Why do vocal harmonies of older songs sound have that rich, “airy” quality that doesn’t seem to appear in modern music? (Crosby Stills and Nash, Simon and Garfunkel, et Al)

Question

I’d like to hear a scientific explanation of this!

[Example song](https://youtu.be/C7HP9Xkim9o)

I have a few questions about this.
I was once told that it’s because multiple vocals of this era were done live through a single mic (rather than overdubbed one at a time), and the layers of harmonies disturb the hair in such a way that it causes this quality. Is this the case? If it is, what exactly is the “disturbance”? Are there other factors, such as the equipment used, the mix of the recording, added reverb, etc?

EDIT: uhhhh well I didn’t expect this to blow up like it did. Thanks for everyone who commented, and thanks for the gold!

In: Physics

Answer 1

I think it is just a style of harmonizing. These things go in and out of fashion over the years. It just so happens that CSN and S&G were active at the same time.

I’m sure there are modern groups that sing this way from time to time.