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Soul genres

Southern soul

Generally refers to a driving, energetic soul style combining R&B's energy with pulsating Southern gospel music sounds, as produced at Stax in Memphis. Stax self-consciously nurtured a distinctive sound, which included putting vocals further back in the mix than most contemporary R&B records, the use of vibrant horn parts in the place of background vocals, and a focus on the low end of the frequency spectrum. The vast majority of Stax releases were backed by house bands Booker T and the MGs (which included soul legends Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, and Al Jackson) and the Memphis Horns (the splinter horn section of the Mar-Keys), and the label counted Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave, Rufus Thomas, William Bell, and Eddie Floyd among its stars.

Detroit (Motown) soul and Northern soul

Dominated by Berry Gordy's Motown empire and often referred to as the "Motown Sound", Detroit soul is strongly rhythmic and influenced by gospel. It often includes handclapping and a powerful bass line, and includes violins, bells and other untraditional instruments. Motown's house band was The Funk Brothers. Other performers: Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Marvelettes, Mary Wells, Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Jackson 5, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder; songwriters: Holland-Dozier-Holland, Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, Smokey Robinson, Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, Ivy Jo Hunter, Roger Penzabene.

Memphis soul

A shimmering, sultry style of soul music produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records and Hi Records in Memphis, featuring tasteful, melancholic, melodic horns, organ, bass, and drums, as heard in recordings by Hi's Al Green and Stax's Booker T. & the M.G.'s. The latter group also sometimes played in the harder-edged Southern soul style. The Hi label's Hi Rhythm Section house band and Willie Mitchell's production style developed the signature, surging soul style heard in the label's many hit recordings of the 1970s. Some Stax recordings also fit into this style and had their own unique sound.

Northern soul and Modern soul

The success of the "Motown Sound" inspired many musicians in the United Kingdom to adopt a similar sound, resulting in the genre of Northern soul A term coined by music journalist Dave Godin after a visit to the Twisted Wheel Club in Manchester England[citation needed]. Modern soul is a term coined in Northern England, defining an updated version of the Northen soul sound.

Blue-eyed soul

Usually performed by white artists, blue-eyed soul is often characterized by catchy hooks and melodies. It arose from a mixture of Elvis Presley and Bill Haley-derived rockabilly and Dion and The Four Seasons-inspired doo wop; other performers include Righteous Brothers, Hall & Oates, The Rascals, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, Dusty Springfield,Culture Club, George Michael. David Bowie's Young Americans album is widely regarded as a late classic of the genre.

Other genres of soul

Psychedelic soul

A blending of psychedelic rock and soul music in the late-1960s that paved the way for the mainstream emergence of funk music a few years later. Principle figures included muticultural band Sly & the Family Stone, The Fifth Dimension, and, with producer Norman Whitfield, The Temptations and The Undisputed Truth.

Neo soul

A mixture of 1970s soul-styled vocals and instrumentation with a contemporary R&B sound and hip hop beats and rap interludes, neo-soul first appeared, after previous permutations in new jack swing and hip-hop soul, in the mid-1990s with the work of Tony! Toni! Toné! and D'Angelo. Lauryn Hill, Musiq Soulchild, The Roots and Alicia Keys began massively popularizing the sound. Other performers include Jill Scott, Jaguar Wright, Erykah Badu, Adriana Evans, Maxwell, and India.Arie or even English-born Joss Stone, Anthony Hamilton and Tom Fox

Philadelphia soul

Based primarily in the output of the Philadelphia International label, Philadelphia soul had as distinguishing characteristics a lush orchestral sound and doo-wop-inspired vocals. Thom Bell, and Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff are credited as the founders of Philadelphia soul, which was dominated by artists such as The Spinners, The Delfonics, The O'Jays, The Stylistics, The Intruders, Patti LaBelle, The Three Degrees, MFSB, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and McFadden & Whitehead.