Crooner is an American epithet given to male singers of jazz standards, mostly from the Great American Songbook, either backed by a full orchestra, a big band or by a piano. Originally it was an ironic term denoting an emphatically sentimental, often emotional singing style made possible by the use of microphones. Some performers, such as Russ Columbo, did not accept the term: in an interview Frank Sinatra said that he did not consider himself or Bing Crosby "crooners".