Music soul r&b focuses on human, often romantic relationships through jazzy beats and vocal phrasing. This genre continues to thrive thanks to artists like Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd), Frank Ocean and Sampha.
Gospel traditions can be heard throughout soul music, particularly with call-and-response vocals between singer and choir appearing frequently. Producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff in Philadelphia added touches such as string arrangements and pointed brass that enhanced the sounds of Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes and Delfonics, such as when Kenny Gamble produced their music under Leon Huff’s guidance.
1. “September” by Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye first made a name for himself as a drummer with the Moonglows before signing with Motown producer and founder Berry Gordy to develop his vocal abilities in 1961, just three years after its inception.
By the time he released Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide as his debut album, Gaye had not only gained Motown’s trust but had also come to a crossroads in his life and career. Amidst rising pressures of both work and marriage issues, he ventured beyond traditional R&B horizons in his approach.
It became an instantly recognisable suite of sexually charged yet socially conscious songs with atmospheric arrangements and unifying themes that became an instant classic in soul music history and remains influential today. One could consider it one of the key records ever released.
2. “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye experienced an upheaval in 1970. Frankie returned from Vietnam laden with memories of horror, while Tammi Terrell passed away. Furthermore, Motown had denied him permission to address social issues through music.
Gaye found his voice with this socially conscious anthem he produced himself, an unprecedented move at Motown. To amplify it even further, he engaged Detroit’s musical talent – including jazz players, big band musicians, Motown studio band musicians and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
This song’s sensual lyrics and mellifluous tune have made it one of the world’s most iconic love songs; but its message also serves as an impassioned appeal for civil rights and environmental concerns – an example of music as a powerful means of raising consciousness.
3. “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” by Otis Redding
Soul music stands out from mainstream pop by employing slower ballads about love to illicit an emotional response in listeners and using jazzy chord progressions and instruments that sound more organic than technology-forward.
Beginning in oppressed Black communities of the 1960s and ’70s, hip hop originated as an art form focused on themes of freedom and hope for a better future. Over time it flourished into urban centers such as New York, Detroit, and Chicago.
Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” is an iconic example of soul music’s political overtones and calls to action, making its political nature evident. Since then, soul has also evolved into more alternative forms like neo-soul with electronic beats and moody vocals featured by artists such as The Weeknd, Kelela and Janelle Monae as well as hip hop and disco influences incorporated within its soundscape.
4. “Baby Love” by Aretha Franklin
Rhythm and blues music has its roots in African communities that were often oppressed, which had no hope or freedom of any sort. This music relies heavily on vocal phrasing to convey how singers are feeling with instruments serving to emphasize that sound.
Aretha Franklin had already become an R&B superstar by the time she turned 18. Her debut single with Columbia Records, Won’t Be Long, peaked at number 10 on Billboard charts in 1961.
Aretha was known for her exceptional voice that blended gospel traditions of suffering and hope with pop music to reach a wide audience with secular love songs. She became one of the first female rock stars, as her 1972 album Young, Gifted and Black offered hope for a better future through its songs such as Respect. Additionally, Aretha made many soul classics, including Respect. Her unparalleled voice made history.
5. “Ain’t No Way” by Marvin Gaye
Soul (also called R&B) differs from rock and roll in that its focus lies with vocal phrasing and emotion expressed by singers, not instruments. Originating in Black communities and learned music via church choirs, many soul songwriters learned call-and-response vocals common in Black gospel have found their way into soul songs as call-and-response elements are present here as well.
Few artists have left such an indelible mark on American culture as Marvin Gaye, the “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” singer was. A gifted expressive crooner with an extraordinary four-octave range, his songs focused on freedom, social justice and creating better prospects for Black people while his work helped pave the way for modern R&B music eras. A prolific songwriter as well, Marvin Gaye made history.
6. “I Can’t Help Myself (I’m So Addicted)” by Stevie Wonder
Soul music emerged as an offshoot of rhythm and blues music, itself born out of African-American gospel music. Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and James Brown are considered founding fathers.
R&B music transcended race boundaries to become popular with white fans of white music. Motown producers such as Berry Gordy and Kenny Gamble helped make R&B so prevalent among audiences of all backgrounds.
Contemporary R&B artists like Kelela, Janelle Monae and Childish Gambino keep this genre’s legacy alive with contemporary R&B. These musicians often employ electronic and acoustic instruments to produce moody beats. Furthermore, this genre often deals with human relationships such as depression and heartbreak as well as gender roles being reversed or hypersoul (a language style based on inner city street talk/slang used within inner cities); hypersoul is also often associated with modern “playa” culture/black masculinity
7. “I’m Gonna Be Alright” by Gladys Knight and the Pips
R&B music typically includes piano or guitar with horns as accompaniment and lyrics that address life experiences and struggles of African Americans. While often political-charged messages exist within this genre’s lyrics, its overall mood remains upbeat.
Motown Records in Detroit gave rise to some of R&B music’s iconic artists like Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and Martha and the Vandellas – as well as several hits written by brothers Brian & Eddie Holland of Holland-Dozier-Holland writing team and Lamont Dozier of Dozier family fame.
Motown also featured an iconic rhythm section composed of Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn that helped to define soul music. Soul music focuses on vocal phrasing to convey how the singer is feeling while instruments accent these feelings to create its signature sound – often called “blues with a beat”! If blues and rock had children it would likely result in R&B as its offspring!
8. “I Can’t Help Myself (I’m So Addicted)” by Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye captured the complexities of love like no other artist, from doo-wop crooning to more introspective and socially aware songs with Motown. Additionally, his albums frequently included sociopolitical issues and atmospheric arrangements that added another layer to the experience of listening.
One of his biggest hits, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, showcases his collaboration with Tammi Terrell. It remains one of the most influential R&B and soul songs ever recorded.
The song’s powerful messages of social protest encourage different levels of activism within African American communities and society as a whole. Its direct emotional delivery, ethnic pride and reverence for soul’s roots live on in funk, disco, hip-hop and other styles that owe their existence to this genre.
9. “I Can’t Help Myself (I’m So Addicted)” by Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye became one of music’s most prominent soul singers with this moving anthem on drug abuse, cementing his place among music’s legendary soul singers and paving the way for artists such as Rihanna and Beyonce to incorporate social activism into their songs.
Memphis soul music originated at Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee during the 1960s and 1970s. This form of soul music blends R&B’s energy with Southern United States gospel sounds; Booker T & the MG’s has often been associated with this style; however not all their recordings fit within its parameters.
Hypersoul is a contemporary R&B subgenre that draws heavily from classic soul music but presents it in more artificial, material ways. This form allows female singers more space to explore gender experience compared with traditional soul, through changing masculine-feminine dynamics and dominant attitudes.
10. “I Can’t Help Myself (I’m So Addicted)” by Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye was an icon in R&B history: singer, musician and half of one of its most acclaimed vocal duos with Tammi Terrell before her untimely death from cancer; activist; and using music to address issues from racism to drug addiction and environmental degradation with songs like What’s Going On, Trouble Man and Midnight Love.
Soul music’s origins can be traced to the Great Migration, in which large segments of Black communities left Southern cities and rural areas to settle in urban centers in the North and Midwest. They brought with them their culture and music; producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff in Philadelphia used string arrangements with pointed brass instruments that set the groundwork for disco music – this legacy can still be heard today in Jill Scott’s neo-soul performances.