Soul Music

SOUL
MUSIC

WHAT IS SOUL MUSIC?

SOUL MUSIC

Soul music (often referred to simply as soul) is a popular music genre
that originated in the African American community throughout the
United States in the 1950s and early 1960s. It combines elements of
African-American gospel music, rhythm and blues and jazz. Soul music
became popular for dancing and listening in the United States, where
record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were in luential during
the Civil Rights Movement. Soul also became popular around the
world, directly in luencing rock music and the music of Africa.

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HISTORY OF SOUL MUSIC

ORIGIN

HISTORY OF SOUL MUSIC

Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and James Brown are considered the earliest pioneers of soul
music. Solomon Burke's early recordings for Atlantic Records codi ied the style, and his
early 1960s recordings “Cry to Me,” “Just Out of Reach” and “Down in the Valley” are
considered classics of the genre. Peter Guralnick writes, "it was only with the coming
together of Burke and Atlantic Records that you could see anything resembling a
movement."

In Memphis, Tennessee, Stax Records produced recordings by Otis Redding, Wilson
Pickett and Don Covay (who also recorded in New York City for Atlantic). Joe Tex's 1965
“The Love You Save” is a classic soul recording.

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An important center of soul music recording was Florence, Alabama, where the Fame
Studios operated. Jimmy Hughes, Percy Sledge and Arthur Alexander recorded at Fame;
Aretha Franklin recorded in the area later in the 1960s. Fame Studios, often referred to
as Muscle Shoals (after a town neighboring Florence), enjoyed a close relationship with
Stax, and many of the musicians and producers who worked in Memphis contributed to
recordings done in Alabama.

Another important Memphis label was Goldwax Records, owned by Quinton Claunch.
Goldwax signed O. V. Wright and James Carr, who went on to make several records that
are considered essentials of the genre. Carr's “The Dark End of the Street” (written by
Chips Moman and Dan Penn) was recorded at two other important Memphis studios—
Royal Recording and American Sound Studios—in 1967. American Studios owner Chips
Moman and Dan Penn) was recorded at two other important Memphis studios—Royal
Recording and American Sound Studios—in 1967. American Studios owner Chips
Moman produced “Dark End of the Street,” and the musicians were his house band of
Reggie Young, Bobby Woods, Tommy Cogbill and Gene Chrisman. Carr also made
recordings at Fame, utilizing musicians David Hood, Jimmy Johnson and Roger Hawkins.

Aretha Franklin's 1967 recordings, such as I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You,
Respect (originally sung by Otis Redding), and Do Right Woman-Do Right Man, are
considered to be the apogee of the soul music genre, and were among its most
commercially successful productions. During this period, Stax artists such as Eddie
Floyd and Johnnie Taylor made signi icant contributions to soul music. Howard Tate's
recordings in the late 1960s for Verve Records, and later for Atlantic (produced by Jerry
Ragovoy) are another important body of work in the soul genre.

By 1968, the soul music movement had begun to splinter, as James Brown and Sly & the
Family Stone began to expand upon and abstract both soul and rhythm and blues into
other forms. As Guralnick writes, "More than anything else, though, what seems to me
to have brought the era of soul to a grinding, unsettling halt was the death of Martin
Luther King in April of 1968."

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THE 1970S AND LATER

THE HISTORY OF SOUL MUSIC

Later examples of soul music include recordings by The Staple Singers (such as I'll Take You There),
and Al Green's 1970s recordings, done at Willie Mitchell's Royal Recording in Memphis. Mitchell's
Hi Records continued the Stax tradition in that decade, releasing many hits by Green, Ann Peebles,
Otis Clay, O. V. Wright and Syl Johnson. Bobby Womack, who recorded with Chips Moman in the
late 1960s, continued to produce soul recordings in the 1970s and 1980s.

The city of Detroit produced some important later soul recordings. Producer Don Davis worked
with Stax artists such as Johnnie Taylor and The Dramatics. Early-1970s recordings by The Detroit
Emeralds, such as “Do Me Right,” are an important link between soul and the later disco style.
Motown Records artists such as Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson contributed to the evolution of
soul music, although their recordings were considered more in a pop music vein than those of
Redding, Franklin and Carr.

Although stylistically di erent from classic soul music, recordings by Chicago- based
artists such as Jerry Butler and The Chi-Lites are often considered part of the genre.

By the early 1970s, soul music had been in luenced by psychedelic rock and other genres.
The social and political ferment of the times inspired artists like Gaye and Curtis May ield
to release album-length statements with hard-hitting social commentary. Performing
artists like James Brown led soul towards 'funk' music, which became typi ied by 1970s
bands like Parliament-Funkadelic and The Meters. More versatile groups like War, The
Commodores and Earth, Wind & Fire became popular around this time.

By the early 1970s, soul music had been in luenced by psychedelic rock and other genres.
The social and political ferment of the times inspired artists like Gaye and Curtis May ield
to release album-length statements with hard-hitting social commentary. Performing
artists like James Brown led soul towards 'funk' music, which became typi ied by 1970s
bands like Parliament-Funkadelic and The Meters. More versatile groups like War, The
Commodores and Earth, Wind & Fire became popular around this time.

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By the early 1970s, soul music had been in luenced by psychedelic rock and other
genres. The social and political ferment of the times inspired artists like Gaye and Curtis
May ield to release album-length statements with hard-hitting social commentary.
Performing artists like James Brown led soul towards 'funk' music, which became
typi ied by 1970s bands like Parliament-Funkadelic and The Meters. More versatile
groups like War, The Commodores and Earth, Wind & Fire became popular around this
time.

After the death of disco in the early 1980s, soul music survived for a short time before
going through yet another metamorphosis. With the introduction of in luences from
electro music and funk, soul music became less raw and more slickly produced,
resulting in a newer genre that was called rhythm and blues, which sounded very
di erent from the original rhythm and blues style. This new version of R&B was often
labeled “contemporary R&B.”

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GENRE OF SOUL MUSIC

BLUE EYED SOUL

GENRE OF SOUL MUSIC

Usually performed by white artists, blue-eyed soul is often characterized by
catchy hooks and melodies. It arose from a mixture of Elvis Presley and Bill
Haley-derived rockabilly and from 1950s doo-wop. Other performers include
the Righteous Brothers, The Action, Hall and Oates, The Rascals, Mitch Ryder
and the Detroit Wheels, Dusty Spring ield, Culture Club and George Michael.
David Bowie's Young Americans album is widely regarded as a later classic of
the genre.

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DETROIT (MOTOWN) SOUL

GENRE OF SOUL MUSIC

Dominated by Berry Gordy's Motown Records empire, Detroit soul is strongly
rhythmic, and in luenced by gospel music. The Motown Sound often includes
hand clapping, a powerful bass line, violins, bell (instrument)|bells and other
untraditional instruments. Motown's house band was The Funk Brothers, and
singers included: Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and The
Miracles, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, The
Marvelettes, Mary Wells, Diana Ross and The Supremes, The Jackson 5, The
Four Tops and Stevie Wonder. Songwriters included Holland-Dozier-Holland,
Norman Whit ield, Barrett Strong, Smokey Robinson, Nickolas Ashford and
Valerie Simpson, Ivy Jo Hunter and Roger Penzabene.

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NORTHERN SOUL AND MODERN SOUL

GENRE OF SOUL MUSIC

The term “Northern soul” was coined by music journalist Dave Godin in 1970
after a visit to the Twisted Wheel Club in Manchester, England. The term refers
to rare soul music played by DJs at nightclubs in northern England. The songs
originally consisted of obscure American soul recordings with an uptempo
beat, similar to (and including) those on Motown Records and more obscure
labels such as Okeh. Modern soul was an updated version of the northern soul
sound.

DEEP SOUL AND SOUTHERN SOUL

GENRE OF SOUL MUSIC

The term deep soul and southern soul generally refer to a driving, energetic
soul style combining rhythm and blues' energy with pulsating southern United
States gospel music sounds. Stax Records nurtured a distinctive sound, which
included putting vocals further back in the mix than most contemporary R&B
records, using vibrant horn parts in place of background vocals, and a focus on
the low end of the frequency spectrum. The vast majority of Stax releases were
backed by house bands [[Booker T. and the M.G.’s (with Booker T. Jones, Steve
Cropper, Duck Dunn, and Al Jackson) and the Memphis Horns (the splinter horn
section of the Mar-Keys). The label counted Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Sam &
Dave, Rufus Thomas, William Bell, and Eddie Floyd among its stars.

MEMPHIS SOUL

GENRE OF SOUL MUSIC

Memphis soul is a shimmering, sultry style of soul music produced in the
1960s and 1970s at Stax Records and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee. It
featured melancholic and melodic horns, organ, bass, and drums, as heard in
recordings by Hi's Al Green and Stax's Booker T. & the M.G.'s. The latter group
also sometimes played in the harder-edged Southern soul style. The Hi
Records house band (Hi Rhythm Section) and producer Willie Mitchell
developed a surging soul style heard in the label's 1970s hit recordings. Some
Stax recordings it into this style, but had their own unique sound.

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NEO SOUL

GENRE OF SOUL MUSIC

Neo soul is a mixture of 1970s soul-styled vocals and instrumentation with a
contemporary rhythm and blues sound, hip-hop beats and rap interludes. The
style irst appeared in the mid 1990s with the work of Tony! Toni! Toné! and
D'Angelo, after previous permutations in new jack swing and hip-hop soul.
Lauryn Hill, Musiq Soulchild, The Roots and Alicia Keys helped popularize the
sound. Other performers include Jill Scott, Jaguar Wright, Erykah Badu,
Adriana Evans, Maxwell (musician)|Maxwell, India.Arie, Joss Stone, Anthony
Hamilton and Tom Fox (singer-songwriter)|Tom Fox.

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PHILADELPHIA SOUL

GENRE OF SOUL MUSIC

Based primarily in the Philadelphia International record label, Philadelphia
soul (also “Philly soul”) had a lush orchestral sound and doo-wop-inspired
vocals. Thom Bell, and Kenneth Gamble and Leon Hu are considered the
founders of Philadelphia soul, which was dominated by artists such as The
Spinners, The Delfonics, The O'Jays, The Stylistics, The Intruders, Patti
LaBelle, The Three Degrees, MFSB, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and
McFadden & Whitehead.

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PSYCHEDELIC SOUL

GENRE OF SOUL MUSIC

Psychedelic soul was a blend of psychedelic rock and soul music in the
late-1960s, which paved the way for the mainstream emergence of funk music
a few years later. Principle igures included multicultural band Sly and the
Family Stone, The Fifth Dimension, The Temptations and The Undisputed
Truth.

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FAMOUS SOUL ARTISTS

SOUL MUSIC

• Marvin Gaye • Aaron Neville
• Otis Redding • Etta James
• James Brown • Al Green
• Aretha Franklin • Smokey Robinson
• Sam Cooke • Stevie Wonder

RAY CHARLES

PIONEERED THE SOUL MUSIC GENRE
DURING THE 1950S BY COMBINING
BLUES, RHYTHM AND BLUES, AND
GOSPEL STYLES

SAM COOKE

IS ACKNOWLEDGED AS ONE OF SOUL
MUSIC’S “FOREFATHERS”.

JAMES BROWN

WAS KNOWN AS THE “GODFATHER OF
SOUL”

SONGS RECOMMENDED

SOUL MUSIC

• I Say A Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin
• Don’t Play That Song (You Lied) - Aretha Franklin
• A Song For You - Ray Charles
• How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - Al Green
• Until You Come Back To Me - Aretha Franklin