16 Facts About Soul music

Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Soul music became popular for dancing and listening in the United States, where record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential during the Civil Rights Movement.

Soul music reflected the African-American identity and it stressed the importance of an African-American culture.

Soul music has its roots in traditional African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues and as the hybridization of their respective religious and secular styles – in both lyrical content and instrumentation – that began in the 1950s.

Important innovators whose recordings in the 1950s contributed to the emergence of soul music included Clyde McPhatter, Hank Ballard, and Etta James.

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Soul music's recording of "You Send Me" in 1957 launched a successful pop music career.

Soul music even was particularly influential for his dramatic delivery and performances.

Soul music soon became known as "Mr Pitiful" and earned a reputation as the leading performer of soul ballads.

Soul music dominated the U S African-American music charts in the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into the pop charts in the U S Otis Redding was a huge success at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.

Soul music even sang backup vocals for his artist Big Joe Turner on the song, "Shake Rattle and Roll".

Memphis soul is a shimmering, sultry style of soul music produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee.

Later prog-soul music includes recordings by Prince, Peter Gabriel, Meshell Ndegeocello, Joi, Bilal, Dwele, Anthony David, Janelle Monae, and the Soulquarians, an experimental black-music collective active during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Early pioneers of this subgenre of soul music include Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, Norman Whitfield, and Isaac Hayes.

Many artists in various genres of electronic music are heavily influenced by soul, and have produced many soul-inspired compositions.

Impact of soul music was manifold; internationally, white and other non-black musicians were influenced by soul music.

British soul and Northern soul, rare soul music played by DJs at nightclubs in Northern England, are examples.