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Soul music

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Soul
Stylistic originsGospel music, blues, Rhythm and blues
Cultural originslate 1950s United States (esp. Memphis and Detroit)
Typical instrumentsGuitar - Bass - keyboard - Drums - Horn section - Vocals
Derivative formsFunk - Disco- contemporary R&B- Quiet Storm
Subgenres
Deep Soul - Motown Sound - Psychedelic soul - Blue-eyed soul - Brown-eyed soul
(complete list)
Fusion genres
Neo soul - Soul blues
Regional scenes
Detroit soul - Memphis soul - Philly soul
Other topics
Soul Musicians
For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation).

Soul music is a music genre that combines rhythm and blues and gospel music, originating in the late 1950s in the United States.

According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, secular testifying."[1]

Origins

File:ATGNcover.jpg
Sam Cooke, shown on the cover of his 1964 album Ain't That Good News, is considered one of the founders of soul music.

Forerunners of soul include 1940s artists such as Mahalia Jackson, Louis Jordan, Louis Prima, and Big Joe Turner. Some of the earliest soul artists included Ray Charles, Little Richard, Sam Cooke and James Brown, although all were happy to call themselves rock'n'roll performers at the time. During the 1960s Beatles boom, both Charles and Brown claimed that they had always really been R&B singers. Little Richard would proclaim himself the 'king of rockin and rollin, rhythm and blues soulin', as his art embodied elements of all three and he would go on to inspire generations of artists in all three genres.

Solomon Burke's early recordings for Atlantic Records codified the soul style, and his early 1960s songs "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 key soul 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. 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 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 significant 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.

Much has been made of Tamla Motown's contributions to the soul canon although the Detroit based label proudly thought of itself as a manufacturer of pop music. Certainly the music of Motown artists such as Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, and Marvin Gaye did much to popularise the style, and the overall 'Motown-sound' did much to define the fork in the soul music style known as Northern soul.

Meanwhile in Chicago Curtis Mayfield was creating the 'Sweet soul' sound that would render him the undisputed Godfather of Northern soul, although once again the 'forerunner theory' suggests his music was heavily influenced by Sam Cooke. As a member of The Impressions Mayfield created a call and answer style of group singing that harked right back to Gospel but nevertheless influenced scores of other groups of the era.

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."

1970s and later

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.

Marvin Gaye on the cover of his classic 1971 album What's Going On.

Although stylistically different 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 influenced by psychedelic rock and other genres. The social and political ferment of the times inspired artists like Gaye and Curtis Mayfield to release album-length statements with hard-hitting social commentary. Artists like James Brown led soul towards funk music, which became typified by 1970s bands like Parliament-Funkadelic and The Meters. More versatile groups like War, the Commodores and Earth, Wind and Fire became popular around this time. During the 1970s, some slick and commercial blue-eyed soul acts like Philadelphia's Hall & Oates and Oakland's Tower of Power achieved mainstream success, as did a new generation of street-corner harmony or city-soul groups like The Delfonics and Howard University's Unifics.

By the end of the 1970s, disco and funk were dominating the charts. Philly soul and most other soul genres were dominated by disco-inflected tracks. During this period, groups like The O'Jays and The Spinners continued to turn out hits.

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

Genres of soul

Detroit (Motown) soul

For more details on these topics, see Motown and Motown Sound.

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

Deep soul and Southern soul

For more details on this topic, see Deep soul and Southern soul

The terms deep soul and southern soul generally refer to a driving, energetic soul style combining R&B's energy with pulsating southern United States gospel music sounds. Memphis, Tennessee label 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 MGs (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

Further information: Memphis soul

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 fit into this style, but had their own unique sound.

Philadelphia soul

Further information: Philadelphia soul

Based primarily in the Philadelphia International record label, Philadelphia soul (AKA Philly Soul) had a lush orchestral sound and doo-wop-inspired vocals. Thom Bell, and Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff 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, MFSB, The Three Degrees, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and McFadden & Whitehead.

Psychedelic soul

Further information: Psychedelic soul

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. Principal figures included multicultural band Sly & the Family Stone, Curtis Mayfield, The Fifth Dimension, and (with producer Norman Whitfield) The Temptations and The Undisputed Truth.

Blue-eyed soul

Further information: Blue-eyed soul

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 Righteous Brothers, The Action, The Rascals, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, The Soul Survivors, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, David Bowie's Young Americans album is widely regarded as a later classic of the genre.

Neo soul

Further information: Neo soul

Neo soul is a mixture of 1970s soul-styled vocals and instrumentation with a contemporary R&B sound, hip hop beats and rap interludes. The style first 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. Aaliyah, Lauryn Hill, Musiq, The Roots and Alicia Keys helped popularize the sound. Other performers include Jill Scott, Jaguar Wright, Erykah Badu, Amel Larrieux, Adriana Evans, Maxwell, India.Arie, Soul Basement, Joss Stone, Anthony Hamilton, Floetry, Bilal and Tom Fox.

Northern soul and Modern soul

For more details on this topic, see Northern soul and modern soul

The term Northern soul was coined by music journalist Dave Godin in 1970 after a visit to the Twisted Wheel Club in Manchester, England.[citation needed] The term refers to rare soul music played by DJs at night clubs 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.

Notable soul artists

Sound samples

Footnotes

  1. ^ http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=177

Bibliography

  • Miller, Jim (editor) (1976). The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll. New York: Rolling Stone Press/Random House. ISBN 0-394-73238-3. (Chapter on "Soul," by Guralnick, Peter. pp. 194-197.
  • Escott, Colin. Liner notes for The Essential James Carr. Razor and Tie Records, 1995.
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