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Easy Listening Music - the relaxing, usually slow and melodious music that you listen to on a quiet evening at home or in your car. It might be instrumental versions of your favourite songs, soft Jazz or pop music with vocals and lyrics. It is relaxing music that you never tire of, even after years of listening to it.

Everyone has a few songs stuck in their mind, if not also lovingly preserved in a personal collection. And you can bet that most, if not all those songs, are easy listening – melodious, laid back tunes with touching lyrics or just evocative instrumentals. We all discover and fall in love with certain relaxing songs that become a part of us.

You are also not alone if you have discovered that a collection of good music is never complete. There is always that new song or different version of a song you already know that you will stumble on and wonder, hey, how come I had never heard that one before?

Why Easy Listening Music Lasts For Ever

You might have wondered sometimes, why do some songs make it easier to rest, pray, meditate or sleep? And why do some songs seem to get stuck at the back of our mind and never leave?

There is no single answer. Good easy listening music is simply good music because it rests the mind and soothes the soul. A study by the US National Institute of Health confirms this point. They tested 129 functions of music on 834 respondents and what did the scientists find out for all their trouble? That knowingly or not, most people listen to music to ‘regulate arousal and mood, to achieve self-awareness, and as an expression of social relatedness.’

That sounds deep, doesn’t it? Not really. It means easy listening music does what you knew all along: it calms you down, puts your mind to rest, and transports your mind away from the hassle and bustle of daily life. That’s what social scientists call ‘regulating your arousal and mood.’

Where Did Easy Listening Music Come From?

Easy listening music began as an offshoot of orchestra music, particularly as orchestra versions of popular songs. It was then known as orchestra pop. But it was not considered a music genre of its own until it began gaining in popularity in the 1950s and early 60s. That is when popular musicians began experimenting with instrumental versions of popular songs, soft jazz and soft rock.

Easy listening music finally got its own identity in 1965 when a radio and TV editor of Billboard, Claude Hall, coined the name ‘Easy Listening.’ Half a century later, easy listening music is possibly the most enduring category of music, collected and played by several generations with no personal recollections of the famous swinging 60s.

In the process, this class of music has produced a long string of superstars. In fact, just about every major artiste from the other genres of music like soul, rock, country and even Jazz, have dabbled – and sometimes made their names – in easy listening music.