THE SOCIOLOGY OF AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC (SOAP) UNIT 5 NOTES Soul, Motown, & Funk
SOUL, MOTOWN, AND FUNK Soul Music was created by and for African Americans through the merging of black Gospel with rhythm 'n' blues that began in the late 1950s - most of the artists that performed soul music were Gospel singers and instrumentalists who combined some of the traditions of the black church (emotional singing, call-and-response, the stress on the backbeat, and rhythmic complexity) with the secular traditions of popular music (primarily the subject matter of the lyrics and the performance venues) - soul music represented an authentic "blackness" that supported and reinforced the Black Power and Civil Rights movement - soul singers sang for social justice, black militancy, and racial pride - the music also preached a message of nonviolence and love - it celebrated the growing Black Consciousness Movement, a time of struggle as well as unprecedented gains - soul music was tangible evidence that the psyche and attitudes in the black community were changing - the civil rights movement was empowering black people, and the new soul music celebrated rights finally won and expressed hope for the future Early Soul Music - Ray Charles - pianist/singer who was blinded by glaucoma when he was six years old - learned to read and write music notation in Braille - became an orphan at 15 and began to make his living by playing music - fused elements of Gospel and R&B - 1st recording identified as "soul" was his 1959 hit "What'd I Say" - it contained call-and-response patterns and used an electric piano that simulated the church organ sound - his practice of taking songs that were sung in the church and turning them into worldly secular pop hits was resented by many religious people
Sam Cooke - started as a Gospel singer in group the Soul Stirrers - started a solo, secular career with his 1957 hit "You Send Me" - went on to score 19 "Top Forty" hits in the late 1950s/early 1960s ("Chain Gang," "Another Saturday Night," "Shake") Jackie Wilson - began his career in 1953 when he became the lead singer for The Dominoes - was a Gospel singer who had easily crossed over into pop - performed in an energetic style that garnered him a large fan following - had numerous hit records, many of which had an influence on the sound of Motown James Brown - known as the "Godfather of Soul," "Godfather of Funk," "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business," "Soul Brother Number One" - started singing Gospel at his church in Augusta, Georgia, later joining the Gospel group The Swanees - eventually made the move into secular music - known for his shouting, squealing, howling vocal style - also known for his physically dynamic stage presence (rhythmic dance steps, leg splits, and knee drops) - part of his performance was to collapse on stage from the emotional fervor of his singing, something he had seen African American preachers do during particularly intense worship services - used a very prominent horn section, call-and-response performance texture, and charismatic showmanship - became a star in the black community, as well as Europe and England in the mid-1960s - shifted to a style called "funk" in the mid-1960s that celebrated black heritage even more emphatically (hits included "Black Is Beautiful," "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud," "I Don't Want Nobody Givin' Me Nothin'") - in keeping with the black community helping itself in the 1960s, he helped raise millions of dollars for charity and owned five radio stations
The Three Geographic Centers for Soul Music: 1) Chicago - Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions - Mayfield began as a Gospel singer - his soft, high-pitched tenor voice was easily recognizable, and as lead singer of the Impressions, he created a style that was distinctive and inspirational - - he developed a reputation as a thoughtful lyricist who was able to articulate the problems of race in particular and the nation in general - songs such as "Keep On Pushing," "This Is My Country," "Choice of Colors," and "We're a Winner" were both motivational and overtly political 2) Detroit - Aretha Franklin - the "Queen of Soul" - Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson was a major influence in her life - when Aretha's mother died when Aretha was ten, Jackson became her surrogate mother - going against the advice and wishes of Jackson, Aretha joined a soul circuit at age 18, touring with successful soul singers who had all come from a Gospel music background: Sam Cooke, Mavis Staples, and Lou Rawls - her hit song "Respect" (written by Otis Redding) was so popular during the riots of 1967 that the time became known as the summer of "'Retha, rap, and revolt" - in 1985, she became the 1st woman inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame 3) Memphis - The Stax/Volt Recording Label - Stax was founded in the 1960s by Jim Stewart (a white banker) and his sister Estelle Axton - the musicians, staff, and production crew were racially integrated, not a common phenomenon in the tumultuous period of the early sixties in the South - many Memphis soul artists began their careers recording for either Stax or Volt (a companion label) - by 1967, about 100 acts were signed to Stax/Volt
Booker T. and the MGs - name of Memphis soul group led by organist/arranger Booker T. Jones ("MGs" stood for "Memphis Group") - in addition to their organ, guitar, bass, and drums, their recordings frequently used horns (one of their biggest hits is "Green Onions") - they performed on hundreds of recordings by artists such as Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding - they were one of the first racially integrated rock/soul groups Wilson Pickett - soul singer with Gospel roots - 1965 - recorded the hit "In The Midnight Hour" (co-written by Pickett and Steve Cropper, guitarist for Booker T. and the MGs) - song had overt Gospel music characteristics Otis Redding - main artist and biggest-selling singer on the Stax label - born in Macon, Georgia (birthplace of Little Richard and James Brown) - his recordings of "Try a Little Tenderness" and "Dock of the Bay" sold millions, and he was one of the 1st soul music artists to have real commercial success with white audiences Motown - the "Motown sound" was conceived/developed by Berry Gordy, Jr. - created a business operation called "Hitsville, U.S.A." in Detroit - idea was to take young, unknown artists that would become polished performers and stars by the time they came off the "assembly line" ("Motown" was a play on words honoring Detroit's role as "motor city") - Gordy's 1st record label was called Tamla, and in 1960 he started his 2nd label, Motown - eventually, the artists on this label would include an amazing lineup of stars who flourished in a consistent series of major pop hits: The Supremes, The Temptations, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, The Marvellettes, The Four Tops, Martha and the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five, Junior Walker and the All Stars, The Commodores, and Lionel Richie
Berry Gordy Jr.'s Commitment to Crossover and Community - through the period of riots and racial unrest in the 1960s, Gordy had his artists sing of love and the human concerns to which people of all races could relate - the company slogan was "the sound of young America" - in order to ensure crossover hits to the mainstream white audience, Gordy minimized the African-American characteristics in the music and performance style of his singers, aiming to produce clean-cut, fast-selling, crossover pop hits - when other R&B artists were performing in simple dresses or pants, Gordy's performers wore elegant evening gowns and tuxedos - he established a "finishing school" called "International Talent Management Incorporated" to train his performers to drop African- American modes of walking, speaking, and dancing so that they would be able to move smoothly in upper-class white society - in 1962, a year after the violent attacks on the Freedom Riders, Gordy the Motown Revue, a group of his artists who would tour the South (The Temptations, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder were just a few of the acts) - Gordy hoped and believed that his Motown singers were helping in the fight against racism, and made generous donations to established civil rights groups - the performers faced racism throughout the tour (many restaurants refused to let them eat inside or let them use the toilets, they performed to racially segregated audiences, and encountered gunfire at the tour bus) - in 1963, in an effort to assist in the struggle for civil rights, Motown released two albums of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches - 1970 - Motown formed a new label, Black Forum, which released spoken word recordings by black poets such as Margaret Danner and Langston Hughes, and speeches by political activists such as Stokely Carmichael
- 1971 - Motown released the album What's Going On by Marvin Gaye - featured introspective lyrics and socially conscious themes of drug abuse, poverty, and the Vietnam War - three songs on the album became number one hits: "Inner City Blues," Mercy Mercy Me" and "What's Going On?" - ranked number 6 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time - Gordy sold Motown in 1988 to MCA Records - Motown continues to record and promote contemporary artists such as Brian McKnight, Erykah Badu, Kem, and India.Arie Funk - begun by James Brown in the mid-1960s - characterized by polyrhythm, in which each instrument or instrument group repeats its own simple rhythmic pattern, creating complex rhythmic textures by overlaying these patterns - the harmonies focus on a few simple chords that are also repeated, contributing to the development of a strong "groove" - call-and-response between singers and the audience reflects the African roots - other successful funk artists include Sly and the Family Stone, Earth, Wind, and Fire, George Clinton, and Kool and the Gang