Southern soul is a type 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...

 that emerged from the Southern United States

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues

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...

 (both 12 bar

Twelve bar blues

The 12-bar blues is one of the most popular chord progressions in popular music, including the blues. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics and phrase and chord structure and duration...

 and jump

Jump blues

Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...

), country, early rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

, and a strong gospel

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....

 influence that emanated from the sounds of Southern African-American churches. The focus of the music was not on its lyrics, but on the "feel" or the groove. This rhythmic force made it a strong influence in the rise of funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

 music.

History

Pioneers of southern soul include: Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 natives 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 James Brown

James Brown

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

; Little Willie John

Little Willie John

William Edward John was better known by his stage name Little Willie John. Many sources erroneously give his second name as Edgar...

, Bobby "Blue" Bland, New Orleans R&B artist Allen Toussaint

Allen Toussaint

Allen Toussaint is an American musician, composer, record producer, and influential figure in New Orleans R&B.Many of Toussaint's songs have become familiar through numerous cover versions, including "Working in the Coalmine", "Ride Your Pony", "Fortune Teller", "Play Something Sweet ", "Southern...

; and Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

 DJ Rufus Thomas

Rufus Thomas

Rufus Thomas, Jr. was an American rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian fromMemphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the...

.

Southern soul was at its peak during the 1960s, when Memphis soul

Memphis soul

Memphis soul, also known as Memphis Sound, is stylish, funky, uptown soul music that is not as hard-edged as Southern soul. It is a shimmering, sultry style produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring melodic unison horn lines, organ, bass, and a driving...

 was created. The most significant contributors were Stax Records

Stax Records

Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...

 and their house band Booker T. & the MGs. The Stax label's most successful artist of the 1960s, 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...

, was influenced by fellow Georgia native Little Richard

Little Richard

Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...

 and the more cosmopolitan sounds of Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

-born 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...

. Other Stax artists of note included Carla Thomas

Carla Thomas

Carla Thomas is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. She is the daughter of Rufus Thomas.-Childhood:...

, Eddie Floyd

Eddie Floyd

Eddie Lee Floyd is an American soul/R&B singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s and the song "Knock on Wood".-Biography:...

, Johnnie Taylor

Johnnie Taylor

Johnnie 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:...

, The Staple Singers

The Staple Singers

The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples , the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha , Pervis , Yvonne , and Mavis...

, and Isaac Hayes

Isaac Hayes

Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...

. Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

 artists Sam & Dave

Sam & Dave

Sam & Dave were an American soul and rhythm and blues duo who performed together from 1961 through 1981. The tenor voice was Samuel David Moore , and the baritone/tenor voice was Dave Prater .Sam & Dave are members of...

's records were released on the Stax label and featured the MGs. Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100...

 also launched his solo career through his collaboration with the Stax team.

Another Memphis label, Goldwax Records featured O.V. Wright

O.V. Wright

Overton Vertis "O. V." Wright was an American singer who is regarded as one of Southern soul's most authoritative and individual artists...

 and James Carr

James Carr (musician)

James Carr , was an American Rhythm & Blues and soul singer.Born to a Baptist preacher's family in Coahoma, Mississippi, Carr began singing in church and was performing in gospel groups and making tables on an assembly line in Memphis, Tennessee, when he began recording in the mid-'60s for Goldwax...

, while Al Green

Al Green

Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...

 recorded for Memphis's Hi Records

Hi Records

Hi Records was a Memphis soul and rockabilly label started in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch , and three silent partners, including Cuoghi's lawyer, Nick Pesce....

, where he was produced by Willie Mitchell. Also influential was the Muscle Shoals Sound, originating from Muscle Shoals, Alabama

Muscle Shoals, Alabama

Muscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city to be 12,846. The city is included in The Shoals MSA. It is famous for its contributions to American popular music.-Geography:Muscle Shoals is located...

. The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section

Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, also known as The Swampers, are a group of American soul, R&B, and country studio musicians based in the town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama...

 played on hits by many Stax artists during the late 1960s through the mid 1970s, and Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

 artists Pickett, Percy Sledge

Percy Sledge

Percy Sledge is an American R&B and soul performer who recorded the hit "When a Man Loves a Woman" in 1966.-Early career:...

, Joe Tex

Joe Tex

Joseph Arrington, Jr. , better known as "Joe Tex", was an American Southern soul singer-songwriter, most popular during the 1960s and 1970s...

 and Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

.

Present

Southern soul music is still being recorded and performed all over the world by artists such as Mel Waiters, Willie Clayton, Carl Marshall, T.K. Soul, Sir Charles Jones, Omar Cunningham, Vick Allen, O.B. Buchana, Jeff Floyd, Wilson Meadows, Bigg Robb, Charles Wilson to name a few.

Rhythm sections

Booker T. & the MGs Steve Cropper Steve Cropper Steve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...  – guitar Donald "Duck" Dunn – bass (replaced Lewie Steinberg Lewie Steinberg Lewie Steinberg is an American musician best known as the original bass guitar player for soul music group Booker T. & the M.G.'s.... ) Al Jackson, Jr. – drums Booker T. Jones Booker T. Jones Booker T. Jones is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. and the MGs. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime...  – organ/piano (also) Isaac Hayes Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...  – piano/organ The Memphis Horns The Memphis Horns The Memphis Horns are an American horn section made famous by their many appearances on Stax Records. They have been called "arguably the greatest soul horn section ever." Originally a sextet, the Memphis Horns gradually slimmed down to a duo, Wayne Jackson on trumpet and Andrew Love on tenor... Wayne Jackson – trumpet Andrew Love – saxophone The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section Barry Beckett Barry Beckett Barry Edward Beckett was a keyboardist who worked as a session musician with several notable artists on their studio albums...  – piano Roger Hawkins Roger Hawkins Roger G Hawkins , is an American drummer best known for playing as part of the studio backing band known as The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section of Alabama...  – drums David Hood David Hood David Hood , is a bassist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He also plays the trombone and is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame....  – bass Jimmy Johnson Jimmy Johnson (musician) Jimmy Johnson is an American a member of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section that was attached to FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama for a period in the 1960s and 1970s, and later was the a founder of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio located at first on 3614 Jackson Highway in Sheffield, Alabama and at...  – guitar American Gene Chrisman – drums Tommy Cogbill Tommy Cogbill Thomas Clark Cogbill, and known as Tommy Cogbill was an American bassist and record producer.Tommy Cogbill was born in Johnson Grove, Tennessee. He was a highly sought-after session and studio musician who appeared on many now-classic recordings of the 1960s and 1970s, especially those recorded in...  – bass Bobby Emmons – keyboards Reggie Young Reggie Young Reggie Young was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studios Band , and is a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with artists such as Elvis Presley, B.J. Thomas, John Prine, Dusty Springfield, J.J...  – guitar

The Hi Rhythm Section Hi Rhythm Section The Hi Rhythm Section was most notably the house band for hit soul albums by several artists, including Al Green and Ann Peebles, on Willie Mitchell's Hi Records label in the 1970s. The band included the three Hodges brothers, Charles Hodges , Leroy Hodges , and Mabon "Teenie" Hodges , together... Charles Hodges Charles Hodges Charles Hodges is an American organist and songwriter. He is known for his high tone on the Hammond B3 organ, that appeared on records by Al Green, and other musicians signed to Hi Records....  – organ Leroy Hodges Leroy Hodges Electric bass player Leroy "Flick" Hodges is a relatively unknown soul musician.Paired with either Booker T. & the MGs's drummer Al Jackson or Stax staff drummer Howard Grimes, Leroy and The Hodges Brothers were the backing musicians for Al Green, Ann Peebles and several other soul, gospel and...  – bass Mabon "Teenie" Hodges – guitar Howard Grimes Howard Grimes Howard Lee Grimes is an American drummer, best known as a member of the Hi Rhythm Section on records by Al Green, Ann Peebles and others in the 1970s....  or Al Jackson, Jr. – drums Other notable southern soul musicians James Alexander James Alexander (musician) James Alexander is an American soul and R&B musician. He is a longtime member of the band The Bar-Kays, for which he plays bass guitar. He also is the father of noted hip-hop and R&B producer Phalon "Jazze Pha" Alexander, whom he named after his best friend and late Bar-Kays bandmate Phalon Jones...  – bass (The Bar-Kays) Willie Hall Willie Hall (drummer) Willie "Too Big" Hall was born August 8, 1950, in Memphis, Tennessee. He began his career as a drummer in 1965, while still in high school. He played with the Bar-Kays band and Isaac Hayes's band The Movement...  – drums (The Bar-Kays, The Isaac Hayes Movement) Clayton Ivey – organ (Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals Sound Studio The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was formed in Muscle Shoals, Alabama,in 1969 when musicians Barry Beckett , Roger Hawkins , Jimmy Johnson and David Hood left FAME Studios to create their own studio... ) Bobby Manuel Bobby Manuel Bobby Manuel is an American guitarist. He was hired by Stax Records in the late 1960s as an engineer and also quickly began doing studio work as a guitarist, becoming one of the company's most dependable and oft-used session players....  – guitar (Stax Stax Records Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and... ), (The MGs) Spooner Oldham Spooner Oldham Dewey Lindon "Spooner" Oldham is an American songwriter and session musician. An organist, he recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and at FAME Studios on such hit R&B songs as "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge, "Mustang Sally" by Wilson Pickett and "I Never Loved a Man" by Aretha...  – organ/piano (Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals Sound Studio The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was formed in Muscle Shoals, Alabama,in 1969 when musicians Barry Beckett , Roger Hawkins , Jimmy Johnson and David Hood left FAME Studios to create their own studio... , American) Carson Whitsett Carson Whitsett Carson Whitsett was an American keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer.-Biography:...  – organ/piano (The MGs, Malaco Records Malaco Records Malaco Records is an independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi. Malaco is and has been the home of various major soul, blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, ZZ Hill, Denise LaSalle, Benny Latimore, Dorothy Moore, Little Milton, Shirley Brown, Marvin Sease, and the... ) Bobby Womack Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40... – guitar (American)

External links

• [ All Music Guide to R&B]
• SouthernSoulRnB.com – Daddy B. Nice's comprehensive guide to today's Southern Soul Music
• Getbluesinfo.com – Southern Soul/Blues Channel:
• Resurrection of Soul- Southern Soul/Blues Site
• CarolinaSoul.Org
• Soul Blues Music Website dedicated to Soul Blues & Southern Soul Music