Hotel Lounge

History

The style developed in parallel with background-music formatting, resort culture, and the LP market for tasteful instrumental albums, occupying the softer public-space end of mid-century easy listening; Percy Faith, Mantovani, Bert Kaempfert, Henry Mancini, Roger Williams, and Ferrante & Teicher all supplied recordings that fit elegantly into lobbies, dining rooms, and aspirational domestic interiors, and their music became synonymous with “upscale ease.”

Defining artists

• Percy FaithSpotifyYouTube
• MantovaniSpotifyYouTube
• Bert KaempfertSpotifyYouTube
• Henry ManciniSpotifyYouTube
• Roger WilliamsSpotifyYouTube
• Ferrante & TeicherSpotifyYouTube

Essential listening

• Theme from A Summer Place — Percy FaithSpotifyYouTube
• Charmaine — MantovaniSpotifyYouTube
• Wonderland by Night — Bert KaempfertSpotifyYouTube
• Moon River — Henry ManciniSpotifyYouTube
• Autumn Leaves — Roger WilliamsSpotifyYouTube
• Theme from Exodus — Ferrante & TeicherSpotifyYouTube

Sources

• Wikipedia, “Lounge music”
• Museum of Broadcast Communications, “Easy Listening/Beautiful Music Format”
• The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Music, “Other mainstreams: light music and easy listening, 1920–70.”