A narration on the history of African-American soul music.

3. WHAT IS SOUL
• MUSIC THAT AROSE OUT OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN
AMERICA THROUGH THE TRANSMUTATION OF GOSPEL AND RHYTHM & BLUES IN
THE 1950S

4. ROOTS OF
SOUL
• THE SOUL HAS ITS ROOTS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC. IT CAN BE
TRACED BACK TO SLAVE TRADE ERA FROM 1619 TO 1809
• ROOTED IN AFRICAN TRADITION, MANY SPIRITUALS, WORK SONGS
AND HOLLERS, NOW MORE OFTEN REFERRED TO AS SLAVE SONGS,
BECAME THE FOUNDATIONS FOR THE BLUES AND GOSPELS THAT LED TO
THE BIRTH OF SOUL.

5. AFRICAN-AMERICAN
MUSIC EVOLUTION
THREE DISTINCT MUSICAL GENRES BRANCHES OUT IN PARALLEL
BEGINNING FROM 1600S TILL THE 1980S – JAZZ, SOUL AND GOSPEL

6. CHARACTERISTI
CS OF SOUL
• CATCHY RHYTHMS
• STRESSED BY HANDCLAPS
• EXTEMPORANEOUS BODY MOVES
• CALL AND RESPONSE

7. TIMELINE OF NOTABLE AFRICAN AMERICAN EVENTS IN HISTORY DURING SOUL ERA
1954
US supreme court rules
in favor of Brown vs
Board of Education of
Topeka
1955
Rosa Parks refused to
surrender her seat.
Montgomery Bus Boycott
1957
The Southern Christian
Leadership started by MLK
Jr.
1959
Motown Records is
founded in Detroit,
Michigan by Berry
Gordy, Jr.
1963
The Civil Rights
Movement reaches its
climax with a massive
march in Wash. DC.
1964
MLK Jr. is the youngest
person (35), to be
awarded the Nobel peace
prize
1968
On April 4th, MLK Jr. is
assassinated in Memphis,
Tennessee

8. RAY CHARLES (50S)
• PIONEER OF SOUL MUSIC
• LOST HIS EYES AT 7
• HIT NUMBERS:
• “HIT THE ROAD, JACK”
• “I’VE GOT A WOMAN” (INSPIRED BY “IT MUST BE JESUS” )
• “GEORGIA ON MY MIND”
• INFLUENCED – ARETHA FRANKLIN, STEVIE WONDER, BILLY JOEL, ELVIS PRESLEY

9. SAM COOKE (50S)
• KING OF SOUL MUSIC
• CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST
• HIT NUMBERS:
• “YOU SEND ME” #1 ON BILLBOARDS’ R&B
• “A CHANGE IS GONNA COME”
• INFLUENCED - OTIS REDDING, ART GARFUNKEL, ROD STEWART

10. ARETHA LOUISE FRANKLIN (60S)
• QUEEN OF SOUL
• POWERFUL MEZZO-SOPRANO VOICE
• CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST AND FEMINIST
• HIT NUMBERS:
• “RESPECT”
• “CHAIN OF FOOLS”
• “I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER”

11. JAMES BROWN (1960S)
• GODFATHER OF SOUL, MR. DYNAMITE AND SOUL BROTHER NO.1
• INVENTED FUNK
• RANKED NO. 7 ON ROLLING STONE’S 100 GREATEST ARTISTS OF ALL TIME
• HIT NUMBERS:
• “I GOT YOU(I FEEL GOOD)”
• “PAPA’S GOT A BRAND NEW BAG”

12. HONARABLE
MENTIONS
• BEN E. KING – STAND BY ME
• STEVIE WONDER – FINGERTIPS
• MARVIN GAYE – WHAT’S GOING ON
• JACKIE WILSON – LONELY TEARDROPS
• LITTLE RICHARD – DIRECTLY FROM MY HEART
• OTIS REDDING – SITTING ON THE DOCK
• NINA SIMONE – I LOVES YOU, PORGY
• THE TEMPTATIONS – MY GIRL

13. INFLUENCES
• SOUL DIRECTLY INFLUENCED FUNK, ROCK AND HIP HOP
• ELVIS INFLUENCED BY JACKIE WILSON
• BRITISH SINGERS LIKE GEORGE MICHAEL AND SADE HAD SOME HITS
ON SOUL
• MICHAEL JACKSON AND PRINCE EXPERIMENTED ON POP SOUL AND
FUNK

14. SUB-GENRES
• DETROIT (MOTOWN) – RHYTHMIC, INFLUENCED BY GOSPEL, DEEP SOUL
• SOUTHERN SOUL– DRIVING AND ENERGETIC
• MEMPHIS – A SHIMMERING SULTRY STYLE – OTIS REDDING, ETC
• NEW ORLEANS – DIRECT FROM R&B
• CHICAGO – MORE INFLUENCED BY GOSPEL
• PHILADELPHIA – MORE ORCHESTRAL SOUNDING WITH MORE DOO-WOOP INSPIRED
VOCALS
• PSYCHEDELIC – A BLEND OF ROCK AND SOUL, PERHAPS BRANCHED INTO PSYCHEDELIC
ROCK FROM HENDRIX ONWARDS

15. DIFFERENCES B/W R&B AND FUNK
BLUES/R&B/SOUL
• 4 BEATS SUPPORTED BY ACCENTS AT USUALLY 2ND BEAT
FUNK
• 4 BEATS SUPPORTED BY ACCENTS AT 1ST BEAT - THIS WAS
AN EXPERIMENT BY JAMES BROWN

16. MORE CALL AND
RESPONSE
EXAMPLES
• BEETHOVEN’S 5TH SYMPHONY (EXCHANGE B/W WIND AND STRINGS)
• CARNATIC TRIANGULAR CALL AND RESPONSE (EXCHANGE AMONG MRIDANGAM,
GATAM AND TABLA)

17. DIFFERENCE B/W SOUL AND GOSPEL

18. DIFFERENCE B/W SOUL AND GOSPEL
• SOUL IS A SECULAR VERSION OF GOSPEL.

19. NAME A CALL AND RESPONSE EXAMPLE IN TAMIL
AND ONE IN HINDI?

20. CALL AND RESPONSE EXAMPLE IN TAMIL AND HINDI

21. CONCLUSION
“SOUL MUSIC IS NOT JUST A STYLE, ITS BLACK POETRY SET TO THE SOUNDS
THAT EMANATE FROM THE SOUL” ~ ANONYMOUS