crooner

thumb|upright|Frank Sinatra in 1947

A crooner is a singer who performs with a smooth, intimate style that originated in the 1920s. The crooning style was made possible by improved microphones that picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies than before, allowing the singer to access a greater dynamic range and exploit the proximity effect. This suggestion of intimacy was supposedly wildly attractive to women, especially a youth subculture known at the time as "bobby soxers". The crooning style developed among singers who performed with big bands and reached its height in the 1940s to late 1960s.