Easy listening (sometimes known as mood music[1][2]) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s.[5] It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs and popular non-rock vocals. It was differentiated from the mostly instrumental beautiful music format by its variety of styles, including a percentage of vocals, arrangements and tempos to fit various day parts during the broadcast day.
Easy listening music is often confused with elevator music provided by Muzak Holdings and other music services for businesses and elevators,[not verified in body] or lounge music, but while it was popular in some of the same venues it bore only modest resemblance to the background sound of this kind of music.