This document discusses the origins and evolution of soul music from the 1950s to the 1970s. It traces how soul music developed out of gospel, blues, and R&B and was influenced by the civil rights movement. Artists incorporated themes of racial injustice, black pride, and urban struggles into their music. Soul evolved into funk music in the 1970s which provided social commentary on issues like racism, poverty, and the urban crisis through its blend of African and Western styles.

1. #med332
Soul,
funk
and
protest

2. I
know
you
got
soul…
‘Soul
ain’t
nothin’
but
a
feelin’
– Wilson
PickeB
‘I
am
not
a
blues
singer
or
an
R&B
singer,
I’m
a
soul
singer.
We
go
into
the
studio
without
anything
prepared,
just
record
what
come
out.
That’s
soul
–
the
way
you
feel’
– OKs
Redding

3. I
know
you
got
soul…
• ‘(Soul)
is
what
comes
from
within;
its
what
happens
when
the
inner
part
of
you
comes
out
…
Everyone
wants
to
know
where
I
got
that
funky
style.
Well,
it
comes
from
the
church.’
– Milt
Jackson

4. I
know
you
got
soul…
• ‘Soul
to
me
is
a
feeling,
a
lot
of
depth
and
being
able
to
bring
to
the
surface
that
which
is
happening
inside
…
Its
just
the
emoKon,
the
way
it
affects
other
people’
– Aretha
Franklin

5. Origins
Gospel
PlantaKon
R&B

6. Origins
Gospel
Paul
Robeson
PlantaKon
Huddie
LedbeBer
R&B
Robert
Johnson

7. • Go
Down
Moses
-­‐
Let
My
People
Go
• Joe
Hill
• We
Shall
Overcome
(Peter
Seeger)

8. • Go
Down
Moses
-­‐
Let
My
People
Go
• Joe
Hill
• We
Shall
Overcome
(Peter
Seeger)

9. 1950s
consumer
boom
• Staple
Singers,
• Ray
Charles,
• Sam
Cooke,
• CurKs
Mayfield
and
The
Impressions

10. • Jim
Crow
laws
• ‘separate
but
equal’
• Civil
Rights
movement

11. 1960s
Motown
Detroit
AtlanKc
New
York
Stax
Memphis
Chess
Chicago

12. • Uncloudy
Day
-­‐
Staple
Singers
(1957)
• A
Change
is
Gonna
Come
-­‐
Sam
Cooke
(1964)
• People
Get
Ready
-­‐
CurKs
Mayfield
&
the
Impressions
(1965)
• Mississippi
Goddam
–
Nina
Simone
(1964)

13. I
was
born
by
the
river
in
a
liBle
tent
Oh
and
just
like
the
river
I've
been
running
ever
since
It's
been
a
long,
a
long
Kme
coming
But
I
know
a
change
gonna
come,
oh
yes
it
will
It's
been
too
hard
living
but
I'm
afraid
to
die
Cause
I
don't
know
what's
up
there
beyond
the
sky
It's
been
a
long,
a
long
Kme
coming
But
I
know
a
change
gonna
come,
oh
yes
it
will
I
go
to
the
movie
and
I
go
downtown
somebody
keep
telling
me
don't
hang
around
It's
been
a
long,
a
long
Kme
coming
But
I
know
a
change
gonna
come,
oh
yes
it
will
Then
I
go
to
my
brother
And
I
say
brother
help
me
please
But
he
winds
up
knockin'
me
Back
down
on
my
knees
Ohhhhhhhhh.....
There
been
Kmes
that
I
thought
I
couldn't
last
for
long
But
now
I
think
I'm
able
to
carry
on
It's
been
a
long,
a
long
Kme
coming
But
I
know
a
change
gonna
come,
oh
yes
it
will
Sam
Cooke
–
‘A
Change
is
Gonna
Come’
(1964)

14. Mass
direct
acKon
• boycoBs,
• sit-­‐ins,
• Freedom
Rides,
• marches

15. Rosa
Parks
(1955)
Montgomery
Bus
BoycoB

16. • BoycoB
lasted
381
days
• 90%
parKcipaKon
• Organised
by
Montgomery
Improvement
AssociaKon
– President:
MarKn
Luther
King
Jnr

18. Freedom
Rides
(1961)

20. Race
riots
• Birmingham,
1963
• MarKn
Luther
King
• KKK

21. Nina
Simone
–
‘Mississippi
Goddam’
(1964)

22. Malcolm
X
• NaKon
of
Islam
(unKl
1964)
• Black
naKonalism
• Black
supremacy
• Pan-­‐Africanism
(post
1964)

23. Race
riots
1964
• Major
riots
in
Harlem
Detroit,
Chicago
and
40
other
ciKes
• WaBs
Riots
alone
len
34
dead,1000
injured
and
4,000
arrested
Military
and
police
‘locked
down’
major
US
ciKes
(Ward
1998:
179)

24. Harlem,
1964
• James
Powell
(age
15)

25. WaBs,
1965

26. Riots,
1966-­‐67
• Atlanta,
• San
Francisco,
• Oakland,
• BalKmore,
• SeaBle,
• Cleveland,
• CincinnaK,
• Columbus,
• Newark,
• Chicago,
• New
York
City
• Detroit

27. Malcolm
X
assassinated
(1965)

28. MarKn
Luther
King
assassinated
(1968)

29. Sly
&
The
Family
Stone

30. Sly
&
The
Family
Stone
Don’t
Call
Me
Nigger,
Whitey
(1969)
Luv
N’
Haight
(1971)
Africa
Talks
to
You,
the
Asphalt
Jungle
(1971)
Thank
You
For
Talking
to
Me
Africa
(1971)
Family
Affair
(1971)

31. Stevie
Wonder
–
‘Heaven
Help
Us
All’
(1970)

32. 1970s
urban
crisis
In
1969
or
1970,
I
began
to
re-­‐evaluate
my
whole
concept
of
what
I
wanted
my
music
to
say
[…]
I
was
very
much
affected
by
leBers
my
brother
was
sending
me
from
Vietnam,
as
well
as
the
social
situaKon
here
at
home.
I
realized
that
I
had
to
put
my
own
fantasies
behind
me
if
I
wanted
to
write
songs
that
would
reach
the
souls
of
people.
I
wanted
them
to
take
a
look
at
what
was
happening
in
the
world
-­‐
Marvin
Gaye
on
What's
Going
On,
1973

33. Marvin
Gaye
• What’s
Going
On
• Inner
City
Blues
• Mercy,
Mercy
Me
(The
Ecology)

34. Marvin
Gaye
–
‘Inner
City
Blues
(Makes
Me
Wanna
Holler)’
(1971)

35. CriKcal
of
black
urban
experiences:
• Mayfield’s
Cur%s
Mayfield
(1970)
• Mayfield’s
Superfly
(1971)
• Isaac
Hayes’
Sha2
(1971)
• Stevie
Wonder’s
Talking
Book
(1972)
• Stevie
Wonder’s
Innervsions
(1973)
• Stevie
Wonder’s
Songs
in
the
Key
of
Life
(1975)

36. Overt
poliKcal
consciousness
• Say
it
Loud:
Im
Black,
I’m
Proud
–
James
Brown
(1970)
• For
the
Love
of
Money
–
The
O’Jays
(1973)
• The
Revolu%on
Will
Not
Be
Televised
-­‐
Gil
ScoB
Heron
(1971)
• Machine
Gun
–
The
Commodores
(1974)

37. Gil
ScoB
Heron
-­‐
‘The
RevoluKon
Will
Not
Be
Televised’
(1971)

39. Funkadelic
–
‘One
NaKon
Under
a
Groove’
(1978)

40. Grandmaster
Flash
–
‘The
Message’
(1982)

41. Summary
Ward (1999: p388) argues that aim of this music paralleled Civil Rights
movement – to bring about a shift from racial segregation to integration
– idea challenged by some material that is belligerent to racism and
inequality.
Black artists also started to get involved in the movement as political
activists: Nina Simone, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke (Ward, 1999)
‘Black consciousness’ and ‘black is beautiful’ invoked new
identification with black culture. Ideas explored by Curtis Mayfield,
Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone et al.
Soul-funk provided an important voice of social commentary on the
problems of racism, poverty and the ‘urban crisis’. In the 1970s it
produces both ‘utopian’ and ‘realist’ responses to these problems
through musical and lyrical styles drawn from quasi mythical African
heritage and Western religions.

42. Playlist
for
videos
• hBp://www.youtube.com/playlist?
list=PLRCHqijqFjGudPuMuab5EjGoarYPcK7x4