Class: Year 10 Date: Monday 6th January 2020 LI: Develop my knowledge of musical styles (Genres)

SOUL Music

Origins: Soul is an umbrella term for a diverse range of African/American music, with common influences from Gospel and R&B. If rock and roll, represented by performers such as Elvis Presley, can be seen as a white reading of rhythm and blues, soul is a return to black African American music’s roots—gospel and blues. The different types of Soul are sometimes named after the areas in American where they came from, such as: Memphis Soul Detroit Soul Chicago Soul Deep South Soul New Orleans Soul Features of Soul Music:

1. Call & Response Soul is influenced by Southern states Gospel music. Gospel music is influenced by the interaction between the preacher the congregation in a Church service. It is also influenced by the way groups of slaves working on plantations (huge farms) would communicate with other workers. This is called ‘Call & Response’. An example is where the lead singer sings a lyric and melody, and this is then answered by another singer or backing singers, or an instrument: For example, ‘Mannish Boy’ by Muddy Waters, where the harmonica (mouth organ) part seems to answer (respond) to every line Muddy Waters sings:

Listen to: Mannish Boy by Muddy Waters: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwj7xoPm0OzmAhW0o3EKHZvMD1MQyCkwAHoECA4QBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DbSfqNEvykv0&usg=AOvVaw0_3Jes8UXdGFXJciJl-UTB

2. Chord Progressions:

Soul chord progressions are often quite simple, and the harmony is usually diatonic. (This means that the notes and chords are taken from the key of the song.) Examples include:

a. Stand By Me: G – Em – C – D repeated all the way through & b. My Girl:

My Girl: [Verse] C F C F I've got sunshine on a cloudy day C F C F And when it's cold outside, I've got the month of May [Chorus] C Dm7 F G I guess you say, C Dm7 F G What can make me feel this way? C(maj7) My girl ...

As you can see above, sometimes a 7th chords are added to make the harmony a little bit more jazzy or colourful.

3. Use of session musicians Session musicians are self-employed musicians, who work for lots of different artists. They are very common these days. They were a big part of Soul music, and record labels such as Stax and Motown would use the same group of musicians on lots of different recordings. This helped Motown have a unique sound of their own, because although lots of singers sang different songs, the backing band was made up of the same players, who had a sound of their own. A group of session musicians called The Funk Brothers played on lots of Motown recordings, and it is claimed that they have played on more Number 1 hits than Elvis and The Beatles combined.

Listen to:

1. Nowhere to Run by Martha Reeves - https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwiSyMSf1uzmAhXHTBUIHbBZDaoQyCkwAHoECAoQBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DABbc-O_3_Ac&usg=AOvVaw1pWd6pOMP6ZdkUHtGTI9du

2. I’ll Be There by The Fourtops –

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwiI9q_o1uzmAhVhrHEKHUnxDPYQyCkwAHoECA0QBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D2EaflX0MWRo&usg=AOvVaw0rDqOxMPHH81n0f8Q8NWeE

The drumming style and bass guitar playing is very distinctive in recordings by the Funk Brothers. 4. Instrumentation: More instruments are used in Soul, often to create more sophisticated sounding recordings:

1. Vocals 2. Backing vocals 3. Bass Guitar 4. Drums 5. Electric Guitar 6. Horns (Sax, Trumpets) 7. Woodwind (Flutes) 8. Piano

- The bass guitar lines are often melodic (such as My Girl, by The

Temptations) and Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. - The drum patterns are up-tempo Aretha Franklin’s ‘RESPECT’ and I’ll Be

There (above)

5. Soul Music Record Labels Sometimes, different types of Soul are named after record labels: Motown Stax Atlantic These record labels signed and promoted some of the biggest names in Soul music: Motown Records: Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Jackson 5 (Michael’s Jackson’s first band) and the The Supremes

Stax Records: Otis Reading and Ray Charles Atlantic Records: Aretha Franklin The Motown sound, which came of age in the 1960s. As well as lighter, more pop-oriented artists such as the Supremes, the Motown label produced some artists with genuine gospel edge, such as The Contours (‘Do You Love Me’ (1962), Marvin Gaye (‘Can I Get a Witness’ (1963) and Stevie Wonder (‘Uptight [Everything’s Alright]” (1966). Nonetheless, in the 1960’s Motown mostly packaged its acts as clean-cut and acceptable, because it wanted to sell records to white teenagers. As the civil rights movement grew, African American artists grew more politically aware. An example would by Motown’s ‘What’s Going On?’ and Inner City Blues by Marvin Gaye (1971) and ‘Say It Loud—I’m Black and I’m Proud (Part 1)” by James Brown, (1968). Atlantic Records was home to Aretha Franklin (1942-2018) was if often called ‘The Queen of Soul’. She had many million selling hits in the 1960’s including:

- You Make Me Feel (Like a natural woman) - RESPECT - Think - Baby I Love You

6. Soul from other regions in the USA

- Chicago Soul was made famous by Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions, who added a sense of social awareness with songs such as ‘People Get Ready’ and ‘Keep On Pushing’, (1965)

- Soul was big in New Orleans – The Meters and Art Neville produced early funk-soul. - Stevie Wonder and The Jackson 5 created some the great soul records, working in

Los Angeles, in California Conclusion: Soul music has become a permanent and important part of American popular culture. It is about honest emotional delivery, ethnic pride and respect for where the music came from (Slavery, Gospel, Blues, R&B). The style of singing, writing and playing have had a massive influence on all music, from Pop, Rock, Funk, Dance Music to Hip Hop. Modern Hip artists such as JAY-Z and Kenrick Lamar often sample famous Soul recordings, because they are aware that Soul music is part of their culture and ancestry. Listen to: Otis by JAY-Z and Kenrick Lamar (Which samples 60’s soul singer Otis Reading)

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=2ahUKEwisl7Db3-zmAhVOQhUIHWrICiQQwqsBMAF6BAgJEAc&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DBoEKWtgJQAU&usg=AOvVaw2yDk0k6pCgTk3kPcYO4eAQ