# What style of music is this?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 15, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251 "2016-01-15T17:27:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Karen\_X2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_X2)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/1 "2016-01-15T17:27:18Z")
When I was very little (in the late 60’s), my parents listened to the radio a lot. It was always “orchestra” type of music, like you would hear on the Jackie Gleason show, Red Skelton show (David Rose Orchestra) Both my parents are long gone, and find myself wanting to hear this genre again. You know, Days of Wine and Roses, etc, but all instrumental, no lyrics. Lots of strings and such. What “style” is this? Classical, although I like it, is close, but not close enough. I’ve been searching on Pandora and TuneIn Radio, but no luck. Can anyone help?
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/2 "2016-01-15T17:30:57Z")
[Easy listening.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easy_listening)
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### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/3 "2016-01-15T17:34:37Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#):
>
> [Easy listening.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easy_listening)
Aka “Elevator Music.” There are lots of these stations on the Internet.
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### Author:  [@Karen\_X2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_X2)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/4 "2016-01-15T17:37:01Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#):
>
> [Easy listening.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easy_listening)
Thank you
I’m looking for a subset of this. I can do without the James Taylor type of songs that they seem to offer frequently.
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/5 "2016-01-15T17:37:28Z")
or “Big Band”, perhaps.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/6 "2016-01-15T17:39:11Z")
Yeah, easy listening. Orchestral pop. Growing up in the 80s, a lot of this music fit under “adult standards” and the “Music of Your Life” radio network but the time period that covers has shifted away from the 30s, 40s and 50s. And they’re a mix of instrumentals and songs.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/7 "2016-01-15T17:50:22Z")
I think you’re asking about the same kind of music as in this [previous thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=610668).
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### Author:  [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/8 "2016-01-15T18:00:37Z")
> [@Karen\_X2](#):
>
> … I’ve been searching on Pandora and TuneIn Radio, but no luck. Can anyone help?
Maybe try James Last, and take it from there. (I think my parents had similar tastes to yours).
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### Author:  [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/9 "2016-01-15T18:11:26Z")
> [@Karen\_X2](#):
>
> When I was very little (in the late 60’s), my parents listened to the radio a lot. It was always “orchestra” type of music, like you would hear on the Jackie Gleason show, Red Skelton show (David Rose Orchestra) Both my parents are long gone, and find myself wanting to hear this genre again. You know, Days of Wine and Roses, etc, but all instrumental, no lyrics. Lots of strings and such. What “style” is this? Classical, although I like it, is close, but not close enough. I’ve been searching on Pandora and TuneIn Radio, but no luck. Can anyone help?
Jackie was a recording artist himself; then his bandleader was Sammy Spear; and there was Nelson Riddle; Lawrence Welk; I think it started to be called Schmaltz sometime in the 60s and after.
You should be able to go to a thrift shop and find a lot of things like this.
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### Author:  [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/10 "2016-01-15T18:37:47Z")
I found this Tunein station: [http://tunein.com/radio/Instrumental-Hits-s197723/](http://tunein.com/radio/Instrumental-Hits-s197723/)
It’s not all soothing strings though. Some piano tinkling and jazzy up beat stuff.
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### Author:  [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/11 "2016-01-15T20:40:47Z")
[Mood music.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mood_music)
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/12 "2016-01-15T22:19:05Z")
All the **Easy Listening** answers support my first instinct, but to narrow that large field down to some more specific sub-genres, you might investigate [Space Age Pop](http://spaceagepop.com/) which has some audio examples to help with the fine-tuning of your tastes.
Don’t ignore Henry Mancini either. Check out [this sampler](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRu4aLAG2AI&list=PLr-J5bYC60jRzW1CEtMXSWw6Y1sJ7Z9Qn) for a start. If that doesn’t appeal to you, check some of the sidebars for other groups or leaders.
You might list five favorites you already know about and we could add some other names to your list.
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/13 "2016-01-15T22:56:22Z")
So it’s not [Aphex Twin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIeA2ct5Sew)?
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### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/14 "2016-01-15T23:30:29Z")
> [@Zeldar](#):
>
> All the **Easy Listening** answers support my first instinct, but to narrow that large field down to some more specific sub-genres, you might investigate [Space Age Pop](http://spaceagepop.com/) which has some audio examples to help with the fine-tuning of your tastes.
For a minute there, I thought you meant Music from the Hearts of Space … which, while definitely not Mancini, is about the most mellow stuff you’ll ever find. (Well, the announcer is mellow anyway. I suspect he and that dude who used to paint landscapes on PBS were separated at birth!)
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3tnZ0-BDFQ)
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/15 "2016-01-15T23:41:08Z")
> [@terentii](#):
>
> For a minute there, I thought you meant Music from the Hearts of Space … which, while definitely not Mancini, is about the most mellow stuff you’ll ever find. (Well, the announcer is mellow anyway. I suspect he and that dude who used to paint landscapes on PBS were separated at birth!)
>
> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3tnZ0-BDFQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3tnZ0-BDFQ)
Surely you’re not thinking of [Bob Ross](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Ross) with all his _happy trees_ and _happy pomegranates_ and such? Bodacious hair, to boot.
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### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/16 "2016-01-15T23:51:34Z")
> [@Zeldar](#):
>
> Surely you’re not thinking of [Bob Ross](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Ross) with all his _happy trees_ and _happy pomegranates_ and such? Bodacious hair, to boot.
That’s the dude! Mellow! :o
And don’t call me Shirley! :mad:
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### Author:  [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)
#### Post date: [January 16, 2016, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/17 "2016-01-16T22:38:54Z")
> [@Karen\_X2](#):
>
> Thank you
>
> I’m looking for a subset of this. I can do without the James Taylor type of songs that they seem to offer frequently.
I recently discovered a very nice radio station app for my Android smart phone. It has various stations - each devoted exclusively to a single style of music. I’m guessing the odds are pretty high that you could find a station to your liking there.
Just search for “Android Radio Station app” on your phone.
Ummm … maybe I should ask you this, "Do you want to listen to this music over your phone? Or on your PC?
Anyway, the name of this Android App is “PCRadio”. It is free and - incredibly - seems to be commercial free as well.
Good luck.
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### Author:  [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)
#### Post date: [January 16, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/18 "2016-01-16T22:53:06Z")
In case you’d like to search for specific “big bands”, I Googled for “best big bands” and found several sites, including this one that purports to list the ten best big bands:
[http://www.memory-lane.org/TheBigBands.html](http://www.memory-lane.org/TheBigBands.html)
They are (in order):
01 Glenn Miller
02 Benny Goodman
03 Tomy Dorsey
04 Artie Shaw
05 Woody Herman
06 Duke Ellington
07 Charlie Barnet
08 Stan Kenton
09 Count Basie
10 Harry James
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### Author:  [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)
#### Post date: [January 16, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/19 "2016-01-16T23:03:46Z")
Try Percy Faith.
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### Author:  [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)
#### Post date: [January 16, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-style-of-music-is-this/743251/20 "2016-01-16T23:35:22Z")
My parents liked some of this. Orchestral Pops. Friday Night Fiedler. Ray Coniff.
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