SOUL

Soul music had arisen as a secularized form of gospel music, and combines rhythm and blues and gospel music. Solomon Burke's early recordings for Atlantic Records codified the soul style, and his early 1960s songs "Cry to Me," "Just Out of Reach" and "Down in the Valley" are considered classics of the genre.

Marvin Gaye's What's Going On (1967) and Ain't No Mountain High Enough (1967, written by Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson) brought soul music to a sophisticated white audience. Aretha Franklin's passionate interpretations, particularly A Natural Woman (1967, written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King) and Chain of Fools (1967, written by Don Covay), bridged the world of soul and pop.

Some of the genres of soul include:

1. Motown soul

Influenced by gospel music, the Motown Sound often includes hand clapping, a powerful bass line, violins, bells and other untraditional instruments. Motown's singers included Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Marvelettes, Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Jackson 5 and Stevie Wonder.

2. Memphis soul

Memphis soul is a shimmering, sultry style of soul music produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records and Hi Records in Memphis. It featured melancholic and melodic horns, organ, bass, and drums, as heard in recordings by Al Green and Booker T. & the M.G.'s.

3. Psychedelic soul

A blend of psychedelic rock and soul music in the late-1960s, which paved the way for the mainstream emergence of funk music a few years later. Principle figures included The Fifth Dimension, The Temptations and The Undisputed Truth.

4. Blue-eyed soul

Usually performed by white artists, blue-eyed soul is often characterized by catchy hooks and melodies. It arose from a mixture of Elvis Presley and Bill Haley-derived rockabilly and from 1950s doo-wop. Other performers include Righteous Brothers, The Rascals, Dusty Springfield.