rock, Metal, and Rap songs, particularly ones with lyrics containing great amounts of profanity. He is most famous for his lounge cover of Disturbed's Down With The Sickness. Categories: Music stubs | American musical groups ... Lounge Against the Machine is the first album from Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine, released October 17, 2000. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... Heavy metal redirects here. ... Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ... Look up disturbed in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Down with the Sickness is a nu metal song by the band Disturbed. ...

See also

• Camp (style)
• Kitsch
• Groovera
• Chillout
• Easy listening
• Beautiful music
• Light music
• Downtempo