Soul music is apopular music genre that originated inAfrican Americancommunities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s.[2] Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps and extemporaneous body movements, are an important hallmark of soul. Other characteristics are acall and response between the lead andbacking vocalists, an especially tense vocal sound, and occasionalimprovisational additions, twirls, and auxiliary sounds.[3] Soul music is known for reflecting African American identity and stressing the importance ofAfrican American culture.
Soul has its roots in African-Americangospel music andrhythm and blues,[4] and primarily combines elements of gospel,R&B andjazz.[5] The genre emerged from the power struggle to increase black Americans' awareness of their African ancestry, as a newfound consciousness led to the creation of music that boasted pride in being black.[6][7] Soul music became popular for dancing and listening, and American record labels such asMotown,Atlantic andStax were influential in its proliferation during thecivil rights movement. Soul also became popular worldwide, directly influencingrock music and themusic of Africa.[8] It had a resurgence in the mid-to late 1990s with the subgenreneo soul,[9] which incorporated modern production elements andhip-hop influences.
Soul music dominated the U.S.R&B charts in the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into the pop charts in the United States, United Kingdom, and elsewhere. Many prominent soul artists, includingRay Charles,Sam Cooke,Otis Redding,James Brown,Aretha Franklin, and various acts under the Motown label, such asthe Supremes andthe Temptations, were highly influential in the genre's development and all gained widespread popularity during this time.[10] By 1968, the soul music genre had begun to splinter. Some soul artists moved tofunk music, while other singers and groups developed slicker, more sophisticated, and in some cases more socially conscious varieties.[11] By the early 1970s, soul music had begun to absorb influences frompsychedelic rock andprogressive rock, among other genres, leading to the creation ofpsychedelic soul andprogressive soul. Prominent soul artists of this era includeMarvin Gaye,Jackson 5,Stevie Wonder,Curtis Mayfield,Isaac Hayes,Al Green, andBill Withers.Neo soul, which adopted hip-hop influences, developed around 1994.
Other subgenres of soul include the "Motown sound", a more rhythmic andpop-friendly style that originated from the eponymous label;Southern soul, a driving, energetic variety combining R&B with southern gospel music influences;[12]Memphis soul, a shimmering, sultry style;New Orleans soul, which emerged from the rhythm and blues style;Chicago soul, a lighter gospel-influenced sound; andPhiladelphia soul, a lushorchestral variety withdoo-wop-inspired vocals.
Ray Charles pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles.
Soul music has its roots intraditional African-American gospel music andrhythm and blues and as the hybridization of their respective religious and secular styles – in both lyrical content and instrumentation – that began in the 1950s. The term "soul" had been used among African-American musicians to emphasize the feeling of being an African-American in the United States.[13] According to musicologistBarry Hansen,[14]
Though this hybrid produced a clutch of hits in the R&B market in the early 1950s, only the most adventurous white fans felt its impact at the time; the rest had to wait for the coming of soul music in the 1960s to feel the rush ofrock and roll sung gospel-style.
According toAllMusic, "Soul music was the result of the urbanization and commercialization of rhythm and blues in the '60s."[16] The phrase "soul music" itself, referring to gospel-style music with secular lyrics, was first attested in 1961.[17] The term "soul" in African-American parlance has connotations of African-American pride and culture.Gospel groups in the 1940s and '50s occasionally used the term as part of their names. Thejazz style that originated from gospel became known assoul jazz. As singers and arrangers began using techniques from both gospel and soul jazz in African-American popular music during the 1960s, soul music gradually functioned as an umbrella term for African-American popular music at the time.[18][19]
Sam Cooke is regarded as one of soul music's "forefathers".
According to the Acoustic Music Organization, the "first clear evidence of soul music shows up withthe "5" Royales, an ex-gospel group that turned to R&B and inFaye Adams, whose "Shake A Hand" becomes an R&B standard".[20]
Important innovators whose recordings in the 1950s contributed to the emergence of soul music includedClyde McPhatter,Hank Ballard, andEtta James.[14]Ray Charles is often cited as popularizing the soul music genre with his series of hits, starting with 1954's "I Got a Woman".[21] SingerBobby Womack said, "Ray was the genius. He turned the world onto soul music."[11] Charles was open in acknowledging the influence ofPilgrim Travelers vocalist Jesse Whitaker on his singing style.
Little Richard, who inspiredOtis Redding,[22] andJames Brown both were equally influential. Brown was nicknamed the "Godfather of Soul Music",[15] and Richard proclaimed himself as the "King of Rockin' and Rollin', Rhythm and Blues Soulin'", because his music embodied elements of all three, and since he inspired artists in all three genres.[23]
Sam Cooke andJackie Wilson also are often acknowledged as soul forefathers.[11][24] Cooke became popular as the lead singer of the gospel groupthe Soul Stirrers, before controversially moving into secular music. His recording of "You Send Me" in 1957 launched a successfulpop music career. Furthermore, his 1962 recording of "Bring It On Home to Me" has been described as "perhaps the first record to define the soul experience".[25] Jackie Wilson, a contemporary of both Cooke and James Brown, also achievedcrossover success, especially with his 1957 hit "Reet Petite".[26] He even was particularly influential for his dramatic delivery and performances.[27]
Soul started, in a sense, with the 1961 success of Solomon Burke's "Just Out of Reach". Ray Charles, of course, had already enjoyed enormous success (also on Atlantic), as had James Brown and Sam Cooke — primarily in a pop vein. Each of these singers, though, could be looked upon as an isolated phenomenon; it was only with the coming together of Burke and Atlantic Records that you could begin to see anything even resembling a movement.[32]
Between 1962 and 1964 Redding recorded a series of soul ballads characterized by unabashedly sentimental lyrics usually begging forgiveness or asking a girlfriend to come home... He soon became known as "Mr. Pitiful" and earned a reputation as the leading performer of soul ballads.[33]
Soul music dominated the U.S. African-American music charts in the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into the pop charts in the U.S. Otis Redding was a huge success at theMonterey International Pop Festival in 1967.[11] The genre also became highly popular in the UK, where many leading acts toured in the late 1960s. "Soul" became an umbrella term for an increasingly wide variety of R&B-based music styles – from the dance and pop-oriented acts atMotown Records inDetroit, such asthe Temptations,Marvin Gaye andStevie Wonder, to "deep soul" performers such asPercy Sledge andJames Carr.[38][39][40] Different regions and cities within the U.S., including New York City, Detroit, Chicago,Memphis,New Orleans,Philadelphia, and Muscle Shoals, Alabama (the home ofFAME Studios andMuscle Shoals Sound Studios) became noted for different subgenres of the music and recording styles.[16][41]
By 1968, while at its peak of popularity, soul began to fragment into different subgenres. Artists such as James Brown andSly and the Family Stone evolved intofunk music, while other singers such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder,Curtis Mayfield andAl Green developed slicker, more sophisticated and in some cases more politically conscious varieties of the genre.[11] However, soul music continued to evolve, informing most subsequent forms of R&B from the 1970s-onward, with pockets of musicians continuing to perform in traditional soul style.[16]
The syndicated music/dance variety television seriesSoul Train, hosted by Chicago nativeDon Cornelius, debuted in 1971.[53] The show provided an outlet for soul music for several decades, also spawning a franchise that saw the creation of a record label (Soul Train Records) that distributed music bythe Whispers,Carrie Lucas, and an up-and-coming group known asShalamar.[54] Numerous disputes led to Cornelius spinning off the record label to his talent booker,Dick Griffey, who transformed the label intoSolar Records, itself a prominent soul music label throughout the 1980s.[54] The TV series continued to air until 2006, although other predominantly African-American music genres such as hip-hop began overshadowing soul on the show beginning in the 1980s.[55]
Asdisco and funk musicians had hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s, soul went in the direction ofquiet storm. With its relaxed tempos and soft melodies, quiet storm soul took influences fromfusion andadult contemporary. Some funk bands, such as EW&F, the Commodores andCon Funk Shun would have a few quiet storm tracks on their albums. Among the most successful acts in this era include Smokey Robinson, Jeffry Osbourne,Peabo Bryson,Chaka Khan, andLarry Graham.
After the decline of disco and funk in the early 1980s, soul music became influenced byelectro music. It became less raw and more slickly produced, resulting in a style that is known ascontemporary R&B, which sounded very different from the originalrhythm and blues style. The United States saw the development ofneo-soul around 1994.
Stax Records and Atlantic Records were independent labels that produced high-quality dance records featuring many well-known singers of the day.[57] They tended to have smaller ensembles marked by expressive gospel-tinged vocals. Brass and saxophones were also used extensively.[58][page needed]Stax Records, founded by siblings Estelle and James Stewart, was the second most successful record label behindMotown Records. They were responsible for releasing hits byOtis Redding,Wilson Pickett,the Staple Singers, and many more.[59] Ahmet Ertegun, who had anticipated being a diplomat until 1944 when his father died, foundedAtlantic Records in 1947 with his friendHerb Abramson. Ertegun wrote many songs forRay Charles andthe Clovers. He even sangbackup vocals for his artistBig Joe Turner on the song "Shake, Rattle and Roll".[60]
The terms "deep soul" and "Southern soul" generally refer to a driving, energetic soul style combiningR&B's energy with pulsating southern United Statesgospel music sounds.Memphis, Tennessee, labelStax 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 bandsBooker T. & the M.G.'s (withBooker T. Jones,Steve Cropper,Duck Dunn, andAl Jackson) andthe Memphis Horns (the splinter horn section ofthe Mar-Keys, trumpeterWayne Jackson and saxophonistAndrew Love).
Memphis soul is a shimmering, sultry style of soul music produced in the 1960s and 1970s atStax Records[57] andHi Records inMemphis, Tennessee. It featured melancholic and melodic horns,Hammond organ, bass, and drums, as heard in recordings by Hi'sAl Green and Stax'sBooker T. & the M.G.'s. The latter group also sometimes played in the harder-edgedSouthern soul style. The Hi Records house band (Hi Rhythm Section) and producerWillie 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.
The New Orleans soul scene directly came out of the rhythm and blues era, when such artists asLittle Richard,Fats Domino, andHuey "Piano" Smith made a huge impact on the pop and R&B charts and a huge direct influence on the birth offunk music. The principal architect of Crescent City's soul was songwriter, arranger, and producerAllen Toussaint. He worked with such artists asIrma Thomas ("the Soul Queen of New Orleans"), Jessie Hill,Chris Kenner, Benny Spellman, andErnie K-Doe on the Minit/Instant label complex to produce a distinctive New Orleans soul sound that generated a passel of national hits. Other notable New Orleans hits came from Robert Parker,Betty Harris, andAaron Neville. While record labels in New Orleans largely disappeared by the mid-1960s, producers in the city continued to record New Orleans soul artists for other mainly New York City and Los Angeles–based record labels—notablyLee Dorsey for New York-basedAmy Records and the Meters for New York–basedJosie Records and then LA-basedReprise Records.
Psychedelic soul, sometimes known as "black rock", was a blend ofpsychedelic rock and soul music in the late 1960s, which paved the way for the mainstream emergence offunk music a few years later.[74] Early pioneers of this subgenre of soul music includeJimi Hendrix,Sly and the Family Stone,Norman Whitfield, andIsaac Hayes.[75] While psychedelic rock began its decline, the influence of psychedelic soul continued on and remained prevalent through the 1970s.[76][failed verification]
In the early 1960s, small soul scenes began popping up around the UK. Liverpool in particular had an establishedblack community from which artists such as Chants and Steve Aldo emerged and go on to record within theBritish music industry. As a result, many recordings were commercially released by British soul acts during the 1960s which were unable to connect with the mainstream market.[77] Nevertheless, soul has been a major influence on British popular music since the 1960s including bands of theBritish Invasion, most significantlythe Beatles.[78] There were a handful of significant Britishblue-eyed soul acts, includingDusty Springfield andTom Jones.[79] In the 1970sCarl Douglas,the Real Thing andDelegation[80] had hits in the UK. American soul was extremely popular among some youth sub-cultures like themod,Northern soul and modern soul movements, but a clear genre of British soul did not emerge until the 1980s when several artists includingGeorge Michael,Sade,Simply Red,Lisa Stansfield andSoul II Soul enjoyed commercial success.[81] The popularity of British soul artists in the U.S., most notablyAmy Winehouse,Adele,Estelle,Duffy,Joss Stone andLeona Lewis, led to talk of a "Third British Invasion" or "British Soul Invasion" in the 2000s and 2010s.[82][83]
Neo soul is a blend of 1970s soul-style vocals and instrumentation withcontemporary R&B sounds,hip-hop beats, and poetic interludes. The style was developed in the early to mid-1990s, and the term was coined in the early 1990s by producer andrecord label executiveKedar Massenburg. A key element in neo-soul is a heavy dose ofFender Rhodes orWurlitzer electronic piano "pads" over a mellow, grooving interplay between the drums (usually with a rim shot snare sound) and a muted, deep funky bass. The Fender Rhodes piano sound gives the music a warm, organic character.
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in the late 1960s out of the Britishmod subculture inNorthern England and theEnglish Midlands, based on a particular style of soul music with a heavy beat and fast tempo. The phrasenorthern soul was coined by a journalistDave Godin and popularised through his column inBlues and Soul magazine.[84] The rare soul records were played by DJs atnightclubs, and included obscure 1960s and early 1970s American recordings with anuptempo beat, such as those onMotown and smaller labels, not necessarily from theNorthern United States.
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