This genre of music is a catchall phrase that includes a sweeping number of musical styles produced since the 1940s. Easy Listening is aptly named because it should be easy on the ears. Characterized by soft string, piano, guitar, or vocal arrangements, Easy Listening music has generally been considered the choice of mainstream middle-aged adults for more than half a century. Key mainstream Easy Listening artists through the ages have been Frank Sinatra, Ray Conniff, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Barbara Streisand, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Celine Dion.
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Read more: the ListenSmart article on this style.