What Is "Soul Music"?

[TGrundy]

OK, so I'm listening to one of my favorite podcasts this past Friday morning, the Friday Favecast by Fave, and at about the 16 minute, 30 second mark he asks a question that I have *NOT* been able to stop thinking about:

"WHAT IS SOUL MUSIC?"

He goes on to define the question further by asking, "How do you explain to a cat over in the UK or over in Japan or Paris what "soul" is?", especially if they have never heard it before.

"WHAT IS SOUL MUSIC?"

Ever since then I have been thinking about this question and, to be honest, have even become a little obsessive about it. I had to laugh the other day when I noticed that with every song I play or hear now, inevitably I ask myself, "Is this soul?" Like I said... obsessive. {smile}

Well, I thought I would enlist the help of my SC family members and throw the question out to all of you. What is soul music to music to you? How do you define it? What is the history of soul music? How would you explain what it is to someone who has never heard it?

Looking forward to some interesting discussion...

[Yasorg]

soul music is for me just someone who sing with his heart with his soul with generosity someone who' s authenthic . avec ses tripes in french
sorry for my english...
i hope so much live in new york one day....
i want ask to the people soul commune if someone have a english lyrics for me ...
come one listen my myspace and if you have a lyrics about freedom about inegality about heart about love about the future pleaseeeeeeeeeee
contact me ...i song with all my soul. i want write too but i m not bilingue . i speak not enough english :(

[SerenityLife]

Soul music speaks to your heart. It is your inner musical spirit that expresses your emotions but in music format. It is your daily ritual. It is how you define yourself.

At first I used to be very judgmental and I would not allow the blue eyed soul people to*attempt* to define soul music for me but I heard Timi Yuro and my entire definition of Soul music was redefined.

Listen here:
Timi Yuro's Hurt --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPy-Memj0vE

I thought only a minority could express and eloquently sing like this but I was SO wrong. This goes the same for Amy Winehouse but her soul is RUINED to the point that I think she is killing herself. However, so many adore her because she can sing to the depths of your inner emotions that you did not know existed.

A young man in Italy had shared his sentiments of Soul Music that I would like to share here. I thought it was interested to see that he could relate to soul music on this level, mind you he is 17! He did not write this article but he definitely understands what soul music is:
http://www.last.fm/user/Alex_Stone91/journal/2008/03/23/b87fq_did_b... [I made the comment as 2Serenity]

[Rob Bainbridge]

good soul is like a fine wine - to be savoured as the sound washes over you.... its makes your feet move in gently sympathy and your heart increase just enough to make you feel alive...

[John Carrier]

What Is Soul Music ?
Well you carn`t see it.
You carn`t touch it ( physically ).
BUT BOY YOU CERTAINLY CAN FEEL IT......the passion, the joy, the fear,the thrill. It is a musical genre that brings all races together like no other music in the world...( just take a look at the Soul Commune family ).
How did it start...Mmmm I have heard many reasons for its beginnings , the best answer I heard was from a friend in the States who told me. It started with the African family who would chant in time to a beat to pull all together from the same tribe or unite other tribes captive in the cotton fields as a defiance to their captors/so called master`s that WE ARE UNITED ,TOGETHER AND NOTHING CAN BREAK OR TEAR OUR SPIRIT.
So to me that was as good an answer I ever heard ( a little deep,.... maybe ).

What evolved over the years from the African/American community was a sound that entertained
in the Chitlin Clubs across the Southern States, the folks were needed in the factories up North in Detroit, Chicago, New York etc.
To make the economy strong in the world, hence these guy`s many Jazz musicians formed groups
to record in African/American owned record labels, prime example Motown that didn`t make just music for black folks....No they made music FOR EVERYBODY.

If you never heard of it...that might be the case in the UK, as the MOBO awards dropped the term " Soul" from its categories in this year`s Awards...SHAME. Record stores have even dropped the term for Urban, Hip Hop, Trance, Rap, etc......Phew I thought it was all music ?

Listen my brothers and sisters of ANY colour (color).....SOUL can raise the heart, even heal a broken heart, bring a smile to your face, joy to your.....SOUL the only way you can operate on this
feeling is buy the music, lyrics and a belief we were ALL born equal with a LOVE of THE BEAT.
Let`s just say this is a Musical of Togetherness...Right On.

Much Blessings,
John " Word On The Kerb " Carrier.

[TGrundy]

Hey Everybody!

Excellent responses, "Thanks!" replying and offering your thoughts. Most of what I read centers around soul music as a "feeling" or an "emotion" that a person has when listening to or singing this music. While that is very much an integral component of soul and I don't disagree with any of the responses so far, I do want to offer another viewpoint as an additional (and very important) component of what soul is. Actually, John Carrier touched on it in his reply when he pointed out some of the history surrounding the origins of what we call soul music today: soul music has it's roots intricately intertwined with the experience of Blacks in America to survive and persevere, especially during the years of slavery.

If you break it down there are four different sources which have shaped soul: racial, geographical, historical and economic factors. From a 'technical' point of view, it is the merging of R&B and Gospel in the late 1950's. Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, James Brown and Solomon Burke are commonly regarded as the pioneers of this style of music.

Agree? Disagree? And what about "soul music" today in 2008? Just like I can name Ray, Sam, James and Solomon above as the beginnings of soul, who are the "soul" singers of today that we'll be talking about 20, 30 or 40 years down the road?

[DJ Vinnie V]

I agree with what everyone has said especially soul music knows no color or race. Soul music is something u feel right in your gut. When I hear a "soulful" artist I know.

As my show description says:

"Soul music is a universal thing. It’s music with emotion and feeling. It’s deep and sometimes political. It’s joy and pain. It’s anger, fear, and even confusion. Sometimes it can be just plain funny. It’s the total human experience. It’s life."

[Dee_M]

Soul is All around us... In artistic regards it's a feeling, a Vibe...to hear someone sing from their Heart, do a Spoken Word piece, play an instrument with Passion...all of this
is Soul, regardless of Race, Creed or what Country it comes from!!

[TGrundy]

OK, let's see... two categories: "SOUL" and "Not SOUL". Let's throw out a list of names and you place them in the proper category (as far as YOUR opinion goes of course):

AWB (Average White Band)
Joss Stone
Amy Winehouse
Rick James
Teena Marie
Heatwave
Tank
Ne-Yo
Boys II Men
Queen Latifah
Taylor Hicks
Whitney Houston
Maxwell
Natalie Cole
Fantasia
Timi Yuro
Jaheem
Bobby Caldwell
Prince
Lisa Stansfield
Boy George & Culture Club

Ha! OK, OK... I'm just kidding about that last one! But the rest are legit. Now, let me know what your "Soul"/"Not Soul" lists would look like!

[Hiphop Moses]

Soul music is music that speaks to your soul truthfully. I don't think it has a color nor genre because it can be found anywhere. Case in point http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlDmslyGmGI&feature=related Mr Joe Cocker was one of the first to help me to see this view. He also shared the stage here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsdkGHX9Vqo&feature=related
with Ms Patti Labelle at the Apollo which took more guts than soul he he he
Moses

[TGrundy]

Hmmmm, interesting pattern I'm noticing here... lots of folks saying that "soul has no color". While that fact may be very true *now* in the present day and age, I propose that the origins of what we know and call "soul music" had a very strong "color" element to it. AAMOF, I'll even go so far as to say that without this intrinsic color characteristic it would be something totally different and far less universally accepted/copied.

[Hiphop Moses]

I find your last post interesting myself TGrundy... Because the question was what is Soul not it's Origin. But I would be curious to what "we" define as soul music if it's confined to a genre. Here's the thing when we speak of origin, everything including the first living soul can be traced back to Africa, so to mention origin or color characteristics would be like preaching to the choir don't you think. And as far as then and now Joe Cocker has been around awhile before Micheal Mcdonald and Micheal Bolton. But I'd rather focus on this, sure we must remember and respect those who have paved the way for us, but the time back then was back then and this is now. We need to make more soulful music now and have it supported in the mainstream, then worrying about the Genre or color characteristic Imo. So what are we gonna do now?
Moses

[Velben]

soul music is someones raw emotion from deep within. There isn't one particular sound that represents soul because all of our souls paint a different picture. It's colorless and has no boundaries.