Southern soul or country soul is a type of

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

that emerged from the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

. The music originated from a combination of styles, including

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

(both 12 bar and jump),

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, early R&B, and a strong

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

influence that emanated from the sounds of Southern

black church The Black church (sometimes termed Black Christianity or African American Christianity) is the faith and body of Christian denominations and congregations in the United States that predominantly minister to, and are led by, African Americans, ...

es. Bass guitar, drums,

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the term ...

, organ, and gospel roots vocal are important to soul

groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station ...

. This rhythmic force made it a strong influence in the rise of

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

music. The terms "deep soul", "country soul", "downhome soul" and "hard soul" have been used synonymously with "Southern soul".^p. 18

History

1960s–1980s

Some soul musicians were from southern states: these included

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

natives

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

and

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

Rufus Thomas Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Re ...

and

Bobby "Blue" Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was describ ...

(from

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Eddie Floyd Eddie Lee Floyd (born June 25, 1937) is an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s, including the No. 1 R&B hit song " Knock on Wood". Early life and education Floy ...

(from Alabama), Johnnie Taylor, Al Green (from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

). Southern soul was at its peak through the 1960s, when Memphis soul and the

Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located on the left bank of the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, its population was 13,146. The estimated popula ...

sound were popular. In 1963, Stan Lewis founded Jewel Records in Shreveport, Louisiana, along with two subsidiary labels, Paula and Ronn. Lewis signed soul and blues artists such as Toissaint McCall,

Bobby Rush Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist, and pastor who served as the U.S. representative for for three decades, ending in 2023. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter ...

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he develo ...

, Charles Brown, Buster Benton, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Ted Taylor and Little Johnny Taylor. In 1966, the Shreveport-based Murco Records released "Losin' Boy" by Eddy Giles, which held a place on ''Cashbox'' magazine's Hot 100 for five weeks. Murco Records had soul chart success with its other artist included Reuben Bell. Other significant contributors were

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in September 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. ...

with their house band Booker T. & the MGs as well as New York based Label

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. Atlantic was

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

's home, and became an early exporter of the "Muscle Shoals Sound" by distributing Percy Sledge's " When a Man Loves a Woman", recorded at Rick Hall's FAME Studios. FAME becoming the studio of choice for new and experienced artists alike. Establishing the city of

Muscle Shoals, Alabama Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located on the left bank of the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, its population was 13,146. The estimated popula ...

as a major part of southern soul.

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

credits FAME as the place her career turned around, and

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

recorded hit album "

Tell Mama Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) is a national project which records and measures anti-Muslim incidents in the United Kingdom. It is modelled on the Jewish Community Security Trust (CST) and like the CST it also provides support for ...

" there. The Stax label's most successful artist of the 1960s,

, was influenced by fellow Georgia native

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

and the more cosmopolitan sounds of

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

-born

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

. Other Stax artists of note included Johnnie Taylor, Soul Children, the Dramatics (from Detroit),

the Staple Singers The Staple Singers were an American Gospel music, gospel, soul music, soul, and Rhythm and blues, R&B singing group. Pops Staples, Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group w ...

, Carla Thomas, and

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...

artists

Sam & Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (1935–2025) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", " ...

's records were released on the Stax label and featured the MGs.

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded more than 50 songs that made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the '' ...

launched his solo career through his collaboration with the Stax team, and Pickett gained big hit "Land of a Thousand Dances" with FAME Studios musicians in

. After

moved from Stax to

, Stax producer David Porter and his songwriting and production partner Isaac Hayes decided to put together a new vocal group of two men and two women. They recruited J. Blackfoot, together with Norman West, Anita Louis, and Shelbra Bennett, to form The Soul Children. Between 1968 and 1978, The Soul Children had 15 hits on the R&B chart, including three that crossed over to the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and recorded seven albums. Another Memphis 1960s label Goldwax Records, featured James Carr, Spencer Wiggins, and the Ovations. Al Green, Otis Clay, O.V. Wright, Don Bryant, Ann Peebles and Quiet Elegance recorded for Memphis's 70s label Hi Records, where they were produced by Willie Mitchell. Rick Hall was a famous R&B producer of "Muscle Shoals Sound", originating from

. The

Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section is a group of American session musicians based in the northern Alabama town of Muscle Shoals. One of the most prominent American studio house bands from the 1960s to the 1980s, these musicians, individually or a ...

played on hits by many Stax artists during the late 1960s through the mid-1970s, and Atlantic Records artists

, Percy Sledge,

Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the style ...

and

. Producer and session guitarist Chips Moman produced Bobby Womack and Womack wrote R&B song "I'm in Love" for

. Bobby Womack gained R&B hit "If You Think You're Lonely Now" in 1981. Malaco Records introduced Dorothy Moore,

Bobby Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was describ ...

, Johnnie Taylor, Denise Lasalle, Little Milton and others. In 1983, former Soul Children singer J. Blackfoot saw success on soul chart with his single "Taxi". In 1987, Marvin Sease gained an R&B hit with "Candy Licker".

1990s–present

After 1990, southern soul music was still recorded and performed by singers such as Sharon Jones, Charles Bradley,

Peggy Scott-Adams Peggy Scott-Adams (born Peggy Stoutmeyer; June 25, 1948 – March 27, 2023) was an American soul, blues and R&B singer. Earlier in her career, she was billed as Peggy Scott, and was known as 'The Little Lady with the Big Voice'. Early life a ...

, Trudy Lynn,

Roy C Roy Charles Hammond (August 3, 1939 – September 16, 2020), better known as Roy C or Roy "C", was an American southern soul singer, songwriter and record executive, best known for his 1965 hit, "Shotgun Wedding". Another song, " Impeach the Pr ...

, Sir Charles Jones, Barbara Carr, Willie Clayton,

, Denise LaSalle,

Gwen McCrae Gwendolyn Patricia McCrae ( Mosley, December 21, 1943 – February 21, 2025) was an American singer, best known for her 1975 hit record, hit "Rockin' Chair (Gwen McCrae song), Rockin' Chair". Known in the music industry as the "Queen of Rare Gro ...

, Johnnie Taylor, Omar Cunningham, and William Bell. In 2025, the southern soul music Boots on the Ground song by 803 Fresh became a viral sensation.

References

External links

* AllMusic Guide to R&B
Blues Critic
Website dedicated to Southern Soul, Rhythm & Blues & Soul Blues Music
SouthernSoulRnB.com
– Daddy B. Nice's comprehensive guide to today's Southern Soul Music
Getbluesinfo.com
– Southern Soul/Blues Channel:
CarolinaSoul.Org

beachmusic45.com
- Southern Soul Beach Music Site {{soulmusic 20th-century music genres

Soul music genres Country music genres

History

1960s–1980s

1990s–present

See also

References

External links