Chapter 9
Soul and Motown
Overview: Soul Music: Its Definition & History (1)
• Soul does not have a clear definition, except that it came up from
gospel & blues
– Better definition=combine characteristics of R & B and gospel, and
then allow the performer to utilize these elements w/ enough freedom
to express his or her innermost feelings
• Has roots in the South--Mississippi Delta
• One of biggest names in gospel=Thomas Dorsey
• Black music spread to white areas like: Detroit, Cincinnati,
Chicago, Cleveland, New York City
Overview: Soul Music: Its Definition & History (2)
• 1959--the Drifters reorganized w/ Ben E. King
– Hits=“There Goes My Baby”, “Stand by Me”, etc.
• Sam Cooke became model for other gospel singers to cross over
to the white market
– 1957--“You Send Me”
• Ray Charles w/ Raelettes--“I Got a Woman”
• Combination of earthiness, emotionalism, & spirituality=funk
• Apollo Theater in Harlem bore many careers
Overview: Soul Music: Its Definition & History (3)
– Had ‘bird’, ‘car’, ‘royalty’, & ‘romance’ groups
• 1960s--southern-rooted suffering & pain of blues joined with
joyful & unrestrained celebration of gospel
• Atlantic Records and Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry
Wexler=synonymous with soul music
Soul Music
•
Off-shoot of r&b, doo-wop, and gospel -- infused by 60s civil rights protest music,
but with few overt protests.
•
Like r&b and doo-wop, soul had a regional base -- the south; many soul singers’
roots were in the south even if they resided elsewhere.
•
Most soul records were recorded in southern locations -- the Stax/Volt studios in
Memphis and the Fame or Quinn Ivy studios near Muscle Shoals, AL -- or in northern
•
locations with large African-American communities -- such as
with Motown in Detroit.
• "Soul," the term, also transcends its purely musical meaning,
becoming a term to
• refer to notions of "blackness," and a source of cultural pride
for African-Americans.
Soul Singer Pioneers
• Three performers are linked with the development soul music:
• Ray Charles [Robinson] (b. 1930): "the genius of soul"
• Sam Cooke (1935-1964): gospel/soul crossover, sweet soul
• James Brown (b. 1928): "the godfather of soul"
• Charles and Brown first established themselves as r&b singers, each had
numerous hits in the 1950s, and both continued to develop musically.
• Cooke, a member of a gospel supergroup, the Soul Stirrers,
made a career in popular music.
• All become even more popular as soul singers and role models
for younger
• African-American performers as they expanded the soul sound
and its audiences.
"Dancing in the Street," Martha & the Vandellas
(Gordy/Motown 1964)
• Written by Mickey Stevenson, Marvin Gaye, & Ivy Hunter
•
A pop anthem that reflects African-American sensibilities of expression, celebration,
and community. How?
•
Also an anthem of the volatile 1960s.
•
Soul music plays a vital part in the Black Power and Black Pride movements of the
1960s.
•
Some soul music was overtly concerned with these movements -- James Brown's
"SayIt Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud" (1968) -- most of it, however, like Martha
Reeves’ song, worked to support African-American solidarity more subtly.
"Try a Little Tenderness," Otis Redding (Stax
1966)
• How does Otis Redding's recording of the same song differ?
• doesn't sound like the same song -- it's got soul explodes the fixed form into an ever
expanding sound "wedge"
• soft to loud, fewer instruments to more, less rhythmic activity to more syncopated,
controlled to
•
over-the-top -- finally to the "gotta gotta" riff that "never" ends gritty, gospel
shouter voice -- highly emotional gospel "preaching"
• rocking band w/ horns (includes Isaac Hayes on organ)
"What'd I Say (Part I)," Ray Charles (Atlantic
1959)
•
•
•
Produced by by Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun
Simple, powerful elements organize this song -- describe them?
constructed around a (Latin-influenced) blues piano riff over which Charles gives
"gospel" shouts of a decidedly secular text (a "sermon" on rhythm and sex that got it
banned on many white stations) ends with a call and response between Charles and
horn section
"You Send Me," Sam Cooke (1957)
• Cooke was an early crossover from gospel-- the Soul Stirrers -- to the secular "sweet”
soul sound, then still labeled r&b and a kind of doo-wop for adults.
•
Recognized for his vocal abilities --his smooth, clear, and agile voice --and
charismatic good looks, he was also a model of African-American self-sufficiency.
•
A mentor to later gospel-to-soul crossovers, his musical achievements were matched
by his business ones. He smartly refused to sign away his publishing rights to his
songs, and created his own publishing company that gave him financial independence.
Soul Singers
• Typically are emotional singers who are influenced by or come out of gospel music.
•
Thus, one common element of most soul singers' vocal style is that they give the
•
impression of being controlled, or strongly effected, by their emotions.
•
Most soul singers' songs also share the call and response form -- voice against
backup vocalists and/or horns -- with accompaniments derived more from gospel
music than blues, and with an emphasis on hard driving, syncopated rhythms.
Stax, Atlantic, & Motown
• Stax, Atlantic, & Motown
•
Three labels -- two closely related -- define soul:
• Stax: Memphis studio located in the old Capitol Theatre, defined soul through its
session musicians, especially its main studio band Booker T. and the M.G.s, an
ethnically mixed group that includes guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist "Duck" Dunn,
and keyboardist Booker T. Jones.
• Atlantic: New York company that, with producer Jerry Wexler, recorded in Memphis
at Stax and later at studios near Muscle Shoals, AL. Wexler's take on soul grew out of
his love of black music and experience as an r&b producer.
•
Motown: the Detroit (motor-town) label that rewrote the book of soul.
Thanks to Berry Gordy's business and music sense, Motown reformulated
the soul sound for a mass audience and made us "one nation under a
groove." This black-owned, family-based company took the selfsufficiency text of the Black Pride movement and made it work.
Atlantic & Stax (1)
• 1956--17 of that year’s 81 Top 10 hits from: Clyde McPhatter,
Ray Charles, La Vern Baker
• 1962--Wilson Pickett R & B hit “Land of 1,000 Dances”-recorded in the south w/ its influences
• 1959--Satellite Records--1961 changed it to Stax
– Formed partnership w/ Atlantic, artists like Otis Redding, Sam & Dave,
and Isaac Hayes
• Redding admired Sam Cooke & only had mild success--died in
an airplane crash--only #1 pop chart hit “The Dock of the Bay”,
posthumously
Atlantic & Stax (2)
• Sam Moore & Dave Prater recorded “Soul Man”
– 1968--they each had several problems & drifted apart
• Isaac Hayes represents Stax’s final years of success--“Theme
from Shaft”--#1 in 1971--won an Oscar
– Repetitive & insistent dance beat evolved into disco & Hayes is
sometimes called the father of disco
• 1975--Stax filed for bankruptcy
• By mid-’70s, soul had run its course--most big soul stars had lost
their status
"In the Midnight Hour," Wilson Pickett (Atlantic 1965)
• Like many soul singers, Pickett began singing in church, in his case in Detroit, then
moved to a local r&b group, the Falcons.
•
Recorded with the help of Atlantic's Jerry Wexler and the Stax studios, Pickett's
"Midnight Hour" is co-written with guitarist Steve Cropper, who plays here with the
Stax band, Booker T. and the M.G.s.
•
Stax's relationship with Atlantic gave Wexler access to the Stax studios and gave
Stax's performers national distribution through Atlantic's larger connections.
•
The music is built from a bass pattern, guitar back-beat chording, and horn
punches,w/ Pickett's aggressive vocal.
"Knock On Wood," Eddie Floyd (Stax 1966)
• Also co-written with Steve Cropper
•
Floyd, a friend of Pickett, was also a member of the Detroit group, the Falcons.
•
Besides his own recordings for Stax, he wrote for a number of other performers
including Carla Thomas, Soloman Burke, and Wilson Pickett.
•
There is something notable here about the M.G.s' use of meter/rhythm:
• An easy groove; classic example of the M.G.s' laid-back (rhythmically delayed) backbeat.
Aretha Franklin (b. 1942)
• Both Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin were born in Detroit during the postwar boon
years.
• Franklin was the favored daughter of Rev. C. L. Franklin, a nationally recognized
preacher through his widely heard radio broadcasts and recordings -- "The man with
the golden voice."
• Franklin was raised to be the next great carrier of the gospel traditional after Mahalia
Jackson.
• Ross was everything the term "crossover" then meant for soul.
• Franklin crystallized a "purer" African-American aesthetic
• Date of Birth: March 24, 1942
• Geographic Region Where Aretha Franklin Made Her Greatest Impact:
Detroit, Michigan
• Aretha Franklin is a wonderful singer.
• Her voice has contributed to both the gospel 'world' and the
contemporary.
• She started singing gospel at the age of ten and turned to contemporary,
with the influence of Dinah Washington.
• In 1988 she was named the 'Queen of Soul'.
• Her father was a close friend of Reverand Martin Luther King Jr, a leader
of the Civil Rights Movement.
• As a result Aretha ,too, knew him well.
• She helped support the Civil Rights Movement through her album
'Respect'.
• Aretha has made many contributions through both her songs and activism.
Aretha Franklin (1)
• Influenced by church music & Sam Cooke--spotted by John
Hammond--Atlantic signed her & she went South--only #1
song=“Respect”
• Won many Grammy awards
• Had a gospel-soul sound that appealed to both blacks & whites
• Voice=incredible versatility & range from a sultry low contralto
to a gospel-shouting soprano
• Adapted her abilities to variety of musical styles
Aretha Franklin (2)
– When she sings a song, it becomes Aretha’s
• Reveals not a lack of musical identity, but a forceful & secure one that can be
applied to almost any song with no loss of individuality
• She left Atlantic & signed with Arista in 1979
• She continued to be regarded as one of the most important artists
on the music scene
Aretha Franklin (2)
– When she sings a song, it becomes Aretha’s
• Reveals not a lack of musical identity, but a forceful & secure one that can be
applied to almost any song with no loss of individuality
• She left Atlantic & signed with Arista in 1979
• She continued to be regarded as one of the most important artists
on the music scene
"Respect," Aretha Franklin (Atlantic 1967)
•
Franklin cover of an Otis Redding song produced by Wexler with an all-white band
recruited from Muscle Shoals, is the reverse of the Motown sound. How?
•
The original version, by Otis Redding, takes a key notion of the civil rights
movement and moves it to a domestic level. What does the song mean as a women's
medium?
•
By comparison, Motown's sound seems "constructed," analogous the Supremes’
sequin dresses / Franklin's "Respect" sounds spontaneous -- a good r&b dance band in
the groove, and a gospel singer who's got the spirit, righteous about sexual freedom,
respect for women, and perhaps her own artistic freedom.
James Brown
•
•
•
•
•
Date of Birth: May 3, 1933
Place of Birth: Macon, GA, USA
Sign: Sun in Taurus, Moon in Leo
Education: Alto Reform School
Relations: Wife: Adrienne Brown (deceased); companion: Rolonda Watts;
kids: Deanna, Terry, Daryl, Venisha,Yamma
• James Brown is #2 of all time with hit records behind Elvis Presley. He is
number 1 in R&B hits with over 116 charted hits during his career :
• James Brown has 96 top 100 hits, Aretha Franklin 86
• James Brown has 116 R&B hits, Aretha Franklin 90+
• Related topic : Hit list, Singles List
James Brown (1)
• Called: Godfather of Soul, Hardest-Working Man in Show
Business, Soul Brother #1, etc.
• Voice=raspy & strong, shouting a raw & basic vocal line-flamboyant, egotistical, & aggressive
– His songs=simplest & most basic in all of pop music
• Style has been called southern soul
• Early ‘60s--toured w/ James Brown Revue
– 40 singers, dancers, & musicians--developed overpowering stage act
– Mid-’60s--change in style
James Brown (2)
• 1967=height of his career--in his heyday, he owned 500 suits,
•
•
•
•
300 pairs of shoes, misc. diamonds & cars, personal jet, & a
funky home
Hits=“Night Train”, “Out of Sight”, “Papa’s Got a Brand New
Bag”, & I Got You (I Feel Good)
Music=simple & repetitive as you can get--social experience,
dancing & antics main points
Black pride--constructive & positive attitude
Mid-’70s=tough years--by 1978 had hit bottom
"Please, Please, Please," James Brown with the
Flames (1956)
• Thrills crowds with his flamboyant and acrobatic stage presence (Brown is often been
introduced as "The hardest working man in show business").
•
His voice makes an effective addition to this presence. How? (Listen to what he does
with words like "please" and "I.")
•
Few words --lots of repetition -- plenty of emotion! (sexual passion meets religious
ecstasy)
•
Dramatic vocal elements -- shouts to whispers, grunts to screams to wails -- loud to
soft phrases -- quick shifts in range
"I Got You (I Feel Good)," James Brown with the JB
Orchestra (1965)
• Brown's biggest pop hit (#3)
•
With a performance/vocal style rooted in African-American traditions, Brown
mostly had to be content with hits on the r&b charts -- "Soul Brother #1.
•
Classic musical parts for the James Brown orchestra (bass, drums, guitar, horns)?
• syncopated bass riff
• against straight drum pattern
• with clipped rhythm guitar parts all broken or supported by horn punches and riffs
"Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" (Part 1), James
Brown (1968)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Now we demand a chance to do things for ourserlf
We're tired of beatin' our head against the wall
And workin' for someone else
We're people, we're just like the birds and the bees
We'd rather die on our feet
Than be livin' on our knees
Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud [excerpt]
"Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" (Part 1), James
Brown (1968)
• Brown recorded a number of Black Power/Black Pride numbers -- including "Don't Be
a Dropout" (1966) and "Get Up, Get Into It and Get Involved" (1970).
•
Following the Detroit and Newark riots in 1967, Brown recorded this song, his most
direct anthem to Black Power/Black Pride.
• lyrics such as "I say we won't quit movin' 'til we get what we deserve" and "brother
we can't quit 'til we get our share."
• call and response with children's refrain, "I am black and I'm proud."
• primacy of rhythm -- its deep groove -- as a marker for the movement
Soul Summary
• Jackie Wilson w/ Dominoes--recorded “Reet Petite” & “Lonely
Teardrops”
• The Impressions--hits=“For Your Precious Love”, “It’s All
Right”, “Amen”
• Ike Turner & Kings of Rhythm hit=“Rocket 88”
– Married Annie Mae Bullock & hit “A Fool in Love”
– Blatantly sexually suggestive stage act & restricted to black audiences
and R & B stations and charts
– First Top 5 hit=“Proud Mary”--divorced & Tina became successful w/
“What’s Love Got to Do with It?”
Motown
• Berry Gordon, Jr.--native-born black American--started Tammie
(later Tamla) Records
– Recorded “Shop Around” by Miracles, led by Smokey Robinson--went
#2
– Became a major label (Motown) in just 7 years
– Now Detroit had a studio so blacks didn’t have to go to Chicago,
Philadelphia, or New York to record
– Intention was to bring a style of black music to prominence in both
black & white markets
Smokey Robinson
• Talented songwriter who started the Miracles
• “Got a Job” (1958)=#1 hit
• Last Top 40 hit=“Love Machine (Part I)” made after Smokey left
• Strong falsetto voice w/ a smoothness & expressiveness
reminiscent of Sam Cooke
– Wrote 3 Top 10 songs for 19 year old Mary Wells, Motown’s first
female star, including “My Guy”
– Wrote major hits for Temptations & Marvin Gaye
Female Groups
• Marvelettes hits=“Please Mr. Postman”, “Playboy”, & “Don’t
Mess with Bill”
• Martha & the Vandellas songs=“Come and Get These
Memories” & “Heat Wave”
– Biggest hit=“Dancing in the Street” (1964) after numerous personnel
changes
– Martha began to question exact distribution of money from the
company to the performers
• Gordy perceived it as disloyalty & she fell out of favor
• She left Motown in 1972 w/ no real success afterward
Marvin Gaye
• Played organ & sang in his father’s Washington D.C. church
before taking up piano & drums
• Hit=“I Heard It through the Grapevine”
• 1970s=troubled times w/ divorce, IRS, drugs, & bankruptcy
action
• 1983--Top 5 hit=“Sexual Healing”
• 1984--shot & killed by his father at age of 44
• What’s Going On?=album about ecology, etc.
• Let’s Get It On=most sexually oriented album
H-D-H & the Formula for Success (1)
• 1963-67 Holland, Dozier, & Holland provided songs &
production for majority of Motown
• Lawsuits ensued w/ royalties & then an out-of-court settlement
– Morale & sales dropped for Motown in 1968
• Gordy established a strict, controlling pattern
– This was threatened when H-D-H left
– Cholly Atkins=choreographer w/ emphasis on synchronized precision-routine was never varied
– Liked businesslike concept of quality control
H-D-H & the Formula for Success (2)
• Standards became more rigid--used same backup band, the Funk Brothers w/
hundreds of recording--all emphasized baritone sax, vibes, organ, & hand claps
– Lyrics avoided controversy until after 1968 w/ “Love Child”, “War”,
“Ball of Confusion”, etc.
• Gordy was very strict & controlling
– Artist Development Dept. w/ an etiquette coach & vocal coach
– Rules of conduct while on tour, individual finances, no fraternizing w/
fans, etc.
– One big family--married, played, sang, & wrote for each other
The Four Tops & the Temptations
• Songs=“Baby I Need Your Loving”, “I Can’t Help Myself”, &
“When She Was My Girl”
• Lead vocalist Levi Stubbs=distinctive& polished
• Most popular Motown male group=Temptations
–
–
–
–
–
Sang well, dressed well, & danced
Kendricks=strong falsetto & Ruffin=smooth baritone
Hits=“The Way You Do the Thing You Do” & “My Girl”
Ruffin & then Kendricks left the group
Continued success in new style=psychedelic soul
"The Way You Do the Things You Do," The Temptations
(Gordy/Motown 1964)
•
•
Probably the most successful soul group of all time with 42 top-10 hits.
It didn't hurt that the Temptations had the help of Motown pros like Smokey
Robinson (also with the Miracles). Robinson is such a wordsmith that Dylan called
him "one of America's greatest poets."
•
Good example of the early Motown sound -- r&b band with horns -- that emphasizes
some sounds over others. Which ones?
•
Vocals, back-beat snare drum (with clap), and syncopated bass (although less so
here than in other Motown hits).
"The Way You Do the Things You Do"
• You've got a smile so bright / You know you could've been a candle / I'm holding you
•
so tight / You know you could've been a handle / The way you swept me off my feet
/
•
You know you could've been a broom / The way you smell so sweet / You know you
could've been some perfume.
•
Well, you could've been anything / The way you do the things you do (The way you
do the things you do) / Oh, baby (The way you do the things you do). [excerpt]
Stevie Wonder
• Steveland Morris--played piano, organ, drums
– First hit=“Fingertips” divided into 2 parts at age 12
• Sang, played harmonica & generated real excitement
– 4th in the history of rock (Elvis, Beatles, Elton John)
– 1st album=Signed, Sealed, & Delivered
– At age 21, he demanded royalties & set up his own 40-track studio
• Had full artistic control w/ deal from Motown
– Talking Book=smash-hit album w/ hits “Superstition” & “You Are the
Sunshine of My Life”
Diana Ross & the Supremes (1)
• 1964-69--12 #1 hits, plus 11 Top 40 hits
• Only American group to have 5 consecutive #1 singles, later had
4 consecutive #1s
• Ross asked to join ‘sister’ group to Primes
• Hits=“Where Did Our Love Go”, “Baby Love”, “Come See
About Me”, etc.
• Motown’s biggest act by mid-60s--graceful & precisely
synchronized hand movements
• “Someday We’ll Be Together”=Diana’s last recording w/ the
Supremes
Diana Ross & the Supremes (2)
• Mary Wilson=only constant member of the Supremes from the
beginning to the end in 70s
• Mary sued Motown in 1977 for money she felt was owned from
the early days
– got 50% usage & interest in the name Supremes
– Lives in L.A. & has biography of her life w/ Motown
• Diana became successful star on TV & films--reunited w/
Supremes for Motown’s 25th anniv.
• Beat=strong w/ heavy backbeat & handclaps
• Modulates frequently w/ no improv, etc.
Diana Ross (b. 1944)
• Both Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin were born in Detroit
during the postwar boon years.
• Ross lived the life of the "projects" -- a member of the working
poor, she grew-up reading fashion magazines and working as a
teen at a large Detroit department store.
• Ross's street-corner group, The Primettes, became, thanks to
Berry Gordy, The Supremes. .
"You Can't Hurry Love," The Supremes, with Diana Ross
(Motown 1966)
• Written/produced by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland
•
After 1964, the Supremes were Motown's primary female group, replacing Martha
and the Vandellas -- groomed for success in the Motown "finishing school."
•
Working primarily with Motown's songwriting and production team known as HDH,
the Supremes began a string #1 hits in 1963, totaling ten by 1968.
• The Motown assembly line -- Eddie: the wordsmith and singing
coach; Brian:
• melodies; Lamont w/ Brian: studio production.
• Musical features: tightly structured snare/guitar backbeats,
powerful bass lines, and"up-front" vocals.
• And the lyrics? adolescent philosophy, calculated romance.
Soul Summary
• Gordy’s control led to both success & problems
– Stars who left Motown ‘family’=H-D-H, the Miracles, the Contours,
the Spinners, Diana Ross, the Isley Bros., Martha Reeves, Gladys
Knight & the Pips, and the Four Tops
– Some names were owned by Motown, so they retained the name when
the personnel changed
– Little or no improvisation--slick, professional, polished, & precisely
coordinated, not real soul
– June 1988--purchased by MCA Records & ended distinction of the
largest black-owned & operated company in America