What Atlantic Record’s Jerry Wexler called Rhythm and Blues (R & B) in 1949 became known as Soul Music in the sixties. Musically, soul came to mean songs with secular lyrics about love, dancing and other worldly concerns, sung and arranged with the techniques and, more importantly, the fervour of gospel music. Funky originally meant dirty, or a dirty sound. This page examines the origins of Soul and Funk in the United States by looking at the music of important artists and the role of a number of key independent record labels in bringing their music to a much wider audience. In each case the label is associated with a particular U.S. city (e.g. Atlantic Records - New York).

The Importance of The Independent Record Labels

New York’s Atlantic Records, founded in 1949 by Ahmet and Neshui Ertegun, the sons of a Turkish diplomat, built an impressive enterprise, with Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, the Drifters and the Coasters - Atlantic Records Jerry Wexler coined the term "rhythm and blues" in 1949. Ray Charles talked Atlantic Records into letting him try something different. "What’d I Say," "I Got a Woman" and later his version of "Georgia on My Mind," put the ferocious devotional energy of the Baptist church into tales of sinning, drinking, and sexual anguish that made him into a national institution, and make soul music a cleansing, cathartic medium for its secular fans. Atlantic Records also recorded the jazz luminary John Coltrane (Giant Steps - 1960).

Chicago’s Chess Records had been catering successfully to black tastes with Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, and to white teens with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, since the early 1950’s.

James Brown began his recording career in 1956, recording for Cincinnati-based King Records and during the 1960s the "hardest working man in show business" became known as the Godfather of Soul.

Tamla-Motown was formed in Detroit by Berry Gordy Jr. in 1959 and aside from putting a down payment on the 2648 West Grand Boulevard building, Berry formed Jobete Music Publishing; the corporation Berry Gordy Jr., Enterprises; Hitsville, USA: Motown Record Corporation (a contraction of Motortown), which would issue records under a variety of labels, including Tamla: and International Talent Management, Inc. (ITM), to guide the careers of his signees.

In the summer of 1959, the Miracles’ "Way Over There" was the first record released on the Tamla label, and if that weren’t historic enough, it was Smokey’s (Robinson) first solo production. It sold 60,000 copies by the end of it’s run, most of it in the midwest, a remarkable number for an unknown Detroit label. In early 1961 "Shop Around," written by Smokey Robinson and performed by the Miracles, went to number one on the R & B chart and number two on the pop chart.

Over the next three years, roughly 1960 through 1962, a community of administrators, musicians, and entertainers began coalescing inside the West Grand Boulevard building. The musicians, who formed the backbone of the Motown sound consisted of bassist James Jamerson and drummer Benny "Papa Zita" Benjamin, who had worked with Berry on and off since the early Miracles records. In the early sixties, when Jamerson and Benjamin were just beginning to realise how well they worked together, the studio band was headed by Joe Hunter, a burly jazz pianist and also included Dave Hamilton, who would make a vital and largely unknown contribution to Motown music, played the unlikely combination of guitar and vibes. By 1964 the studio band had become known as the "Funk Brothers" and consisted of the key rhythm section of Jamerson, Benjamin and pianist Earl Van Dyke and other musicians such as guitarist Robert White.

The twenty nine number one pop hits for Motown artists between 1961 and 1973 are as follows:

1961: "Please Mr. Postman" by the Marvelettes; 1963: "Fingertips-pt. 2" by Stevie Wonder; 1964: "My Guy" by Mary Wells, "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love" and "Come See About Me" by the Supremes; 1965: "Stop! In the Name of Love," "Back In My Arms Again" and "I Hear a Symphony" by the Supremes, "My Girl" by the Temptations; 1966: "You Can’t Hurry Love," "You Keep Me Hanging On" and "Love is Here and Now You’ve Gone" by the Supremes, "It’s The Same Old Song" and "Reach Out and I’ll Be There" by the Four Tops; 1967: "The Happening" by the Supremes; 1968: "Love Child" by the Supremes, "I Want You Back" by the Jackson Five and "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye; 1969: "Someday We’ll Be Together" by the Supremes and "I Can’t Get Next to You" by the Temptations; 1970: "The Tears of a Clown" by the Miracles, "Ain’t No Mountain High Enough" by Diana Ross and "War" by Edwin Star, "ABC," "The Love Save You" and "I’ll Be There" by the Jackson Five; 1971: "Just My Imagination Running Away With Me" by the Temptations; 1973: "Neither of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)" by Gladys Knight and the Pips.

The South, particularly Memphis, Tennessee - and more specifically a record label called Stax - became the artistic and commercial home of soul. Stax, founded by a white man, Jim Stewart, and run by a black man, Al Bell, either recorded or inspired the eras greatest soul records, and during the mid- to late sixties provided the first dollars-and -cents challenge to Motown’s domination of the black music industry. The label was well organised and was distributed by a company long established in black music - Atlantic Records. Stax folded in 1975 as a result of a costly legal battle with CBS.

Artists who changed the face of black music in the 1960s included Wilson Pickett, Joe Tex ("Hold What You’ve Got"), Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding. These artists all cut tracks in the South which were distributed by Atlantic Records. Many of these songs have reached a wider audience through the "Blues Brothers" movies.

Motown writers and producers Holland-Dozier-Holland left Tamla-Motown in 1968, citing non-payment of royalties, and formed their own Invictus and Hot Wax labels. Hit making artists on this label in the early 1970’s included Chairmen of the Board ("Give Me Just a Little More Time" and "Pay the Piper") and Freda Payne ("Band of Gold" and "Bring the Boys Home").

Other Developments: Putting Soul and Funk in Context

During the mid sixties, the British beat boom, spearheaded by the Beatles, took America by storm. And in the midst of all this, while the Beatles were giving credit to Motown and other forms of black music, Motown acts such as the Supremes were still topping the pop charts.

In the late sixties black artists like Sly and the Family Stone further expanded the precepts of "soul music" with a vision of psychedelic utopia and a band which included men and women, blacks and whites, working together, shifting roles and sharing the spotlight. Sly’s bass player Larry Graham was to pioneer the technique of slapping which has become one of the hall marks of funk music.

Following the assasination of Dr. Martin Luther King in Memphis in 1968, the vibe began to get more street wise. By the 1970s Tamla-Motown artists such as Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye were breaking new ground. Their music began to reflect different moods and to address ecological, social and spiritual concerns.

Jimi Hendrix cut his teeth as a sideman on the Southern R & B chitlin’ circuit before bursting into prominence with the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1966. Others picked up where he left off. Curtis Mayfield and War blended elements of Hendrix’s guitar sound and Stone’s rhythms into soul and pop classics.

Gamble and Huff’s Philadelphia International label introduced the Philly soul sound that would dominate R & B music throughout the mid -1970s with hits by the O’Jays ("Back Stabbers" - 1972, "Love Train" - 1973 and "For the Love of Money" - 1974), Billy Paul ("Me and Mrs. Jones" - 1972), The Spinners ("Could it Be I’m Falling in Love" -1972, "The Rubberband Man" - 1976), Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, the Intruders and the Three Degrees.

White ("blue eyed") soul artists to emerge in the late 1960s and early 1970s included Steve Winwood (the Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith and Traffic), Joe Cocker and the Average White Band.

Other artists to emerge with a funky sound in the early 1970s included Afro-rock band Osibisa, Argent and the Doobie Brothers.

Herbie Hancock almost singlehandedly defined funk-fusion of the early to mid 1970s with a series of albums, beginning with "Headhunters" in 1973.

A number of vocal groups, such as Bloodstone ("Natural High" - 17973), Blue Magic, the Delfonics and the Stylistics, who had enjoyed some commercial success in the early 1970s were hindered by the rise of Disco music in the mid 1970s. This was in part due to the fact that Club owners went from hiring groups to just playing records and many of the independent labels folded or were swallowed up by the majors due to a loss of popularity of the artists on their roster, thanks to disco.

Earth, Wind and Fire, Rufus and the Isley Brothers were primarily funk groups who hit their commercial prime in the late 1970s.

By the start of the 1980s, black popular music was still dominated by disco and self-contained funk groups like the Commodores, Parliament/Funkadelic and Slave. But by the 1980s the time was also right for a more widespread appreciation of the unique contribution Africa would make to the more general evolution of funky dance music. As a result, funky music became even more diversified during the 1980s and by the mid 1980s a number of African artists such as Hugh Masekela (South Africa), Yossou N’Dour (Senegal), Mory Kante (Guinea) and Salif Keita (Mali) began to be successful outside Africa with funky sounds.

Characterised by consummate musicianship, high-tech modern production and a potpourri of influences which included traditional African music, this new music became known as Afrobeat in Nigeria, Zouk in the French Antilles and in Mbalax in Senegal.

During the mid to late 1980s rap began to emerge as a modern urban black musical form. In the late 1980s, the core of musicians (Skip McDonald - guitar, Doug Wimbish - bass and Keith Le Blanc - drums) behind the early Sugarhill recordings ("The Message") moved to the U.K. and teamed up with mix maestro Adrian Sherwood to form Tackhead and the On-u Sound label. A number of identities such as The Strange Parcels, African Head Charge and Little Axe emerged in the early 1990’s featuring the same musicians. This music cross fertilises blues, soul, funk, reggae and dub influences.

In the 1990s, the funky muse is still going strong. Soul artists to emerge in the late 1980s and early 1990s include Prince (the Minneapolis Sound) and Seal. Modern soul/R & B/ funk recordings often use the African and African American idea of call and response with a rap answered by a soulful vocal.

British bands which emerged in the 1990s like Jamiroquois, Incognito and the Brand New Heavies were heavily influenced by 1970’s jazz funk and disco funk. Their music became known as acid jazz.

References

Bego, M. (1990). Aretha Franklin - the queen of soul. London: Hale.

Brown, J. and Tucker, B. (1987). James Brown: the godfather of soul. London: Sidgwick and Jackson.

Charles, R. and Ritz, D. (1979). Brother Ray: Ray Charles' own story. London: MacDonald and Jones.

Davis, M. (1991). I heard it through the grapevine - Marvin Gaye, the biography. Edinburgh: Mainstream.

Davis, S. (1988). Motown: the history. Enfield, Middlesex: Guiness Publishing.

Fong-Torres, B. (1990). The Motown album - the sound of young America. London: Virgin Books.

George, N. (1985). Where did our love go? The rise and fall of the Motown sound. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Gordy, B. (1995). To be loved. London: Headline.

Graham, R. (1988). Stern's guide to contemporary African Music. London: Zwan Publications.

Picardie, J. and Wade, D. (1993). Atlantic and the godfathers of rock and roll. London: Fourth Estate.

Pruter, R. (ed.) (1993). The Blackwell's guide to soul recordings. Oxford: Blackwell.

Redding, N. and Appleby, C. (1990). Are you experienced? London: Picador.

Ritz, D. (1985). Divided soul - the life of Marvin Gaye. New York: Da Capo Press.

Ross, D. (1993). Secrets of a sparrow - memoirs. London: Headline.

Taylor, M. (1996). A touch of classic soul - soul singers of the early 1970s. Jamaica, New York: Aloiv Publishing Company.

Strands of Contemporary Music

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