# What's the name for that 50's commercial type music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 1, 2006, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867 "2006-07-01T16:41:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2006, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/1 "2006-07-01T16:41:37Z")
Whenever some short subject in the documentary or self-help/instructional category was made in the 40’s-60’s there was this particular style of music that gave it some kind of friendly, light, non-confrontational feel. I have never heard a name for the style or genre. Have you? The only composer/performer I can name whose style approaches what I’m trying to describe is Leroy Anderson. His compositions have/had some of that flavor, including: Syncopated Clock Serenata Belle of the Ball Jazz Pizzicato Plink Plank Plunk Trumpeter’s Lullaby Forgotten Dreams. There were usually strings and light percussion instruments like xylophones or marimbas. The arrangements made “elavator music” seem upbeat. But there was surely a style marker on them. You can still hear that style in some commercials and documentaries that are trying to evoke that 50’s feel. Anybody know what I’m trying to describe here? Does it have a standard name? ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/2 "2006-07-01T16:48:50Z")
We just did this a few months ago. It’s [Library Music](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=363389&highlight=library+music). ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/3 "2006-07-01T17:04:49Z")
> [@VCO3](#): > > We just did this a few months ago. It’s [Library Music](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=363389&highlight=library+music). Thanks. I must have missed the older thread. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/4 "2006-07-01T17:23:44Z")
No problem! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/5 "2006-07-01T17:33:38Z")
They play that music between movies at the drive-in! Then comes the booming man telling you to get your hot a delicious food at the concession stand. ---
**Author:** ![orangeroughyisnotfishytasting](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@orangeroughyisnotfishytasting](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orangeroughyisnotfishytasting)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2006, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/6 "2006-07-01T22:59:03Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > They play that music between movies at the drive-in! Then comes the booming man telling you to get your hot a delicious food at the concession stand. I thought drive-ins were extinct!!! ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2006, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/7 "2006-07-01T23:09:52Z")
“Library music” is a very broad term, and includes much more than the specific definition given in the OP: “some kind of friendly, light, non-confrontational feel” and “usually strings and light percussion instruments like xylophones or marimbas”. “Library music” is just as likely be a piece used over a chase scene, or in a horror movie, or during a tender romance. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/8 "2006-07-01T23:28:29Z")
Also known as “production music.” John Krisfaluci (whose _Ren & Stimpy_ used a ton of it, mostly from the KPM/Associated library) calls it something like “weekend afternoon music,” or something like that. The idea that it’s light and fluffy. Of course, in _Ren & Stimpy_, it was mostly used in an ironic fashion. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/9 "2006-07-01T23:28:45Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > “Library music” is a very broad term, and includes much more than the specific definition given in the OP: “some kind of friendly, light, non-confrontational feel” and “usually strings and light percussion instruments like xylophones or marimbas”. > > “Library music” is just as likely be a piece used over a chase scene, or in a horror movie, or during a tender romance. Yes, but if the OP is looking for a primer or a place to begin looking for the type of music she’s asking for, “Library Music” is the overarching thing that she needs to be looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2006, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/10 "2006-07-01T23:35:13Z")
> [@VCO3](#): > > Yes, but if the OP is looking for a primer or a place to begin looking for the type of music she’s asking for, “Library Music” is the overarching thing that she needs to be looking for. [nitpick] She’s a he. [/nitpick] I gather that there may be several terms for the category. Somehow I had it in mind that the “light and frothy” aspect had a more definitive name, but I’m content with the labels already mentioned. That is, unless somebody has something more specific for that “Ren and Stimpy” music. That’s a good example of what I’m referring to. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/11 "2010-02-25T13:56:37Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > Also known as “production music.” John Krisfaluci (whose _Ren & Stimpy_ used a ton of it, mostly from the KPM/Associated library) calls it something like “weekend afternoon music,” or something like that. The idea that it’s light and fluffy. Of course, in _Ren & Stimpy_, it was mostly used in an ironic fashion. Replying to a zombie thread I started years ago to thanks **mobo85** for providing a name that I believe answers the thread’s main concerns. Here’s a YouTube sample of the sort of thing I was wanting to know: [Ren and Stimpy Soundtrack - Happy-Go-Lively](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOZu3NiBjBk&feature=PlayList&p=4B10A531748F86CD&index=15) as well as many others nearby in the Playlist. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/12 "2010-02-25T14:05:17Z")
Beautiful music, perhaps?: > **[Beautiful music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautiful_music)** > > Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator music, light music, mood music, and Muzak are other terms that overlap with this format and the style of music that it featured. Beautiful music can also be regarded as a subset of the middle of the road radio format. > Beautiful music initially offered soft ... ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/13 "2010-02-25T14:11:54Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Beautiful music, perhaps?: > > [Beautiful music - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautiful_music) Thanks, but that may be a bit too broad, whereas [Production music - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_music) isn’t quite descriptive enough for the Wiki alone to solve the problem of the OP. **mobo85** satisfied my curiosity for the specific sound. If there’s a more descriptive name than “production music” for that particular sound, I’d like to know. But I mostly revived the thread to post that YouTube has examples of what I had tried to describe in the OP long ago. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/14 "2010-02-25T16:09:23Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Replying to a zombie thread I started years ago to thanks **mobo85** for providing a name that I believe answers the thread’s main concerns. > > Here’s a YouTube sample of the sort of thing I was wanting to know: [Ren and Stimpy Soundtrack - Happy-Go-Lively](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOZu3NiBjBk&feature=PlayList&p=4B10A531748F86CD&index=15) as well as many others nearby in the Playlist. MAde me think of the great Land of Chocolate theme from The Simpsons: ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hmFD15m-2fg/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/hmFD15m-2fg?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/15 "2010-02-25T16:20:51Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > MAde me think of the great Land of Chocolate theme from The Simpsons: > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmFD15m-2fg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmFD15m-2fg) Excellent! Right on the money. The pizzicato strings are an important ingredient, and it’s the lilt to the music itself, too. In more “serious” settings such as sex education and what to do in the event of a nuclear attack the music had less lilt but it was still upbeat and non-threatening. Always B&W things with no-name actors in period clothes and hair. I wager YouTube even has some examples of those things, too. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/16 "2010-02-25T16:26:14Z")
Well, “Muzak” is not exactly what you’re looking for, but it comes pretty close… that’s the term I would use to try to convey the general idea. As typically used, it’s basically synonymous with “elevator music”. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/17 "2010-02-25T16:34:40Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Well, “Muzak” is not exactly what you’re looking for, but it comes pretty close… that’s the term I would use to try to convey the general idea. As typically used, it’s basically synonymous with “elevator music”. Again, too broad. Thanks for the input, though. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/18 "2010-02-25T17:00:16Z")
I’ve heard it called Space-Age Music. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/19 "2010-02-25T17:11:14Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I’ve heard it called Space-Age Music. That’s another broader category. Including: Exotica Space Age Bachelor Pad Music Jet Set Pop The Now Sound Cocktail Music Incredibly Strange Music Outsider Music If anybody cares, [Space Age Pop Music Page](http://www.spaceagepop.com/) is a great place to browse for all sorts of 50’s and 60’s non-rock music. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867/20 "2010-02-25T18:10:56Z")
What about that “Tip-Toeing Elf” music? The kind they play on Desperate Housewives, when Susan is, say, spying on Mike and about to fall and get a bucket stuck over her head? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-50s-commercial-type-music/362867.md?page=2)