A History of Soul Music

 What is Soul Music, and Where Did it Come From?

        The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame defines soul music as “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”. After all my research and listening, this definition is near perfect in my opinion. Soul music derives from African-American gospel music with a strong influence of Rhythm and Blues. Many of the most important soul musicians actually began as gospel musicians who moved into secular music and carried their gospel background with them. Sam Cooke started his career in a gospel group before making secular music, which inspired many other artists including Reverend Al Green. Green is a great example of the connection between soul and gospel music because at the height of his career he transitioned from secular music to a life fully dedicated to being a pastor and singing gospel. He did make a short comeback, but it was not as successful. Other examples of direct ties include Ben E. King’s hit song Stand by Me being directly based on a hymn, and Aretha Franklin who transitioned to secular music in 1960.

    Aside from gospel influence, the biggest part of soul music is the African American experience. Soul music is perfectly intertwined with the civil rights movement in the United States. Soul helped to put black musicians in the mainstream due to its popularity amongst white listeners. White perception of these artists was changed for some people, and for the first time in history African Americans were making substantial amounts of money for their music. Soul artists would perform shows for both white and black audiences; almost always segregated. Jackie Wilson, Arthur Prysock, and Jesse Belvin famously refused to play one of these “white shows” and were subsequently run out of Little Rock, Arkansas in 1960. This tragically resulted in Belvin’s death when his tire was said to have been slashed by an angry white mob and caused him to wreck his car. Many artists wrote music making political commentary. One interesting thing I found about this is the way that northern based musicians were more blatant with their political references, while southern artists had a tendency to make subtle comments as a way to avoid repercussions from the Jim-Crow south. In Sam Cooke’s song A Change is Gonna Come he says “I go to the movies and I go downtown/But somebody keeps telling me, don’t hang around.” a line that was cut from radio play due to its striking nature and political statement. Soul music gave African Americans a voice and a way to unite throughout these tough times in history. African American musicians in the 1950s used the word “soul” to describe aspects of African American culture. So everything, even down to the name of the genre, goes back to the central theme of African American feelings. Even though soul music derives from the black experience and preaches messages of black power and getting away from the mainstream white culture, its acceptance into the mainstream was a step in the right direction for civil rights at the time.

Sam Cooke's A Change is Gonna Come

What Does Soul Music Sound Like?

Soul is a syncretic music that is very close instrumentally to rhythm and blues with many elements derived directly from the gospel influence discussed earlier. One of the biggest identifiers to me is the “clap along” nature of soul music. Oftentimes the songs will have actual hand claps featured, or have a steady drum beat that is easy to clap along to. A large amount of soul songs include call and response and repetition. Virtuosic vocals are also very common especially with artists like Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin where the song focuses on the singer’s voice. The instruments tend to include drums, horns, bass, electric guitar, and piano with a focus on blues style harmonies and rhythms. The sounds of soul music were often regional, like the southern sound which was more gospel influenced with shouts and a lot of call and response. While southern soul was rough and paid homage to its deep south “shouting blues” roots, the Detroit “Motown” sound was much cleaner, a lot like the way the classic blues we discussed in class differ from the delta blues. The lyrics of soul music are a lot of what I talked about in the origins, with a heavy influence on life as an African American, but a significant amount of examples are classic love songs.

The Evolution of Soul:

    One interesting thing about soul music to me is the way it was inspired by early R&B, but has done equally as much to inspire modern hip-hop and R&B. Alicia Keys has noted Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin as huge influences of hers, and her album As I Am is just one of many that are full of heavy soul influences. The Grammy winner of the album, No One, and Like You’ll Never See Me Again, both have obviously heavy soul influences with the way she draws out her notes and the easy to clap along with beat. Another artist today who shows an obvious soul influence is John Legend. Legend was a choir director and a songwriter for many high profile artists (Alicia Keys is one of them). His debut studio album Get Lifted includes many soul samples, and songs like Let’s Get Lifted, Stay With You, and Ordinary People all blend aspects of soul with Legend’s modern sound. The harmony of the background singers, the powerful vocal performance, and the shouts all are reminiscent of classic soul. Samples are one way soul music lives on through what we hear today. Jay-Z sampled Ain’t No Love In the Heart of the City by Bobby “Blue” Bland for his 2001 song Heart of the City, Ice Cube sampled Footsteps in the Dark by The Isley Brothers for his hit song It Was a Good Day, and the list goes on.

    Another way soul music evolved is the subgenres. I’ve already described some differences between “Motown” and “Southern Soul”, but there are more than just those main two. Psychedelic soul is when psychedelic rock of the 60’s and 70's is infused with soul. Other regional genres include Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Chicago soul. The music was so popular that it even spread to England and there is a version known as British soul.

John Legend's Stay With You. The claps, background harmonies, and smooth instrumentation are very reminiscent of classic soul.

Heart of The City, which samples Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City

Personal Favorites and conclusion:

    Southern soul is probably my favorite specific genre of soul. My dad introduced me to soul music and particularly Otis Redding with the song These Arms of Mine when I was younger and I have enjoyed it ever since. Otis is also very well known for his songs Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay and Try a Little Tenderness. The former is easily one of my favorite songs of this era, but the latter is equally as great with its unmistakable grunts and yelps at the end. Some of the other most popular soul songs are Respect by Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Marvin Gaye’s Heard it Through the Grapevine, and Let’s Stay Together by Al Green. Two more favorites of mine are For the Love of You by The Isley Brothers and Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, because I remember hearing both of those songs a lot when I was younger from movies, family and friends. 

    The cultural impact of soul music is undeniable. It has spawned many subgenres, inspired new artists, and even helped to unite people and give African American musicians a light in one the darkest times of American history.

Let's Stay Together, Al Green's biggest hit song

Otis Redding These Arms of Mine, the first soul song my dad showed me (that I remember at least)

Another song my dad introduced me to that I love, For the Love of You pts 1&2 by The Isley Brothers

Works Cited:

“History of Soul Music.” Timeline of African American Music, https://timeline.carnegiehall.org/genres/soul.

“Soul Music Guide: History and Sounds of Soul Music - 2022.” MasterClass, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/soul-music-guide.

Paese, Meagan. “Soul Music.” The History of Rock and Roll Radio Show, https://thehistoryofrockandroll.net/soul-music/.

“Al Green.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Al-Green.

Smith, Christopher. “The Last Mile of The Way: Soul Music and the Civil Rights Movement.” Auctus: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship, 2015.

Freeland, David. “Behind the Song: Sam Cooke, ‘A Change Is Gonna Come.’” American Songwriter, 28 Nov. 2019, https://americansongwriter.com/sam-cooke-behind-the-song-a-change-is-gonna-come/.