Table of Contents
3 – Soul
Soul music is gospel-influenced R&B music that splintered off from R&B starting at the end of the 50s, by the early 60s soul was its own and went on to spawn many derivatives of soul music.
A – 60s Soul
60s Soul was the seat of modern dance throughout the decade alongside older styled R&B. The new soul music was upbeat and had a crispness it utilized horn, rhythm, and string sections to add color and flavor to the music.
Soul music dominated the pop charts as the decade progressed. Successful soul labels were startups like Motown & Stax Records, as opposed to the prestigious Atlantic Records, Prominent soul cities like Detroit, Memphis, and New Orleans or studio sounds like Muscle Shoals.
1) Architects of Soul – Ray Charles – The Father of Soul, James Brown – the Godfather of Soul, Sam Cooke The King of Soul, Etta James, Berry Gordy – Motown, Smokey Robinson. Aretha Franklin Queen of Soul.
2) Soul Influences – R&B stars that influenced soul music. Sonny Til and the Orioles, Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters, Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, Solomon Burke, Jerry Butler & the Impressions, the Isley Brothers.
3) 60s Soul Music – 60s soul music was comprised of many different labels, regions, and studios. Doc Pomus, Phil Spector,
a) Atlantic Records – Lieber & Stoller, The Drifters, Ben E. King. Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin,
b) Motown Records – Carla & Rufus Thomas, The Miracles, Mary Wells, Martha & the Vandellas, the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Junior Walker & the All-Stars, Stevie Wonder,
c) Stax Records – Booker T & the MGs, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Joe Tex, Isaac Hayes
d) Other sounds – Keen, New Brunswick, Chess Records, ABC Records, Gene Chandler, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Jerry Butler, Sly & the Family Stone.
4) 60s Soul – top 10 hits – R&B influences of soul 1959-1962 and yearly lists for 1963-1969.
5) 60s Soul – top 40 hits – Detailed 1959-1969 top 40 hits and other relevant songs.
6) Blue-Eyed Soul – The Righteous Brothers, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield, Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Steve Winwood, Hall & Oates, Adele
7) Psychedelic Soul – The late 60s Temptations, Sly & the Family Stone, Funkadelic, Jimi Hendrix, Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield.
B) 70s Soul
70s soul was a lot different then the high paced active soul of the 60s, 70s soul, slowed down a bit and concentrated on ballads and love songs. It became more topical and led to several soul album masterpieces. Soul became a genre that could be as light, easy-listening music, as light jazzy funk or to be as of a novelty in an “old- style” R&B.
As this was happening, funk music grew out of soul and psychedelia and began to transform popular music with its bass fidelity or funkiness.
1) 70s Soul – Soul became very progressive after its late 60s and early 70s spiritual triumphs. Soul was now open to concepts and styles only hinted at in the 60s. Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On”; Roberta Flack, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Stevie Wonder “Innervisions”, “Songs in the Key of Life”; Earth Wind & Fire, Jackson 5, Diana Ross, LaBelle, Natalie Cole, Luther Vandross.
2) 70s Soul – top 10 hits – The ballads, the light songs, the funky ditties, the epic suites and the love songs.
3) 70s Soul – top 40 hits – Detailed top 40 hits with many relevant album tracks.
4) Northern Soul – A whole vast sub-genre of American 60s soul rarities that became popular during the 1970s, but only in northern England.
5) Philly Soul & Disco – Thom Bell, Gamble & Huff, the Delfonics, Barry White, the Stylistics, the O’Jays, the Spinners, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergast, TSOP and many early funk and disco classics.
C) 80s Soul & Contemporary R&B
1) 80s Soul – Newer sounds from Hip Hop and Hi NRG started to influence soul. Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, DeBarge, Lionel Ritchie, Miami Sound Machine, George Michaels, Sade, Soul II Soul.
See New Wave & 80s Pop
2) Contemporary R&B – Contemporary R&B has an easy. smooth, silky, well-produced sound, with breathy, lush lyrics and vocal arrangements and flawless computer generated beats and instrumentation. Influenced by pop, rhythm & blues, soul, funk, hip-hop, gospel and electronic dance music.
The production is so perfect you’d think a machine did it, oh wait that is exactly what was done. Think of a Quincy Jones production of the albums “Off the Wall” or “Thriller” by Michael Jackson
Check out Janet Jackson’s 2 late 80s albums “Control” and “Rhythm Nation 1814” , the master producer Quincy Jones, master producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat, Stevie Wonder, Al B. Sure, Whitney Houston, Guy, Jodeci, Bell Biv DeVoe, Boyz to Men, R. Kelly, Timbaland, Aaliyah, Craig David, Destinys Child, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige.
3) The Quiet Storm – Luther Vandross, Anita Baker, Sade, Frankie Beverly, Maze, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Barry White, Gil Scott-Heron, Bill Withers, All of Philly Soul, Peabo Bryson
4) Neo Soul – Neo Soul has less of contemporary soul’s slick, polished, digitized production yet it is an album-oriented form of music. The influential genres here are jazz, funk, hip-hop, electronica, pop but with African music and rhythms as the identifier, the crucial ingredient. Inspired by Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson.
Prince, Terence Trent D’Arby, Joi, Mint Condition, Sade, Soul II Soul, Caron Wheeler, the Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai, Lisa Stansfield, Zhane, Groove Theory, Tonu Rish and Me’Shell NdegeOcello. Mainstream break through D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Tony! Yoni! Tone!, and Maxwell 90s. Also in the UK, Young Disciples, Omar Lye-Fook,