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Dim the lights, close your eyes and welcome a musical style that many thought was gone forever.
The soft sentimental sound of the hum 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 filling concert halls and topping music charts.
The early days of singing
The crooner style of singing was introduced to America in the 1920s, but 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’s 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.
Harry Connick Jr., born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1967, showed talent at a very young age. The child prodigy was destined for greatness; he was playing keyboards at the age of three, and by age ten, Harry had performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 Opus 37 with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra. A renowned instrumental and vocal musician, Connick has released more than 20 albums and scored more number one US jazz albums than any other artist in the history of the jazz charts.
The cementation of his status as a modern singer came after releasing hits like It had to be You Y 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 had great success as a leading man in movies and television.
Michael Bubble
Born in Canada in 1975, the vocal talents of this global heartthrob 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 junior talent contest. 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 people.
Again, as with his former 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 him to introduce Grammy Award-winning producer David Foster. Foster agreed to produce an album for the aspiring artist and the rest is musical history.
Find a lot of success with memorable standards like, for once in my life Y come and fly with meBublé has also had chart-topping originals. Bublé hit 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 peak in the mid-20th century, but some brilliantly talented young artists refuse to let the musical style die out. 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 style of music to a whole new generation.