Discussion 4

Prompt #4 – 60s Soul Music

One of the most influential styles of music to emerge from the 60s was soul music. As we studied in Module 1, soul music started in the 50s with artists like Sam Cook, Ray Charles, and Ruth Brown who crossed over from religious based Gospel singing to secular R&B and Pop music. The essential emotional power of soul music stems from the blues inflected gospel based singing style which became the bedrock of much contemporary singing. In the 60s, both record labels like Motown and Stax featured incredible soul singers, with each studio approaching the production of their recordings and development of their artists in different ways.

My favorite soul singers from the 60s include Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding. Also, many white singers were influenced by black soul music, including Carol King, Steve Winwood, Rod Stewart, and Daryl Hall. Some of my favorite soul influenced singers include Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, Alicia Keys, and Joss Stone, just to name a few. I hear a deep appreciation and understanding of funky 60s soul music in the recordings of Megan Trainor and Bruno Mars.

Let’s discuss our favorite soul singers of the 60s and our favorite neo soul singers of today. Share your favorite songs and what it is you love about the vocal performances, the songs, and the record production.