The Golden Age of Easy Listening

The mid-20th century saw the birth of a new kind of big band/orchestral music in what came to be called ’Easy Listening’. Like its contemporary, rock ’n’ roll, it took the world by storm, introducing romance and chic into a world brutalised by war. While a new generation went wild and sexy, their elders sought to live in a world of civilised values. Easy listening music gave them this in spades. In The Golden Era of Easy Listening Music Derek Taylor comprehensively takes the Easy Listening story from an unlikely beginning with an American army general through to its sub summation into 21st century mainstream popular music. Described and put into historical context are the giants and innovators of easy-listening music from Paul Weston, Mantovani, Percy Faith, Ray Conniff, Serge Gainsbourg, Bert Kaempfert, Acker Bilk, Herb Albert, Sergio Mendes to James Last and a host of others. These easy listening giants came from all around the world, bringing to the music throughout the decades a revitalising mix of styles and forms that is being rediscovered and enjoyed as much by the streaming generation of today as it was by the generation of 78 RPM shellac and high fidelity vinyl of its golden era.

Derek Taylor is a writer and radio presenter and has written magazine scripts for BBC World Service, presented an arts show for BBC Radio Suffolk and an Americana roots country show for Radio Caroline. He writes album sleeve notes for, among others, record label BACM, and is considered an authority on roots country music. He is the author of Country Music Artists: A Directory of Their Backing Groups from The 1920s To The Present Day, and is currently compiling a similar directory of easy-listening artists and their bands/orchestras. He lives in Kent, UK.