I thought 'Crooner' described the older guys?
Posted by Commoner on 14 July 2008 - 6:46am.
I didnt realise Crooner's are still a modern concept. I enjoyed a little Andy Williams at the weekend. You know the feeling? Forget the rock and the pop and just go mellow in a pair of flannels and sweater. But I realised my knowledge of Crooners is rather poor so I looked on Wikipedia and its "List of Crooners" stretches into the modern day and also includes Rod Stewart, Bryan Ferry, Chris Isaak, Tom Waits, Barry Manilow etc etc. Do you think of these as Crooners? And is there a word for the female equivalent?
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Andy Williams is a crooner when he performs 'Moonriver' but not
when he performs 'Music To Watch Girls By'.
It really does depend on the song. Anyone who performs 'Moonriver' as it was intended would be crooning.
I always thought Jim Morrison was a bit of a crooner on occasion ('Touch Me' comes to mind).
So I don't think there are crooners but artists who are prone to croon more than others and are therefore known as crooners.
I am now crooned out.
Hawley
Richard Hawley definitely counts as a modern day crooner I would say. Presumably some of Neil Diamond's new stuff counts as crooning as well??
Meanwhile, female crooners. . .
are of course "chanteuses" (preferably pronounced "shantoocies") in organs of lesser worth.
The ultimate crooners, I suppose, are the tux-at-the-Copa-type acts - Al Martino, Perry Como & Co. Having a surname that ends in "o" helps, although it's not essential (Julio Iglesio?).
To quote from Wikipedia...
..."Crooning is not so much a style of music as it is a technique in which to sing."
It was coined to describe the way people like Bing Crosby approached the new technology of microphones. Before that came along singers had to be primarily belters like Al Jolson who could put a song over live above the racket of the band.
Once the microphone appeared Bing and Rudy Valée and Al Bowlly could perform a song confidentially as if into your ear. In that sense I think the ultimate modern crooner is probably Leonard Cohen.
"Crooner" is a terrible hack's word,
and it's usually misused as a simple synonym for "singer" anyway. We try to keep it out of THE WORD. *cue all site users combing past issues for times when we've used it*
ok ok...
consider me now enlightened....but on page 24 of the October issue of The Word (joke!)
Tommyrot
According to Dictionary.com...to croon
To sing in an evenly modulated, slightly exaggerated manner: Popular singers began crooning in the 1930s.
Scot. and North England.
a. to bellow; low.
b. to lament; mourn.
If I do not see crooner applied to a bellowing scot or northerner in the next issue I will cancel my subscription. You are planning a Take That special I take it. Eh?
I will let you off if you use warbler.
(singing lesson token winner - Ed.)
Costello in North vibe desperately wishes to be...
a crooner.
I think he succeeds.
Most of the baritone growlers of slow tunes can croon, Nick Cave, Jackie Leven, Robert Fisher.
I daresay Rufus Wainwright would relsh the accolade.
Chet Baker is the ultimate, IMHO.
No To Elvis
I have always thought Elvis Costello had more of a wounded bellow rather than a croon. Surely Nick Cave is a groaner. I still think it goes to Bing or Perry or even that old country crooner Jim Reeves. Hey and what about Bobby Bland on his "Two Steps from the Blues" album??
Does...
...Scott Walker count? If so, he's my favourite of the lot.
I have called Barry Manilow many names but a 'crooner' isn't one of them; I'm surprised to see Wikipedia listed him as being one.
As for Jim Morrison, I felt 'The Crystal Ship' has a bit of a croon too!
Ian McCulloch
Definite latter-day indie crooner.
Somewhere I've got a 10" single of him doing 'September Song'. If memory serves me right, one side is a 45 and the other side is a 78.
Probably worth at least two quid.