This document summarizes the history and development of soul music. It identifies key locations and record labels that shaped soul music in the 1960s, including Motown in Detroit and Stax Records in Memphis. It discusses some of the major artists that defined each label's sound such as The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, and Otis Redding. The document also compares the polished Motown sound to the rawer Memphis soul style before concluding with soul music's decline in the 1970s as funk, Philly soul, and disco became popular.

1. Soul Music
“Soul” Applied to Culture 1903 “The Souls
of Black Folk” W.E.B. DuBois
“Soul” Applied to Music in 1960s
Ray Charles “Soul Brothers” (1958) & “Soul
Meeting” (1962)
John Coltrane “Soultrane” (1960)

2. Soul Music
Identified by Location: Motown, Memphis,
Chicago, Philly, Las Vegas
Motown & Memphis dominated the 1960s

3. Motown vs. Memphis
Refined Gospel
Polished
Arrangements (Funk
Brothers)
Polite Scream
Artist Development
Black Studio Band
Sanctified Gospel
Hard Bop Horn Sound
Gut Wrenching
Scream
No Artist
Development
Mixed Raced Studio
Band

4. Motown

5. Motown Records
Berry Gordy Jr. (& Wife) 1959 Started
Label (Tamla Records) After Several
Years in the Biz
Spent Time Crafting their Sound
1. Infectious Intros & Hooks
2. Gospel Sound (Tambourine)
3. Sweet Soul (falsetto or Castrato)

6. Motown
(cont.)
4. Highly Syncopated Bass Lines
5. Conga Drums
6. Unusual Sounds
Tire Chains, Plywood Marching, Hollow
Percussive

7. Motown
Spector-Like Studio Productions
1. Harp, big band, strings
2. Bells, celeste, cymbal bell
3. Flutes, w/vocal group
4. “Ahs” tamb, conga, bass line, huge vocals
5. Spoken, fuzz guitar, strings
6. Orch interlude
7. group

8. Motown
Corporate Production (“assembly-line’)
Developed A Sound to Overcome Airwave
Segregation
Spent Time Developing Artists: Dance
Lessons, Charm School

9. Motown
Production Teams: Holland-Dozier-Holland
Many Hits with the Supremes 1964-67
Producers Had A Lock On An Act Until
Failure
Motown Moved to LA 1971
Success eroded, the move? Too much time
with Diana Ross?

10. Motown Groups
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
Associated with Gordy Before Motown
“Shop Around” 1960, Motown’s first
Million Seller
“Second That Emotion” Smokey’s Sweet
Soul voice & graceful Dance Steps

11. Motown Groups

12. Motown Groups
Temptations (1960
signed 1961)
Variety of Sounds
Sweet & Rougher
“My Girl” (1965) 1st
#1
“Psychedelic Shack”

13. Motown Groups
Four Tops (1963)
Had a Las Vegas
Career before
Motown
Had a Harder Vocal
Sound
Reach Out (1966)
“Bernadette” (1966)

14. Motown Groups
Marvelettes (Female
Group)
“Please Mr. Postman”
(1961) Motown’s 1st
#1
The Beatles Recorded
it also

15. Motown Groups
Martha Reeves and the
Vandellas
Hits with H-D-H
“Heat Wave” (1963)
“Dancing in the
Streets” (1964)

16. Motown Groups
Diana Ross and the Supremes
Signed in 1961, no hits until H-D-H in
1963, also exposure from a Dick Clark Tour
“Baby Love” (1964)
“Stop in the Name of Love”

17. The Supremes

18. Motown Groups
Jackson Five
Sign in 1969, Father had been in Show
Business
Young Michael was the star “Never Can
Say Goodbye”

19. Motown Groups

20. Michael Jackson
The Group left Motown in 1976 Signed
with Columbia (Epic)
“Thriller” (1982)
Dancing a Major Influence on Pop Culture
Videos Influenced the Genre

21. Motown Solo Singers
Mary Wells, Several hits 1962-65.
She Left Motown, Gordy Focused His
Attention on Diana Ross
“My Guy”

22. Mary Wells & Beatles

23. Motown Solo Singers: Stevie
Wonder
Signed at 11 Yrs. Old
Influenced by Ray Charles
1st Hit “Fingertips Pt II” Harmonica
“Up Tight” 1965
“You Are The Sunshine of My Life”
“Superstition” Beginning of Synthesizer
Funk

24. Stevie Wonder & The Funk
Brothers

25. Motown Solo Singers:
Marvin Gaye
Started with the Moonglows Doo Wop
Several Hits But Motown Had Problems
with His Direction, Wanted to Do Jazz
“What’s Goin’ On” A Jazz Protest Album
“Mercy Mercy Me” (The Ecology)

26. Memphis Soul
Stax & Atlantic
Stax Founded by Jim STewart (Banker &
Country Fidler) and Estelle AXton 1958
Moved to Old Theater In Memphis
He “didn’t know what R&B was”

27. Memphis
1960 Rufus Thomas (WDIA DJ) &
Daughter, Carla Thomas Walked In.
Atlantic records Noticed the Success
Stax & Atlantic Joined in Distribution Deal
(So They Said)
Atlantic Recorded in the Stax Studios

28. Memphis
Parted 1967, Realized that Atlantic Owned
Everything
Split: Atlantic recorded 15-20 weekends
per Year
Atlantic Moved across the River to Muscle
Shoals, AL (Duane Alman connection)
House Band Booker T. & the MGs with
added horns became the Mar-Kays (Blues
Brothers Band Members)

29. Memphis
Otis Redding, Many Hits Before His Cross
Over Hit
“Got - Ta-Got-Tas”
Wrote “Respect”
Performed at Monterey Pop Festival 1967
“Dock of the Bay” Major Hit, But Killed in
Plane Crash 4 Days After Recording
Session

30. Otis Redding

31. Memphis
Wilson Pickett, Had some Success as Lead
Singer of the Falcons
Signed With Atlantic/Recorded at Stax
“Midnight Hour”
“Land of A Thousand Dances”

32. Wilson Pickett

33. Memphis
Aretha Franklin, Daughter of Rev. C L
Franklin, Child Gospel Star
Signed by Hammond to Columbia,
Marketed Her as A Jazz Singer
Signed with Atlantic 1966, But They
Offered Her to Stax
“Respect”
“Natural Woman”

34. Aretha Franklin

35. Memphis
Sam & Dave, Signed
to Atlantic But
Released on Stax
“Soul Man” Also hit
for the 1st Blues
Brothers

36. Memphis
Isaac Hayes, Stax Writer/Arranger
20 Min Love Rap “By The Time I Get to
Phoenix”
Roots of Barry White Love Unlimited Orch
Big Hit “Shaft”

37. Isaac Hayes

38. 1960s Soul Ends
After Break Up Stax Flounders: Sold and
Repurchased, A Few Hits But Dead By
1976
1970s Brings Funk, Philly Soul and Disco