“I grew up listening to soul music in the car on the way to school,” Berkeley High School senior Ty Manning said, “So it definitely just became part of my life.” Soul music, a genre of music invented in the 1950s, is an all-encompassing sound that combines various elements from popular music during the 1940s and 70s. This includes inspiration from genres and subgenres such as R&B, jazz, blues, and more traditional gospel music.
“Soul music has been deeply embedded within the black community since the early 60s,” BHS junior Lyric Hill said, “With music like that, you can’t really deny it, I think that’s how it became so famous.” Soul music is still very influential in modern music today, being present in numerous popular songs and albums from artists like Leon Thomas and Olivia Dean amongst others. For Dean, that includes the usage of neo-soul; which is a contemporary take on the more classic sound.
While soul music is known as a mix of genres, it originates from gospel music. First being mentioned and used in the late 1800s, gospel music eventually became an incredibly important part of the Civil Rights Movement. For many Black communities in the U.S. facing segregation at the time, church was often a place of spiritual support and also a location for political organization. As the movement began to gain traction, so did gospel music as a way to connect communities. Gospel music typically included emotionally charged lyrics with deep instruments like drums, rhythm guitar and bass, and other percussive instruments. Music in African American communities quickly began to develop, as offshoots of gospel music such as R&B and jazz took influence from other varieties of music, and shot to fame in the mainstream media; with leading artists like Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and Ray Charles.
“Soul music (is) very heartfelt and authentic,” BHS junior Asha Bui said. “It is very personal, you can imagine yourself in the room with the person singing and playing the piano.” In the instance of Ray Charles, the immensely popular blind singer-songwriter is often coined as the “father of soul music,” and is generally credited with the creation of the soul genre. While Charles initially gained fame in 1949 for his song “Confession Blues,” the tune that truly cemented his popularity was the mildly controversial 1954 piece, “I’ve Got a Woman,” which took the musicality and call-and-response of gospel music and fully combined it with the more suggestive lyricism of blues music. At this point in time, jazz and other similar genres had become widely separate from gospel music. But Charles introduced a new style that openly defied the respective standards and genres.
As soul music continued to grow in popularity, artists in different regions across the U.S. began to develop their own style of soul music. In Detroit, Michigan, a record company called “Motown Records” published a more “radio-friendly” version of soul, something now characterized as the “Motown Sound.” This type of soul thrust new artists like Stevie Wonder and The Supremes into mainstream music, and was a representation of the many ways soul music could be interpreted. Same applied to the developing Southern soul, a more emotionally intense style that often reflected the struggles and successes of Black communities in the South.
Similar to gospel music, soul music became a critical tool during the Civil Rights Movement. With its background in African American spaces, and being known for its emphasis on lyrics and emotions, soul music was an ideal genre to give a voice to Black Americans. Songs like “Respect” by Aretha Franklin and “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke are examples of anthems that inspired activism and brought further attention to racial inequality.
Originating more than half a century ago, soul music was revolutionary for the time, and served as an outlet for expressing political, social, and artistic ideas. Ultimately, soul music is a significant representation of how music and art can evolve while still preserving historic and cultural roots.
“Soul music to me is exactly what it’s called, it links to the soul and brings you to another world and environment,” Hill said.