Crooner: Singing from the Heart from Sinatra to Nas

(Paperback)

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Description

Crooners sing close to the mic in a soft, intimate style. In this book Alex Coles explores the crooner in popular music from the 1950s to the present. Each chapter focuses on one song and one singer - Frank Sinatra, Scott Walker, Barry White, David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, Tom Waits, Grace Jones, Ian McCulloch, Nick Cave and Nas - and examines in detail how each contributes to the crooner image. The book describes how crooners traverse era, gender, geography and genre - where Barry White developed out of disco, Nick Cave sprung from alternative rock; where Grace Jones was born from reggae and funk, Nas originated from hip-hop. Ultimately, Coles shows how the crooner continues to be a figure that enables listeners to reflect on and communicate their emotions.

Reviews

"It's about time somebody properly investigated the modern art of the croon and Alex Coles is the right person for the job. We're not talking about the 'golden age' of crooning here, although of course Sinatra is a natural place to start. Across ten carefully selected case studies from those you might expect to be reading about (Nick Cave or Tom Waits) to others that may come as more of a surprise (the rapper Nas, for instance), Coles explores what it means to croon and how the art has evolved."--JR Moores, author of 'Electric Wizards'

Author Bio

Alex Coles is Professor in the School of Arts & Humanities, University of Huddersfield. He is the author of The Transdisciplinary Studio (2012) and Tainted Love: Twisted Romantic Ballads (2023), and editor of Design and Art (2007).