Soul Source

Soul is a strand of music that originated in America in the late 1950’s. At the heart of this genre is the fusion of Gospel and Blues sounds, with secular and religious themes to create an overall product, which was more commercial and mainstream. It’s funky and rhythmic, material and spiritual, but above all, easily recognisable and distinctive.

Soul is a music genre most commonly associated with African-American people, though some of the sub-genres of Soul music are rooted in other countries, or with white people. A Soul explosion in the 1960’s brought to prominence these different/regional sub-genres of Soul, which each had an important part to play in the history of the genre as a whole.

One of the most famous genres of Soul music was of course Motown, brought to light by a record label of the same name. Motown was perhaps one of the most popular worldwide success stories, and became known for its commercial appeal, and instantly recognisable sound. The label produced hit after hit for a wide variety of stars including The Jackson Five, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and The Temptations. Around the same time Stax records was also making its mark on the Soul market, with a groove laden Southern Soul sound. Its success stories included Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Al Green. These and other Stax/Hi Records artists were flying the flag for Memphis, which along with Detroit, were the two most talked about Soul cities.

Less well known, but still as important, is the Jazz influenced Philadelphia Soul scene, and England’s Northern Soul, a sub-genre that originated in the club/DJ culture of Northern England. Philly Soul was widely known stateside for its song writing teams, which included Mcfadden and Whitehead, while the celebrity DJ culture has its roots in Northern Soul, with a DJ’s popularity based on the quality, and rarity of Soul records he or she sourced from America.

These were the main sub-genres that played an important part in the early years of Soul. As the years moved on, there was the introduction of further chapters to the Soul story, such as that of Neo and Psychedelic Soul, As testament to its integration into popular culture, many Soul and R&B books also pay homage to Latin Soul and Jamaican Soul.

While Soul music as a genre grew from the roots of Blues and Gospel, blooming at the other end of the scale was modern day urban music. Soul still features in this, through contemporary performers such as Joss Stone, Beverley Knight, and the continued success of artists like Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin. Soul also continues to be an influence on new music genres such as Hip Hop, and modern day jazz sounds. Artists such as Destiny’s Child, Missy Elliot, Aaliyah, and Lauryn Hill, could all broadly be featured in the latter end of the soul story.

This is of course just a snapshot of a genre which has appeared in countless ways, in countless cities and towns since its inception. Although Soul has had its barren periods, it’s produced singing stars, bands, and hit songs that will live on for many years to come, and with such a far reaching influence, there’s sure to be many more chapters added to the History Of Soul.