Lounge Standard
tagStarted c. 1953Peak 1957–1964Last big hit c. 1966
Located in 1 route
Lounge Standard takes canonical songs and loosens them into a cooler, more intimate nightlife setting with brushed cymbals, cocktail-piano voicings, sax or muted brass, and a little swagger. The singing often sounds closer, slyer, and more conversational than in straighter traditional-pop versions.
History
As standards moved from theater and radio into bars, casinos, and hotel lounges, a distinct performance tone emerged that favored atmosphere over pure vocal grandeur; Julie London, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, Peggy Lee, Keely Smith, and Sammy Davis Jr. helped make standards feel urbane, adult, and faintly mischievous, and their approach later became a major source text for the 1990s lounge revival.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Great American Songbook Foundation, “What is the Songbook?”
- Wikipedia, “Lounge music”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica on Frank Sinatra