Soul – the sub-genres: • The Motown Sound • The Stax/Volt Sound • Atlantic Soul • Philadelphia Soul • 80s Soul/Urban ORIGINS Soul music eventually materialized in the early 1960s. It developed out of the Black music that became popular in the 1950's; that is, American gospel and R&B, performed primarily by black musicians almost exclusively to a black audience. Some of the most successful R&B artists of the 50s were the ones who made it into the pop charts in the 1960s with ‘Soul’ numbers. One such person was Ray Charles who was a major force in the early development of soul music with his unique style, which was of a rich blend of gospel, rhythm and blues and Jazz. musical characteristics Soul music, especially that from the 1960s, was simply ‘pop-orientated’ R&B. Therefore, Soul and R&B performances share common instrumentation, with the performing ensemble divided into a rhythm section and a horn section. Typically, the rhythm section consists of a drum kit, bass (electric or acoustic), piano (sometimes organ instead of or in addition to piano), and guitar, while the horn section features saxophones, trumpets, and occasionally trombones (though confusingly almost never, despite its name, horns). The emphasis on the horn section in most styles of soul and R&B has been one of the ways in which the music has historically been differentiated from white rock music, which has tended to be guitar dominated. Other common musical elements of Soul and R&B music include the use of: (1) the twelve--bar form, using a three line lyric, originating in earlier styles of blues; (2) call and response, whereby a singer or instrumentalist will sing or play a phrase and another vocalist or instrumentalist will answer with another phrase; (3) incessant repetition of musical notes, rhythms, phrases, or verses; the use of blue notes and (5) a tightly integrated and complex blending of instruments, in which it is often difficult to differentiate the separate sounds or instruments being played at a given moment. Motown ORIGINS The ‘Motown’ record label was founded by Berry Gordy in 1959. It was a Black Owned organisation which aimed to use only Black musicians (although in reality, many of the session players were white). At a time when the struggle for racial equality was paramount in America soul music such as that recorded by the Motown label played a major role in promoting ‘black pride’. The sound was joyous, uplifting and confident and accompanied the Civil Rights movement with songs like Marvin Gaye's “What's Going On”. Motown’s continual stream of hits was largely down to a factory-like recording and producing process, which has brought about some criticism over the years. Berry Gordy would often audition about 12 different mixes on a transistor radio in the quality control room. This production line approach went on to influence the ‘Hit Factory’ of the 1980s. Motown acts like The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and The Four Tops were rarely out of the charts and are amongst some of Soul music’s most famous artists. The Motown label exercised a lot of control over their artists but in the 70s artists like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder were allowed a more artistic freedom. musical characteristics The song writing trio of Holland, Holland and Dozier were very influential in moulding the Motown sound, and their preference for dense textures can be heard in many Motown numbers. Large orchestrations were often used, featuring string sections, horn sections, carefully arranged harmonies and other more refined pop music production techniques. Because of the denseness of the sound, it was important that the rhythm section was allowed to cut through, hence the frequent use of tambourines and hand claps. Because many of the hit songs were written by this team they have common, distinctive melodic and chord structures. "Call and response" singing styles give more examples of the influence of American gospel music. It was also one of the first styles of pop music of that era where girl groups (The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas and The Marvelettes) were showcased as an act, as opposed to individual female artists. technical characteristics The Motown studios started out with 3-track machines before moving to two 8- track machines in 1965. Many tracks featured two drummers instead of one, either overdubbed or playing in unison, and three or four guitar lines as well. The Motown studios were very small with little room for amps, so the bass guitars were often DI’d into the desk. The Motown studios were also some of the few to employ limiting and equalization (partly because of the expense). This explains the way that vocal levels seem to be regulated from artist to artist, and the crisp HF definition, which was quite rare for the time. The engineers also ‘locked’ the drum kit into a fixed place in the studio. All of this helped to maintain a consistent drum sound. representative artists • Marvin Gaye • The Supremes • Smokey Robinson • Stevie Wonder • The Four Tops The Stax SOUND general influences The Stax sound dominated the sixties alongside the Motown sound and continued to thrive well into the seventies. Stax records was important in Black American music in the mid sixties with it's production of Southern American soul music, also it had a mix of both black and white musicians and production staff. The style brought to national attention in the United States music performed by some of the first racially integrated popular music groups, including the Mar-Keys and Booker T and the M.G.'s. Musical characteristics Very different from Motown, Stax had an earthier, bluesy feel, often powered by the classic Booker T and the MGs rhythm section. The music had a pulsating, gritty soul music style propelled by a powerful horn section and driving rhythm section. Compared to Motown the ensembles were often smaller and the arrangements were less dense. The vocals on Stax records are often very expressive, influenced heavily by Gospel. technical characteristics Stax self-consciously nurtured a distinctive sound, which included putting vocals further back in the mix than most contemporary R&B records, the use of vibrant horn parts in the place of background vocals, and a focus on the low end of the frequency spectrum. The studio was a large Theatre, and it wasn’t very microphone rich. A section of five horns might well have been mic’d with just 2 mics, for example (see Otis Blue, in 40 Years of Music Technoloy ). Representative artists • Otis Redding • Wilson Pickett • Isaac Hayes • Booker T and the MGs Atlantic Soul general influences Stax's rival label, was founded as a jazz label in 1947, turned to rhythm and blues in the 1950s, became celebrated as the home of many soul stars. In the 1960s, and then harvested some of the best of the 1960s and '70s rock and roll acts, from Buffalo Springfield to Led Zeppelin. In the '60s, Atlantic became the centre of soul music. The label entered into a partnership with Memphis, Tennessee-based Stax Records and used Stax house band Booker T. and the MGs behind such artists as Otis Redding and Sam and Dave. The label also signed an artist who had been mismanaged by Columbia Records, a gospel- trained belter named Aretha Franklin. For these reasons Stax and Atlantic records are often grouped together in discussions about soul music. technical characteristics Atlantic Studios were already working on 8-track equipment by 1958 and were famous for their echo chamber. Like Motown, the drums were always recorded in the same spot, and engineers used the then common practice of using 2 mics on the kit. Unlike Motown, however, the use of EQ was frowned upon: the emphasis was on using the ‘right mic for the job’. (see 40 Years of Music Technology) representative artists • Aretha Franklin • Percy Sledge PHILADELPHIA Soul General influences Philadelphia (or Philly) soul was more of a 70s style, derived directly from the Motown and Stax sounds. Due to the emphasis on sound and arrangement and the relative anonymity of many of the style's players, Philly soul is often considered a producers' genre. Philly soul songwriters and producers worked with a stable of studio musicians to develop the unique Philly sound used as backing for many different singing acts. Many of these musicians would record as the instrumental group MFSB (“Mother Father Sister Brother”) which had a hit with the seminal Philly soul song "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" in 1974. It is important to note that elements of The Philly soul style went on to influence the emergence of Disco in the 70s. Musical characteristics Philly Soul it is characterized by lush, extravagant instrumental arrangements often featuring sweeping strings and horns, with ‘soulful’ vocals. The result is a much smoother sound compared to the more funky and gritty Southern and deep soul styles represented by Stax and Motown. representative artists • The O'Jays • The Spinners • Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes • MFSB Blue-eyed soul general influences Blue-eyed soul is soul music is a term sometimes given to ‘soul’ music performed by white people and usually intended for white audiences. It exists in contrast to soul music performed by blacks. Many blue-eyed soul performers are British, and several of these artists have actually been mistaken for being black. Ironically, the "blue-eyed" artists who have had the longest careers in this genre have done so by building a significant black following, as exemplified by the success of Hall & Oates, George Michael and Teena Marie on the R&B charts in the 1980s.