THE CROONER

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 61, 9 September 1937, Page 28

THE CROONER

UNTRAINED VOICES

Observing mat the word crooner has become a stock Jclarin relation to mournful or unpleasant noisesj, the "Radio Times," journal of the British Boadcasting Corporation, points out that this injection;of hunf°Jf^' into dance music, is now taken quite seriously by thousands of people. Londoners list Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee as two of America s standing exponents of crooning. Confessing that Americans got very near to the secret of crooning" or 'intimate personality singing." as sometimes it is called, the "Radio Times" has this to say of Mr. Crosby: "He has a voice of remarkable range is both a tenor and baritone, can both 'sort of shout a fast swing number and croon a slow sentimental tune, and is capable of an impeccable 'straight' rendering of a 'Robeson spiritual." . In an English survey of crooning Mr 'Alan Jenkins explains that the personality of a voice > frequently destroyed by vocal training. He contends that the best crooner, therefore, is he whose voice is untrained; and the worst, he whose voice is devoid of personality. "There is an undeniable appeal about* an untrained voice," observes Mr Jenkins. "It has an endearing quality. Musically insensitive people are easily moved by a singer who though far from perfect is doing his best. Big simple "feelings must be expressed in a big simple way. A crude voice singing a crude lyric has often a surprising effect of sincerity. "Crooning is also a histrionic performance—to be watched as well as heard. 'Putting over' a song is nothing new. It is well in the music-hall tradition. It means dramatisation, speaking and acting the lyric as well as singing. "The word • 'crooning' itself is inseparable, in meaning, from lullabies and negro mothers. One recalls the sleepy adoration of 'Curly-headed Babby,* which expresses the English idea of negro motherhood. Indeed, this element in crooning seems calculated to lavish maternal instinct upon all who listen. It is not improbable that male listeners find female crooning protective and sedative." Mr. Jenkins concludes his discussion of the ?rt with an answer to the question. "Who are the haters of crooning?" , ■ He believes they are the scholars and the intellectuals, especially musicians, who like their emotion underdone, rtffhey are solid, sensible, people who aw likely to be ambarrassed by sentimentality. Then-, too, there is a vast group who sneer at crooning because it is fashionable to do so..