Soul is one of the most popular genres in the music business today. Not only is it widely loved on its own, it is also a huge influence on various other types of music, and a major source of inspiration for musicians the world over.

In addition, soul has been the foundation of many sub-genres, with various interpretations of soul being linked to places around the world. Chicago soul, northern soul, and motown soul are just three examples of sub-genres to come from the original one.

How did soul music come to be so popular?

Origins of Soul

Like reggae, soul was born from the merging of already popular types of music. In this case, Afro-American gospel music and rhythm and blues – also important in the rise of reggae – came together.

The initial emergence of soul occurred in the 1950s and 1960s. Ray Charles is largely credited with being the founder of the genre, owing to his 1954 hit “I Got a Woman,” although fellow legends of the business like Little Richard and James Brown were also hugely influential at the time.

1960s and Atlantic Records

Much like Island Records is seen as the ‘home’ of reggae, Atlantic Records enjoys the same status within the soul genre. Founded in 1947, the label would release the music of many leading artists from this time, being the global leaders of early soul music through the 1950s and 1960s. Many people associate the Motown label with soul music, and although it is probably the leading label for the genre today, it wasn’t founded until 12 years after Atlantic.

With the likes of Charles and Brown already established as global superstars, other artists would emerge on the scene, clearly influenced by their contemporaries but also adding in their own elements to continue the evolution of soul. Peter Guralnick, a leading US music historian and critic, cites Solomon Burke and Ben E. King as artists who continued to help soul break down barriers and become globally popular.

A Female Superstar

In the late 1960s, soul was a male dominated genre. Although there were female artists, none had really made a huge impression on soul music. That all changed in 1967, when a number of Aretha Franklin hits (she was already an established artist, albeit only enjoying modest success) transcended the genre and made her a superstar in a matter of months.

Later Years

Soul quickly became an umbrella term to describe a wide variety of styles, from basic R&B to pop and even rock sounds. This led to the original ‘soul movement’ ending in the late 1960s, although the influence of the genre would continue to be massive.

Through the 1970s and beyond, while artists such as Al Green would continue to release records that were out and out soul, the other big names, most notably James Brown and Stevie Wonder, had moved onto funk and sounds that were pop-inspired more than anything.

Today, there is little in the way of what we’d call traditional soul music, but the influences of the genre can be seen everywhere, especially in R&B and hip-hop.

Image Author: ART’N’DECOR