From the Paper "Aretha Franklin did more than any other artist to bring the forms and spirit of African-American gospel music into the popular arena. Franklin possesses one of the finest voices in the world and, throughout the late 1960s and the 1970s, she created a stream of hit records that helped define black popular music of the time. Whatever labels, "soul," or "rhythm and blues," or "rock and roll," are placed on her music, Franklin was the primary force in combining the sound and feeling of one major American art form with another.
The history of African American music has been characterized by cross-pollination among various forms. Country blues, urban blues, New Orleans Jazz, Bebop, big-band jazz, and rhythm and blues, have all influenced each other profoundly. These influences flowed back and forth among the various forms. But ..."
Abstract This paper discusses soul music, focusing on its sound, its history, some of its composers and artists, and its cultural background. Soul music has become the anthem of African-Americans, and it is a unique and satisfying blend of blues, gospel, and rhythm and blues, that has become an important part of American music and culture. The paper shows that soul music is no longer simply a "black" thing; it is an American style of music that has become popular all over the world and has influenced many other types of music. The paper argues, however, that true soul still faces prejudice and an uphill battle for acceptance in white popular music.
From the Paper "Some music critics believe soul branched into two areas ? soul for blacks, and rock and roll for whites, but this theory is only one of several regarding soul. Soul music remains a bit mysterious because it is a black phenomenon, and so, many other races either do not relate to the music, or do not care to. However, soul jumped the boundaries of race, and became popular in white circles as well as black because of the entertainers, the lyrics, and the driving and catching beat of soul music. Soul was (and is) played on white radio stations, and soul artists appeared on the classic television show "American Bandstand" regularly, which also helped bring the music into the mainstream. One of the reasons that Bandstand featured so many soul artists is because the city where it originated, Philadelphia, was a hotbed of soul artists."
