Soul Flashcards
Gospel / soul crossover
Ray Charles and Sam Cooke helped create soul music by combining gospel and R&B forms.
Ray Charles
Appealed to blacks and whites alike; “I Got Woman”
Sam Cooke
He moved into pop after leaving his band behind. The adults thought it was bad that he moved from gospel to pop but the youth loved it.
Motown Records (Detroit)
Made Berry Gordy a Motown super star
Who is Berry Gordy?
Motown superstar, bought a building and created a label. Very successful black man
What is Motown sound?
Simple with an emphasis on rhythm, it was designed for crossover. The artists must have been skillful and have jazz in them, but they have funk too
Motown artists and producers
- Smokey Robinson - one of the Motown artists but composer too
- Holland-Dozier-Holland - Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland were one of the premiere songwriting and producing teams at Motown records
The Funk Brothers
Nickname for the Motown house band
Included: James Jamerson, Earl Van Dyke, Benny Benjamin, Thomas “Beans” Bowles
What are two forms of artistic grooming?
Finishing school with Maxine Powell
Choreography
Stax Records (Memphis)
Had Booker T & the MGs, Wilson Picket, and Otis Redding
The Stax sound
The real soul sound. Believed Motown was too polished and formed for white audiences
Who are Booker T and the MGs?
Rhythm section; booker t played saxophone and organ. Similar to the funk brothers but for Stax
Who is Wilson Picket?
Sang a lot of gospel; put “in the midnight hour” in a lot of songs. They created a dancing move out of it (the jerk). Almost famous for delayed backbeat which is the way the drums hit the beat
Who is Otis Redding?
He changed the lyrics and the way he presented his version of music. It was not growly or jazzy, but it was his own
Muscle Shoals (Alabama)
Another recording studio with Jerry Wexler who found Aretha Franklin and James Brown
