The Evolution of Casino Music: The Sounds That Define the Gambling World
Casino music has evolved significantly over the past century. Still, casino songs have played a significant role in setting the scene, creating a classy atmosphere, and making gaming enjoyable.
In this guide, we’ll examine how casino music and gambling songs have evolved over the decades.
The Early Days of Casino Music
Casinos have been a part of the US landscape for nearly two hundred years, long before stereos, speaker systems, and jukeboxes became the norm. Back then, if you wanted live music, you needed to hire a band and find room for them in the venue. It meant that early casinos either had live big-band music or nothing.
As you can imagine, early casinos were lively places. They were smoke-filled gambling and drinking dens, and if you wanted to go where the action was in any southern city, this was where you needed to be.
The Rat Pack and the Golden Age of Casino Songs
A century or so after the first casinos opened in the United States, Las Vegas had become the place to be for hedonists. It was also the age of the Rat Pack and Frank Sinatra, who was known to be a big fan of Sin City and casinos.
Swing and jazz music became the norm, giving casinos an air of sophistication and setting the tone for casino music to come. Cards were dealt, and chips were tossed to the sounds of classics like Fly Me to the Moon, I’ve Got You Under My Skin, The Lady is a Tramp, and You Make Me Feel So Young.
Sinatra performed many gigs in Las Vegas, first in 1951 and the last in 1994. He made the city his home, and there are still scores of tours, venues, and restaurants dedicated to the man and his legendary music.
The Rock n’ Roll Age
As the 40s and 50s gave way to the 60s, swing, jazz, and blues moved aside, and rock and pop stepped up to the plate. Elvis Presley introduced young people across the US to a new type of music and then came the British Invasion, which included bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
Casinos adapted by welcoming rock and pop with open arms and positioning themselves toward a younger, hipper crowd. Rock and pop blasted from casino speakers, and live rock n’ roll gigs became commonplace in resorts across Sin City.
By the 1970s, rock had given way to heavy metal and bands like Black Sabbath, but in Las Vegas casinos, it was all about disco. The likes of the Bee Gees influenced a flair-wearing, big-hair populace to dance under glitter balls, and casinos contracted disco fever.
Gambling Songs in the Age of Pop and Dance Music
You were more likely to hear electronic pop music than disco in a casino during the 1980s, and casinos remained on the popular music train through the 90s and early 00s. It was all about pop music, a relatively inoffensive genre everyone could get behind. Dance music was welcomed, too, but as it can be a little more divisive, casinos typically stuck with chart-topping tracks from the era’s superstars — Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and the Backstreet Boys.
Modern Casino Music
Modern casino music is defined more by technology than any particular genre. Casinos now have a wealth of options at their disposal, including high-quality music systems that can blast high-fidelity audio to every corner of the casino and streaming services that play uninterrupted music across a range of genres.
Pop music is still commonplace, and you’ll also heart chart-topping rap songs, dance music, and even some classic gambling songs. Suppose you’re playing in a high-roller private room. In that case, you’re likelier to hear some old-school swing or jazz and classical music that is the perfect sophisticated soundtrack to a high-stakes gambling experience.
Some casinos even hire DJs to keep their patrons entertained throughout the night. This not only harkens to the early days of casino music when everything was live, but it also means that the artist can adapt their playlist to suit the feeling inside the casino.
Summary: The Evolution of Casino Music
Casino music has come a long way, which is no surprise considering it has had nearly 200 years to develop and grow with the times. We’ve gone from the days of smoky rooms and big bands through the age of swing to a time when electronic sound systems and streaming rule the waves.
Since then, music has been an integral part of the casino experience, keeping players entertained as they spin slots and roulette wheels or chill at the blackjack tables.
It’s a prominent feature in slots and video poker games for the same reason. So, remember this the next time you’re playing and hear music blasting through the stereos at a land-based casino or your mobile device at an online bet casino.
Live Casino Common Queries
What is casino music?
Casino music spans multiple genres and is simply played through casino speakers. It helps to drown out the sounds of jingling slot machines and the calls of players at roulette, craps, and blackjack tables. Casinos can be boisterous places, and music helps to provide a balance. It also ensures that there is something to distract players when the casino empties and all that sound fades away.
There are few things eerier than playing blackjack in an echoing casino, where all you can hear is the sound of your chips and an occasional call from the dealer.
What do they play in casinos?
They play music from various genres. The casino’s choice is usually influenced by the clientele that walks through its doors. It could be classical music or jazz if they aim for a high-class experience in a high-stakes card room or pop/dance music if they are blasting it over the speakers to banks of slot players.
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