introduction to soul music instrumentation background lyrics politics influences key artists first wave second wave

1. Session Styles
Soul Music &
Motown
Christopher Baker
musicstudentinfo.com

2. Origins
Born Of The Afro-
American
Experience,
From Blues Clubs,
Churches & Street
Corners Of The
United States
Combination of
R&B, Gospel &
Doo-wop.
Three Styles
Collided, Soul’s
Big Bang
Occurred.
Ray Charles And
Sam Cooke
primary artists.
Secularising the
Sanctified with
Effusive Vocal.
Stirring Lyrics And
Deep Rhythmic
Feeling.
Ray Charles
1954’s I Got A
Woman.
Sam Cooke
1957’s You Send
Me.

3. Foundations of Soul Artists & Tracks
Ray Charles 1954’s I Got A Woman. Sam Cooke 1957’s You Send Me.

4. Soul The beginnings
James Brown,
Jackie Wilson and
Solomon Burke
connected testifying
with showmanship.
01
Detroit-born Jackie
Wilson’s first hits
were written by
Berry Gordy.
02
Berry Gordy Jr,
founded the Motown
label in 1959.
03

5. Mid 1960’s
Motown hits sung by The Supremes, Miracles, Martha and the Vandellas
and the Four Tops dominated the charts.
Underpinned by the four-to-the-floor rhythms of the Funk Brothers.
Lyrics mapping the teen condition by Smokey Robinson
Songwriting and production team Holland-Dozier-Holland.

6. Mid to Late 1960’s
Times became turbulent with
civil strife & riots.
Norman Whitfield and
Barrett Strong ushered in
psychedelic soul and social
commentary The
Temptations while Marvin
Gaye and Stevie Wonder
introduce landmark albums
Marvin Gaye What’s Going
On
Stevie Wonder Innervisions .
Sam Cooke A Change Is
Gonna Come
The Impressions’ Keep On
Pushing
Acknowledged as political
soul’s first records.

7. Socio Political Soul
Marvin Gaye What’s Going On Stevie Wonder Innervisions

8. Socio Political Soul Key Tracks
Aretha Franklin’s
1967 version of
Otis Redding’s
Respect.
James Brown
1968 Say It Loud
I’m Black And
I’m Proud.
Gave
encouragement
for peers to
follow.

9. Key Soul
Artists
Curtis
Mayfield
In Chicago, Curtis Mayfield,
along with the Impressions,
blueprinted 1970s soul with
message songs of peace and
unity.
Mayfield created Blaxploitation
score (music and movies
aimed at attracting African-
American audiences) with his
solo album Superfly.

10. Key Artists & Legacy
Philadelphia, smoother
sound, as producers Kenny
Gamble and Leon Huff
framed Harold Melvin and
the Bluenotes, the Delfonics
and the O’Jays in sweeping
strings and pointed brass.
Paved the way for Disco.
Resonates today in Neo
Soul.
New Orleans, Allen
Toussaint pushed a boogie-
woogie style with rolling
piano and honking sax; Irma
Thomas & Lee Dorsey.

11. Other Soul
Labels &
Artists
Muscle Shoals in Alabama. House Sound.
Artists Candi Staton and Clarence Carter. Etta
James hit Tell Mama and I’d Rather Go Blind. The
Staple Singers, 1960s protest soul had inspired Bob
Dylan, crossed over with Respect Yourself
Stax Records in Memphis. More gritty approach.
Artists Booker T and the MGs, Otis Redding and
Carla Thomas.
Hi Records, Issac Hayes 1969’s ‘symphonic soul’
Hot Buttered Soul and at Willie Mitchell’s Royal
Studios and artists Al Green and Ann Peebles.

12. Berry Gordy
Motown
Records

13. The Motown
Effect

14. Motown Strategies
Initially Album covers not
to depict the performers;
buyers had no idea
whether they were black
or white.
For some black artists
colour that prevented
them from crossing over
from the R&B charts to
the Hot 100.
No one ever got really
rich on just having hits
with ‘Race Records’
Artist biographical details
were difficult to get hold
of; all the public could do
was to decide whether
they liked the records or
not.
Success - during the
1960s Motown released
535 singles in the USA.
357 either made the R &
B charts and/or the Pop
charts.
Twenty-one singles
topped the Hot 100
By 1965 Motown had
become the richest
corporation in Black-
American history.

15. Motown Key Points
Make records appeal to
EVERYONE
Produced the slogan – The
Sound of Young America.
‘the sound’ of Motown
appeared to be simple, it
was in fact incredibly
sophisticated.
Some have called it
‘assembly-line pop’, with
connection to Detroit – the
motor city – Motown.
Gordy and team managed to
make each record sound
like it had been handcrafted.
Hitsville very soon became a
hit-factory.
Gordy also wanted to craft
an image for his acts.
Put his young stars through
musical finishing school; he
also marketed and
presented them as artists to
offend no one. To create
CROSSOVER appeal.
Critics preferred that their
black singers and
performers poor, lonely or
even troubled, Motown’s
approach was the antithesis.
Mainstream success was
what mattered, the respect
that followed created a
sense of black pride.

16. Motown Sound

17. Legendary Motown Musician
Bass player James Jamerson
What really made James Jamerson so great? JAMES JAMERSON Ain't No Mountain High Enough

18. Motown Legacy
Arguably, the most important catalogue in popular
music.
The 21st century rebirth of authentic sounding soul with
Brooklyn’s Daptone label.
Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Nashville studio is also keeping
the flame alive with Robert Finley and Shannon Shaw.