Soul blues

Last updated

Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music. [1]

Contents

Origin

African American singers and musicians who grew up listening to the electric blues by artists such as Muddy Waters, [2] Jimmy Reed, and Elmore James, and soul singers such as Sam Cooke, Ray Charles [3] and Otis Redding [4] fused blues and soul music. [1] Bobby Bland was one of the pioneers of this style. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slide guitar</span> Guitar technique

Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that reflect characteristics of the human singing voice. It typically involves playing the guitar in the traditional position with the use of a slide fitted on one of the guitarist's fingers. The slide may be a metal or glass tube, such as the neck of a bottle, giving rise to the term bottleneck guitar to describe this type of playing. The strings are typically plucked while the slide is moved over the strings to change the pitch. The guitar may be placed on the player's lap and played with a hand-held bar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muddy Waters discography</span>

Muddy Waters (1913–1983) was an American blues artist who is considered a pioneer of the electric Chicago blues and a major influence on the development of blues and rock music. He popularized several early Delta blues songs, such as "Rollin' and Tumblin'", "Walkin' Blues", and "Baby, Please Don't Go", and recorded songs that went on to become blues standards, including "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Mannish Boy", and "Got My Mojo Working". During his recording career from 1941 to 1981, he recorded primarily for two record companies, Aristocrat/Chess and Blue Sky; they issued 62 singles and 13 studio albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soul music</span> Genre of music

Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African-American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became popular for dancing and listening, where U.S. record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential during the Civil Rights Movement. Soul also became popular around the world, directly influencing rock music and the music of Africa. It also had a resurgence in the mid-to late 1990s with the subgenre neo-soul, which added modern production elements and influence from hip-hop.

Electric blues is blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930s and John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters in the 1940s. Their styles developed into West Coast blues, Detroit blues, and post-World War II Chicago blues, which differed from earlier, predominantly acoustic-style blues. By the early 1950s, Little Walter was a featured soloist on blues harmonica using a small hand-held microphone fed into a guitar amplifier. Although it took a little longer, the electric bass guitar gradually replaced the stand-up bass by the early 1960s. Electric organs and especially keyboards later became widely used in electric blues.

Mississippi is best known as the home of the blues which developed among the freed African Americans in the latter half of the 19th century and beginning 20th century. The Delta blues is the style most closely associated with the state, and includes performers like Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Willie Brown, Tommy Johnson, Ishmon Bracey, Bo Carter, Sam Chatmon, Mississippi John Hurt, Furry Lewis, Son House, Skip James, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Pinetop Perkins, and B.B. King.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Blues Festival</span> Annual music festival in the United States

The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June, that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and always occurs in early June. Until 2017, the event always took place at and around Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park, adjacent to the Lake Michigan waterfront east of the Loop in Chicago. In 2017, the festival was moved to the nearby Millennium Park.

<i>Electric Mud</i> 1968 studio album by Muddy Waters

Electric Mud is the fifth studio album by Muddy Waters, with members of Rotary Connection playing as his backing band. Released in 1968, it presents Muddy Waters as a psychedelic musician. Producer Marshall Chess suggested that Muddy Waters record it in an attempt to appeal to a rock audience.

<i>Blues</i> (Jimi Hendrix album) 1994 compilation album by Jimi Hendrix

Blues is a compilation album of blues songs recorded by American singer/songwriter/musician Jimi Hendrix. Compiled by interim Hendrix producer Alan Douglas, it was released April 26, 1994, by MCA Records. The album contains eleven songs recorded by Hendrix between 1966 and 1970, six of which were previously unreleased. Hendrix wrote seven of the pieces; other writers include Muddy Waters, Booker T. Jones, and Elmore James. Most are demos, jams, and live recordings, which Hendrix may or may not have completed for release.

James Eddie Lewis was an American soul singer, songwriter, arranger and producer. He was a member of the Drifters in the 1960s, worked as a songwriter and producer with Ray Charles, and wrote songs for Z. Z. Hill among many others.

<i>At Newport 1960</i> 1960 live album by Muddy Waters

At Newport 1960 is a live album by Muddy Waters recorded during his performance at the Newport Jazz Festival on July 3, 1960. With his longtime backup band, Muddy Waters plays a mix of his older popular tunes and some newer compositions. Chess Records released the album in the United States on November 15, 1960.

"I Got the Blues" is a song recorded by the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it appears on their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. It is a slow-paced, bluesy song featuring languid guitars with heavy blues and soul influences.

The Aces was one of the earliest and most influential of the electric Chicago blues bands in the 1950s, led by the guitarist brothers Louis and Dave Myers, natives of Byhalia, Mississippi.

British rhythm and blues was a musical movement that developed in the United Kingdom between the late 1950s and the early 1960s, and reached a peak in the mid-1960s. It overlapped with, but was distinct from, the broader British beat and more purist British blues scenes, attempting to emulate the music of African-American blues and rock and roll pioneers, such as Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. It often placed greater emphasis on guitars and was often played with greater energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otis Redding</span> American singer and songwriter (1941–1967)

Otis Ray Redding Jr. was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singer-songwriters in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. Nicknamed the "King of Soul", Redding's style of singing gained inspiration from the gospel music that preceded the genre. His singing style influenced many other soul artists of the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald "Duck" Dunn discography</span>

This article lists the discography of the late American Blues and Soul bassist, Donald "Duck" Dunn. Dunn was an influential bassist notable for his recordings in the 1960s in the house band for Stax Records, Booker T. & the M.G.'s and thereafter as a session bassist.

<i>Alone with My Friends</i> 1963 studio album by Memphis Slim

Alone with My Friends is an album by American blues pianist Memphis Slim which was recorded in 1961 and released on the Battle label. The album, recorded in London during a European tour, is an exploration of the blues repertoire in terms of songs associated with blues singers Big Bill Broonzy, Tampa Red and Georgia Tom, Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon, Curtis Jones, St. Louis Jimmy, Sonny Boy Williamson and Blind Lemon Jefferson.

<i>Breakin It Up, Breakin It Down</i> 2007 live album by Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter, James Cotton

Breakin' It Up, Breakin' It Down is a blues album by Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter, and James Cotton. It was recorded live in 1977, and released in 2007. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart.

<i>Live at Cafe Au Go Go</i> 1967 live album by John Lee Hooker

Live at Cafe Au Go Go is a live album by blues musician John Lee Hooker with members of Muddy Waters Blues Band. It was recorded at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York City and released by BluesWay Records in 1967.

<i>Muddy, Brass & the Blues</i> 1966 studio album by Muddy Waters

Muddy, Brass & the Blues, sometimes referred to as Brass and the Blues, is an album by the blues musician Muddy Waters, released by Chess Records in 1966.

Little Walter (1930–1968) was an American blues artist who is generally regarded as the most influential blues harmonica player of his era. Most of his earliest recordings were as a sideman, when he contributed harmonica to songs by Chicago blues musicians such as Jimmy Rogers and Muddy Waters. As the featured artist, he recorded the instrumental "Juke" in 1952. The single reached number one on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues chart and launched his career as a solo artist.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Unterberger, Richie (1996). "Soul Blues". In Erlewine, Michael; Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Koda, Cub (eds.). All music guide to the blues : The experts' guide to the best blues recordings. All Music Guide to the Blues . San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. pp.  374–375. ISBN   0-87930-424-3.
  2. Gordon, Robert (May 24, 2006). "Muddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied". PBS . Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  3. Richie Unterberger. "Ray Charles". AllMusic . Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  4. "Biography". Otis Redding Official Website. Archived from the original on November 26, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2011.