ABSTRACT
A term developed by radio consultants in the 1970s to describe a playlist format that consists of “softer” rock and pop music to appeal to an older, largely female listening audience. Artists in this category would include James Taylor, Carole King, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, Barry White, and others who specialize in ballads and midtempo rock songs. Specialized charts were developed to track sales for this genre. Radio stations in the 1990s began to promote this format using call letters featuring “EZ” (such as “EZ 101” in the New York area), a play on the earlier term, “easy listening” originally used to refer to recordings of pop tunes by instrumental ensembles in lush arrangements. So-called “lite” stations also tend to feature this style of music.
