The singer Bono called the Bing Crosby of the 1990s: “Just a great singer”
Music will continue to evolve for as long as sound exists. When you look at all the music made over five decades ago and compare it to that which is available now, you can see a complete shift in dynamic. From The Beatles to Amyl and the Sniffers, there is an evident change, not just in style and tone but also in how music is recorded and published.
One band that is well aware of how diverse music can be is U2. Throughout their discography, if you look from one album to the next, you will see a very real change in their style, sound and image. This hasn’t always been to everyone’s liking, but you have to hand it to U2; they know the limitless nature of music and, therefore, choose to exploit it, exploring multiple different avenues and genres in the process.
That being said, some elements of music will continue to exist even in the face of such extreme progression. Something about some aspects of music always grabs our attention, regardless of who is performing them or what era we find ourselves in. Despite U2’s constantly changing image, Bono is well aware of this, and he spoke of one of these timeless elements when discussing REM’s Michael Stipe – ‘The Crooner’.
The crooner, for those who don’t know, is a term which is often used to describe a lone singer with a soft and sweet appeal to their voice. While there might be some variation in their approach to songs, for the most part, a crooner often adopts a sentimental style to their voice so that even when performing in an arena, it feels as though they are singing directly to you.
A classic example of a crooner is Bing Crosby, who had a completely undeniable style of singing. When Bono was reflecting on a cover that some of his band members and REM did of the track “One,” Bono conceded that he thinks Michael Stipe and Bing Crosby have very similar traits in this sense.
“They ended up doing a version of ‘One’ with the guys from REM – with Mike Mills and Michael Stipe,” he said. “The song always deserved a good singer, as far as I’m concerned. Stipe’s just a great singer. He’s kind of like a Bing Crosby of the 1990s, though, isn’t he? He’s a crooner.”
Interestingly, this conversation occurred as Bono was talking about the way that music is constantly changing. This applies not only to its sound (and those few aspects that remain timeless) but also to how it is interpreted. For instance, consider rock ‘n’ roll, a genre that was born from rebellion and is now a social norm enjoyed by people across the political spectrum.
Bono was asked about this and whether we could still call it rock ‘n’ roll when presidents such as Bill Clinton are such open fans. “We obviously need to find a new word,” the U2 singer concluded. “Saying Clinton likes rock & roll is like saying Clinton likes books. It’s the stuff written in the books that’s important.”
