Much of soul music can be traced back to gospel
music of the slave era. -Plantation owners would require
their slaves to attend church and become Christians. This was the only time when the slave community was allowed to gather and not have to work. Church became a joyous event in the slave community, and its functions (worship, prayer, music) began to reflect that joy. This is why the atmosphere in many Gospel churches resembles that of a party, not of a solemn occasion.
-Religious hymns became influenced by the musical roots of Africa which is apparent in the rhythms, dancing, call and response, note bending, shouting and general exuberance
Ray Charles
“I gotta woman” is an excellent example of this.
The lyrics offended his own community.
See if you can figure out why?
Instead, they catered to recording the unpolished, but raw talent of Southern R&B Artists
Booker T and The MGs, a multi-racial house band that accompanied all the Stax artists
Founded by: Berry Gordy Jr Wanted to record black music with the same quality as “Sinatra” and
other white artists. He wanted to replace the sound and marketing of “race records” Motown was a black record label to reach all audiences.
He hired a far superior musician to be his partner Smokey Robinson
The Funk Brothers
This group of 15 to 20 became Motown’s house band
They played on more number one hits, than The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Elvis….COMBINED
Backing up artists like these on all their hits.
Edwin Starr “War” A Motown song protesting the Vietnam War (which will talk about next time, so just enjoy
However, it wasn’t all fun
The Civil Rights movement occurs during the 1960’s.
Despite being “free” for almost 100 years, blacks in the south still faced legalized segregation.
Those who stood for change Rosa Parks refused to sit in the “coloured”
section of the bus. This caused the bus protests that swept America
Brown vs Board The Brown family wanted their child
to attend their local school, which was for whites
The two strongest voices
Martin Luther King
Wanted to bring equality through peaceful means
Malcolm X
Wanted to bring equality by any means necessary
The Soundtrack of Social Change
The Black community is represented on the countries airwaves through Motown and Stax Records
These record companies would also reach across the colour barriers of the music industry
Mother, motherThere's too many of you cryingBrother, brother, brotherThere's far too many of you dyingYou know we've got to find a wayTo bring some lovin' here today - Ya
Father, fatherWe don't need to escalateYou see, war is not the answerFor only love can conquer hateYou know we've got to find a wayTo bring some lovin' here today
Picket lines and picket signsDon't punish me with brutalityTalk to me, so you can seeOh, what's going onWhat's going onYa, what's going onAh, what's going on