In the 1920s and '30s, when crooning emerged—thanks to new microphone technology that allowed for soft, intimate singing—some conservative critics freaked out. They saw it as unmanly, overly seductive, and corrupting the youth (sound familiar?).

In 1932, the Radio Commission of Canada considered restricting crooning on public broadcasts. One Boston minister even warned that crooning was a “degenerate form of singing” that would weaken national morals.

Imagine trying to outlaw Bing Crosby for being too smooth.

So yes, what we now hear as charming and nostalgic was once viewed as a cultural threat—basically the Billie Eilish whisper-singing of its time, but in a tux.