Chapter 9- Soul and Motown Soul Music- It’s Definition and History “’Soul’ in music is like love: You know when it is there, and you know when it is not. But soul, as a musical genre, defies accurate definition.” –p. 195 Soul has something to do with free expression of feelings There is a relationship between soul and black church music Therefore, it’s a combination of R&B, gospel, and performers’ freedom to express innermost feelings

The Drifters In 1953, Clyde McPhatter left a gospel group called The Dominoes for a recording contract with Atlantic Records His group called The Drifters made the R&B charts with “Money Honey”Money Honey In 1959, they had a #2 hit- “There Goes My Baby”There Goes My Baby In “This Magic Moment” and “Save the Last Dance for Me” (their only #1 hit)This Magic MomentSave the Last Dance for Me In “Stand By Me” (#4)Stand By Me

Other church groups The Soul Stirrers A traveling quartet formed in the 1930s in Texas Sam Cooke crossed the group from the black market to the white pop market with “You Send Me” in 1957You Send Me Ray Charles “I Got A Woman” (1954) combined the heavy chords of a church piano, a strong R&B-oriented band, and vocalsI Got A Woman This combination of R&B and gospel contributed to soul music By the 1960s, the southern-rooted suffering and pain of the blues had joined with the joyful and unrestrained celebration of gospel.

Atlantic and Stax Atlantic Records was dedicated to black, R&B music, created by Herb Abramson in 1947 McPhatter, Charles and others increased Atlantic Records’ impact on the R&B market Thanks to the soul movement, Atlantic Records would become a major label by the 1960s Stax Records- “Soulsville, USA” in Memphis Atlantic and Stax joined forces in 1961 “Soul Man”- Sam Moore and Dave Prater (1967)Soul Man “Theme from Shaft”- Isaac Hayes (1971)Theme from Shaft

Aretha Franklin (aka Lady Soul) Born in 1942 in Memphis Was singing in church by the age of 8 and recorded demos by age 17 John Hammond (who thought she should be a blues singer) was able to get her a deal at Columbia Records (mainly pop) In 1967, Jerry Wexler sign Aretha to Atlantic Records when her Columbia Records deal expired The first album, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, was #2 on the charts It included “Respect” by Otis Redding- her first and only #1 hitRespect

Aretha Franklin (cont) By the end of 1968, she had 7 out of 8 singles in Top 10 She won Grammy awards for best R&B performance by a female artist eight years in a row Other popular covers she performed: Spanish Harlem- Jerry Leiber & Phil Spector Eleanor Rigby- Beatles Bridge Over Troubled Water- Paul Simon Chain of Fools- Don Covay Chain of Fools A Natural Woman- Carole King & Gerry Goffin Aretha returns to her gospel roots in the Amazing Grace album

James Brown AKA Godfather of Soul, Soul Brother #1, Mr. Dynamite, etc His voice was raspy and strong, typically shouting raw and basic vocal lines His songs are among the most simplest and basic in popular music His style is called southern soul Born on May 3, 1933 in Georgia His group, The Famous Flames, recorded Please, Please, Please, resulting in a contract with Federal Records in 1956 (became #6 on the R&B charts)Please, Please

James Brown (cont) Early 1960s- Brown developed his stage act His dancing became a model for Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson Became known as the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business Mid-1960s- a change in style took place where his voice became rawer and raspy Choppy feeling to the following 12-bar blues that use only 3 chords: Papa’s Got A Brand New BagPapa’s Got A Brand New Bag I Got You (I Feel Good)I Got You (I Feel Good) Make It FunkyMake It Funky songs were in the Top 40 and most were #1 hits on the R&B charts

James Brown (cont) no top 40 hits and albums did not do well due to the popular disco style His The Blues Brothers movie appearance sparked some interest in the younger generationThe Blues Brothers

Summary of Soul Soul music combined secular and sacred black music James Brown and Aretha Franklin dominated the soul genre Other artists: Jackie Wilson To Be Loved and Lonely Teardrops The Impressions For Your Precious Love, It’s All Right, Amen Ike Turner (and his girlfriend Tina Turner) A Fool in Love and Proud Mary

Motown Berry Gordy, Jr. opened Tamla Records in 1960in Detroit by borrowing $700, releasing records already released by other companies Late they released the Miracles’ “Shop Around,” led by Smokey Robinson Became #2 on the pop charts Within 7 years, Gordy’s Motown Records, Tamla, Gordy, and Soul sold more singles than any other company

Motown (cont) Motown began in a house in Detroit where the recording studio was about the size of a living room Detroit was primarily a black population where talented singers had to go to Chicago, Philadelphia or New York to record Therefore, Gordy was able to find talent for his own company Gordy’s goal was to bring a style of black music to both the black and white markets Music styles in the early 1960s were segregating (folk, surfers, teen idols, British were all white; the soul trend was primarily in the black market)

Smokey Robinson In NY, Smokey and the Miracles recorded “Got a Job” in 1958 which became #1 on the R&B charts In 1961, Gordy signed the Miracles and recorded “Shop Around” which made the top 5 As their lead singer, Smokey helped the Miracles create 24, top 40 hits Their last top hit was “Love Machine (Part 1)” in 1975/76“Love Machine (Part 1)” Disco-flavored without Robinson (he left in 1971) Robinson had a smooth, falsetto voice He wrote three top 10 songs for Mary Wells and other major hits for the Temptations and Marvin Gaye

Female Groups Marvelettes “Please Mr. Postman” was Tamla’s first #1 songPlease Mr. Postman Was later recorded by the Beatles and the Carpenters They had 9 other Top 10 hits by 1968 Martha and the Vandellas Martha was originally hired as the secretary at Motown Gordy signed this trio “Come and Get These Memories” was released (barely made top 30) “Heat Wave” became # “Dancing in the Street” was their biggest hitDancing in the Street The group disbanded in 1971

Marvin Gaye He was from Washington, D.C. Was signed as a session drummer for the Miracles before releasing his own music Had 17 solos and 12 duets in the Top 40 His biggest solo hit: “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1968)I Heard It Through the Grapevine What’s Going On album discussed ecology, nuclear war and inner-city poverty What’s Going On “Sexual Healing” reached top 5 after troubled times

H-D-H Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Brian Holland (all songwriters) were added to Motown’s staff Wrote hits for Martha and the Vandellas, the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, and the Supremes They wrote 30 Top 20 hits H-D-H stopped writing for Motown in court cases settled the lawsuits regarding royalties After H-D-H left, Gordy took control: all groups had similar choreography, same backup band, vocal coach, etiquette, etc. In the 1960s, Motown lyrics avoided controversy and heaviness beyond boy-girl romance

Male Groups The Four Tops They began as a backup group “Baby I Need Your Loving” “I Can’t Help Myself” was #1 (their third release)I Can’t Help Myself Placed 17 hits in the Top 40 The Temptations 2 lead singers: Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin First hit: “The Way You Do the Things You Do”The Way You Do the Things You Do “My Girl” was #1My Girl David Ruffin left the group Paul Williams left the group Eddie Kendricks left the group Their Motown style changed from “psychedelic soul” to disco.

Gladys Knight and the Pips Gladys Knight born in Atlanta in signed with Motown Records “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (cover) became #2 hitI Heard It Through the Grapevine switched to Buddah Records because they felt they were not being treated as a priority act

Stevie Wonder Steveland Morris impressed Berry Gordy Jr. who gave him the professional name, “Stevie Wonder.” His 4 th release, “Fingertips-Part 2,” became #1Fingertips-Part Signed, Sealed and Delivered album was releasedSigned, Sealed and Delivered Talking Book album was released, became #3 album and contained two #1 hits: “Superstition”- psychedelic soulSuperstition “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”- jazz-rock fusionYou Are the Sunshine of My Life Innversions album released Contained “Higher Ground” and “Living in the City”Higher GroundLiving in the City “I Just Called to Say I Love You” was a #1 hitI Just Called to Say I Love You

Motown Style Shared roots with soul music (gospel and R&B) but is not the same as soul music There was no freedom in Motown Little or no improvisation vocally or instrumentally No rough edges; very slick and polished. The sound was popular with blacks and whites Motown Records moved to Los Angeles in 1971 Jackson Five Commodores Stevie Wonder Diana Ross Motown Records was purchased by MCA Records Inc. in 1988

Diana Ross & The Supremes had twelve #1 hits and 11 Top 40 hits The only American group to have 5 consecutive #1 singles Diana Ross joined the “Primettes” vocal group which later became known as the Supremes. The group signed with Motown in 1962 They toured with Dick Clark Cavalcade of Stars By the end of 1965 they had six #1 songs: Where Did Our Love Go Baby Love Come See About Me Stop! In the Name of Love Back in My Arms Again I Hear a Symphony

Diana Ross & The Supremes (cont) Diana became the “act” with two backup singers 1967-Florence became “ill” and either left the group or was expelled; eventually died in Diana left the group for a solo act Mary was the only constant member of the Supremes Diana left Motown in 1981 and became a successful TV star “Motown sound” Lead singer with backup vocals Strong professional orchestration (strings, brass, sax, keyboards, percussion) Strong best with heavy backbeat and clapping Predictable modulation about 2/3 or 3/4 into song No improvisation or deviation from predetermined arrangement

Melody and the Soul Singer Soul singing description: freedom, feelings and emotion Derived from gospel-singing tradition of the southern black church Elements of Music: Form- 16 measures in 4 equal phrases (such as AABA) Turns theses 16 measures into 64 through repetition (freedom) Melody and rhythm- each phrase is modified slightly, adding notes or rhythm is altered (freedom) Short phrases such as “oh-oh” and “oh yes we do” are added (freedom and emotion) Melismas are frequent- one syllable extended over more than one pitch Vocal timbre- ranges from shouting to breathy tone to raspiness, etc

Chapter 9 Review You should be able to: Define soul music Describe the history of soul music Name major artists of soul music and explain their contributions to soul music Describe the creation of Motown Name major Motown artists and explain their contributions to Motown music Describe the importance of H-D-H to Motown Records Describe the style of Motown music