Soul blues
Encyclopedia
Soul blues is a style of blues
music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music
and urban contemporary music. Singers and musicians who grew up listening to the traditional electric blues of artists such as Muddy Waters
, Bo Diddley
, Jimmy Reed
and Elmore James
; soul singers such as Sam Cooke
, Ray Charles
and Otis Redding
; and gospel music
wanted to bridge their favorite music together. Bobby Bland
was one of the pioneers of this style. This is a sub-genre of blues that is very popular with African American audiences but less known by white audiences. The style continues to be popular in the new millennium.
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and urban contemporary music. Singers and musicians who grew up listening to the traditional electric blues of artists such as Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
, Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
, Jimmy Reed
Jimmy Reed
Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...
and Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
; soul singers such as Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
and Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
; and gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
wanted to bridge their favorite music together. Bobby Bland
Bobby Bland
Robert Calvin Bland better known as Bobby "Blue" Bland, is an American singer of blues and soul. He is an original member of the Beale Streeters, and is sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues"...
was one of the pioneers of this style. This is a sub-genre of blues that is very popular with African American audiences but less known by white audiences. The style continues to be popular in the new millennium.
Notable artists
- Bobby "Blue" Bland
- Z. Z. Hill
- Ann PeeblesAnn PeeblesAnn Peebles is an African American singer-songwriter who gained celebrity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s on the Hi Records label...
- Bobby RushBobby RushBobby Lee Rush is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party.The district is located principally on the South Side of Chicago. It is a minority-majority district and has a higher percentage of African Americans than any other congressional district in...
- Etta JamesEtta JamesEtta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
- Albert KingAlbert KingAlbert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
- B.B. King
- Little MiltonLittle MiltonJames Milton Campbell, Jr. , better known as Little Milton, was an American electric blues, rhythm and blues, and soul singer and guitarist, best known for his hit records "Grits Ain't Groceries" and "We're Gonna Make It."-Biography:Milton was born James Milton Campbell, Jr., in the Mississippi...
- Johnny AdamsJohnny AdamsLaten John Adams , known as Johnny Adams, was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto...
- Lowell FulsonLowell FulsonLowell Fulson was a big-voiced blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. Fulson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He also recorded for business reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom...
- Earl GainesEarl GainesEarl Gaines was an American soul blues and electric blues singer. Born in Decatur, Alabama, he sang lead vocals on the hit single "It's Love Baby ", accredited to Louis Brooks and his Hi-Toppers, before undertaking a low-key solo career...
- Ted HawkinsTed HawkinsTed Hawkins was an American singer-songwriter. He was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, United States.Hawkins was an enigmatic figure through most of his career; he split his time between his adopted hometown of Venice Beach, California where he was a mostly anonymous street performer, and Europe,...
- Eddie KirklandEddie KirklandEddie Kirkland was an American electric blues guitarist, harmonicist, singer, and songwriter.Kirkland, known as the "Gypsy of the Blues" for his rigorous touring schedules, played and toured with John Lee Hooker from 1949 to 1962...
- Jimmy McCracklinJimmy McCracklinJimmy McCracklin is an American pianist, vocalist, and songwriter. His style contains West Coast blues, Jump blues, and R&B. Over a career that has spanned seven decades, he says he has written almost a thousand songs and has recorded hundreds of them...
- Junior ParkerJunior ParkerJunior Parker was an American Memphis blues singer and musician. He is best remembered for his unique voice which has been described as "honeyed," and "velvet-smooth"...
- Johnnie TaylorJohnnie TaylorJohnnie Harrison Taylor was an American vocalist in a wide variety of genres, from rhythm and blues, soul, blues and gospel to pop, doo-wop and disco.-Early years:...
- Ike TurnerIke TurnerIsaac Wister Turner was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk...
- Frank FrostFrank FrostFrank Frost Frank Frost Frank Frost (April 15, 1936 — was one of the foremost American delta blues harmonica players of his generation.-Life and career:Born Frank Otis Frost in Auvergne, Arkansas, United States, Frost learned to play piano at church as a young boy. He moved to St. Louis, Missouri...
- Denise LaSalleDenise LaSalleDenise LaSalle is an American R&B/soul and blues singer, songwriter, and record producer.-Career:...
- Millie JacksonMillie JacksonMildred "Millie" Jackson is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter and comedienne. Three of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies....
- Peggy Scott-AdamsPeggy Scott-AdamsPeggy Scott-Adams is an African-American soul and R&B singer. She is sometimes known by her former name as Peggy Scott, and billed as 'The Little Lady with the Big Voice'....
- Frankie LeeFrankie LeeFrankie Lee , was an American child actor. He appeared in 56 films between 1916 and 1925.He was born in Utah, USA and died in Los Angeles, California.-External links:...
- A.C. ReedA.C. ReedAaron Corthen, better known as A.C. Reed was an American blues saxophonist, closely associated with the Chicago blues scene from the 1940s into the 2000s.- Biography :...
- Tad RobinsonTad RobinsonTad Robinson is an American soul blues singer.Robinson was born and raised in New York City, United States, attending school at Indiana University's school of music and graduating in 1980...
- Geater DavisGeater DavisVernon "Geater" Davis was an American soul singer and songwriter. He has been described as "one of the South's great lost soul singers, an impassioned stylist whose voice was a combination of sweetness and sandpaper grit."...
- Robert CrayRobert CrayRobert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...
- Carol FranCarol FranCarol Fran is an African American soul blues singer, pianist and songwriter. Fran is best known for her string of single releases in the 1950s and 1960s, and her later musical association with her husband, Clarence Hollimon...
- Paul RodgersPaul RodgersPaul Bernard Rodgers is an English rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as a member of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has recently toured and recorded with...
External links
- [ Soul-Blues] on Allmusic