Wait, this isn’t vox?

So Sinatra might have moved away from the mic to breathe in?

Oh my god the way your editors made the notes wiggle and the slurs move to the music is genius.

Excellent and very engaging video. A few notes, for what it’s worth: Early, pre-microphone recordings were done on wax cylinders, which predated the disk shaped record. On Frank’s mic technique: part of what made it so great was his use of proximity and axis not only for the control of *sibilance* and plosives, but also minute control of volume, allowing him to bellow one phrase and whisper the next with equal intelligibility. He also used proximity effect to his advantage, the tendency of microphones to build up low frequencies when a sound source is closer, which gave his voice a warmer quality in those whisper like passages. AND, finally, it might be worth mentioning the next huge leap forward in technology - the Neumann U47 condenser mic with which frank is pictured many times here. It is vastly more sensitive and has a wider frequency response then all of its ribbon contemporaries, and would have allowed him to tailor his performances that much more. (Although, as a side note, “Always” would still have been recorded on a ribbon). Hope this is interesting/helpful!

Sadly microphones have also made many singers very dependent on the mic. Some singers don't seem to be able to produce much sound acoustically and their singing technique suffers from being too used to singing to a mic. Yet some classical singers lack the skill to use a mic. It takes some practice too.

*Moves away from mic to breathe in* Chocolate rain guy has entered chat

This might explain, at least in part, why tenors rule the singing world now. Their range was what best fit the microphone.

Why does the cheddar logo have a piece of Swiss cheese?

This video was edited masterfully.

Sinatra's voice is like velvet. 😍

I feel like he just named every single artist featured in the Fallout seriers

Seeing singers singing down the horn reminds me of a story about the English operatic soprano Eva Turner. As shown in the video, opera singers would stand in front of the recording horn with the orchestra behind them. This gave the balance between singer and musicians. Eva Turner was a tiny woman, not at all the stereotype of a huge soprano. When they recorded her, all that could be heard on the resulting playback was her voice. The full sized orchestra was completely overwhelmed by the power of her voice. The same happened when she was standing in the middle of the orchestra. Eventually she had to stand right at the back. I've heard recordings of hers and her voice was amazing.

Just FYI, Vallee’s name is pronounced “valley” despite the accent in his family’s surname. A comparison of his earliest Victor recordings, which were made with a double-button carbon microphone, with his mid-1930s Columbia “radio recordings,” shows the progression of microphone technology. In a long interview I did with him, he underscored that his voice barely changed between 1928-1934 but rather that the microphones got better. When he remade his early hits for an RCA Victor “Musical Smart Set” album P-111 in the mid-1940s, the ongoing improvements in microphones and recording technology were evident. He did make one acoustical recording as lead saxophonist and a singer in a vocal trio for the Yale Collegians in 1927 but was not named on the label.

the thumbnail is more proof that reviewbrah is a time traveler

The mics and singing methods from the 40's-70's are the best in my opinion. Classic country from that time just sounds so clear, even when the mic is away from the singing they project so effortlessly, even when doing a whispery song. It's unreal how perfect they sound, not even like they are in the room, just other worldly

In the pre-electric acoustical days, the most famous singer was Enrico Caruso, who had the range of a tenor and the sound of a baritone. The perfect sound for pre-1922 technology.

This is one of those bits of information you didn't know you wanted until you got it, and now you're glad you have it.

Thank you KZfaq Recommendations. Very Cool

Wow, love this video. So interesting. Now I remember why 1920's crooners were my favorite music when I was in middle school. So soulful and sweet!

All singers must learn to "work the mic". Thank you for reminding us. My favorite crooner is Brendan Perry from "Dead Can Dance".

Vibrato is a beautiful technique that is sadly very rare today. It allows you to carry a note between words and removes the need for a instrumental backing even if the song is sung extremely slow.

I like how the narrator insists on pronouncing Vallée with a French inflection. Rudy himself pronounced it Valley.

dare you to do one on how technology changed restaurants. I bet its much easier to maintain something commercially viable nowadays

this was the first time i heard frank sinatra sing "always" and - wow - like, an instant favourite. listening to it feels like falling in love. it's magical bro

“Just One More Chance”, “You’re Getting to be a Habit with Me”, “Out of Nowhere”, and “Please” all by Crosby are terrific songs and examples

I'll never forget my dad listening to White Christmas while I played Pokemon Blue on the floor by the tree. Shit man.

The entire Bing album from the movie "Going Hollywood", especially the songs "Beautiful Girl" and "Temptation", will forever stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Vox Almanach quality. Thank you.

That is exactly that kind of informative videos that you only find on youtube. You wouldn´t get that information explained that precisely, visualized that beautifully on any other website.

You should have included samples of singing from the earliest one so we would hear those things you are mentioning what made it so difficult without the microphone.

I remember watching re-runs of The Lucy Show (or Here's Lucy, whichever was from the 60s), and Rudy Valee appeared in an episode as himself. Lucille Ball pronounced his last name with the first syllable emphasized, so it sounded like valley.

my favourite romantic song is mo bamba

Rudee Val lee. Is how it's pronounced and among my favorites. He was also quite funny!

No wonder why so no chi no sadame sounds so loud

Your editing is truly amazing! You are adding so many details, it's just great! Thumbs up :)

My favorite crooner is and will always be the one and only Bing Crosby. I really like his song "Moonlight Becomes You".

Love when cheddar does series on music

Those old microphones reminds me of hello my darling hello my sweetheart hello my ragtime gal.

Thanks for the history of the microphone ,and the singers who learned to use it.👍

One of the best videos I've seen on this channel to date... very well done and interesting.

Another interesting stylistic difference between the two clips is the lack of a portamento (slide) on always. You'll find exactly the same stylistic change in classical vocal music of the time. Some time in the 1940s everyone just decided that sliding was really tasteless.

I love the content, its like vox but better. Way better.

My grandma loves that song and my Dad sang it to me when I was little too...Always...love them both

Thank you for this piece. I enjoyed it and appreciate what you did w this

Ha! After hearing the two recordings I guessed that the difference is Sinatra was singing *to* the microphone as opposed to the other guy who was merely singing near the microphone. Nailed it! 8D

For all the people commenting about the pronunciation of Rudy Vallée's surname, we get it. It's pronounced Valley. But it's an easy mistake to make, since the pronouncing it as 'valet' follows rules of French pronunciation - é is pronounced as 'ay'. After doing some research myself, Vallée grew up in Vermont, so most likely had people mispronounce his surname all the time. He probably got sick of correcting people and gave up, instead adopting the current pronunciation to make it easier for people.

What an amazing video, thank you so much for sharing!

What an excellent video. I learned a lot from it. It gives me greater appreciation of the early artists, and why some people became so famous. Thank you for sharing the video.

Would’ve been nice to know, if Sinatra and others experimented with different types and brands of microphones or even met inventors or engineers.

@2:50 - They certainly have great faces for radio.

Very informative and beautifully and professionally produced. Very nice indeed. Something to be proud of. Thank you

This was an amazing video! The graphics were so engaging too.

Rudy Vallee's last name is pronounced like valley.

Never heard that pronunciation of Rudy's name before as I always heard it as "Valley".

It's always nice to learn more about these classic songs ^_^

That was so amazing! Thank's a lot!

sheet music at 4:00 is...questionably accurate if not out of meter entirely

"High tenor range" once again altos ard given the shaft

I love these videos! I always learn so much 🥰

I really enjoyed this video, thank you so much for the education!

I think Crosby in the 30’s and his many popular recordings is my idea of true crooning.Crosby he milked it dry to put it frank.

When Rudy Vallée was a pannelist on “What's My Line”, they pronounced his name “valley” with the emphasis on the first syllable, and he didn't frown. So maybe that's the correct pronunciation.

Wow, what a fantastic video! I loved this, thank you :)

Beautiful. We need more videos about the early ages of jazz

2:16 it's suppose to be "Yes! We Have *No Bananas"

Excellent video. I'd even suggest that the legato style of Bing Crosby and others was developed specifically because they wanted to avoid plosives in the mic. Later, when studio tricks like comping (compositing), de-essers, and even wind screens came along, singers didn't care about plosives anymore and vocal stylings in pop music changed again.

Fascinating presentation

Really great video! Thanks.

Videos like this are great and all but anyone who reads this, please note that Cheddar doesnt always do the most solid research

what's that song from the part where they were talking about how oldest mics worked, the band with no vocals song

Thank. You so much for your vdioe I have been searching for weeks, trying to do my music exam i did it and it was compelety wrong your vidoe has helped me so much. As it doesn't have much history on the Greek style what is not needed and I can't belive that I'm done my assignment of a 7 minute video thank you so muchh ❤️

what a FANTASTIC video

6:57 these notes aren't right on the treble clef. on the word "i'll", he's singing a G#2, and you out it on the treble clef as a D4.

I had this turned down, autoplay on and using it as white noise and thought this was Jon Bois and was really confused for a moment.

That video editor deserves a raise this is fantastic

I never knew I needed those little notes shaking with the vibrato

So many really old song recordings make me think of somebody singing "Winchester Cathedral" through a tin megaphone. "A-vo-dee-oh-doe!"

Good video.

Great info about vintage ribbon mics!!!!

Damn this is done so smoothly such an underrated video or channel probably both

I'm wonderful aren't I?

They're pronouncing Rudy Vallée's name as it wound have been pronounced by his Québécois ancestors, to rhyme with the French word "fiancée." Americans, who rarely bother to pronounce French-derived names correctly, have only ever pronounced it Valley.

The editing in this video is great! Good job 👍

can i please just applaud the person(s)that edited this? The graphics and design of this video is so goood wtf. Like I stayed and watched all the video only because of how well it it edited.

My favorite crooner is smash mouth and my favorite love song is all star.

My favorite crooner has got to be MC Ride hands down.

Beautiful video great insight

I felt like the video should never end!

Rudy Vallee's name was pronounced "Valley".

I'm a terrible singer but I needed to sing in the band I was in to relieve the burden on the lead singer. We used Shure SM-58's and would put our lips nearly on the mike. Of course the venue we were in and the music we played wasn't nearly as subtle as what was presented in this video. The Shure SM-58 is the workhorse of popular music and club bands. You'll even see it in live concerts by top rated bands playing to thousands of people. Some musicians swear on the Shure SM-57. The 57 is usually used to mike instrument speaker cabinets. It's possible it works better with some voices.

How do you make such an amazingly produced video? The notes appearing on the staff is very cool.

Glade to finally put a name to what's probably my favorite style of singing

4:26 so "Learn to croon" that was 1920s #LearnToCode?

I'm really liking Cheddar. It's like Vox without the biased political garbage

My favorite crooner is John Gary. I've heard his recording of Unchained Melody hundreds of times, and it still gives me a thrill every time.

I've seen this done before, but you did it best.

To answer the question that was overhead: Crosby had the better voice, but Sinatra did better things with his.

Can't mention Billie Holiday without mentioning her recording of Crazy He Calls Me

Both of them are good! Both has a good feeling.

This editing is perfect!