Stoax Museum Of American Soul Music Analysis

Eileen Southern’s The Music of Black Americans: A History she examines the influence that African Americans had in the holiness churches in music and worship. She initially starts with the landing of the first Africans to the colonies and she creates a phenomenal conversation of the musicians in the new world. She details the progression in the gospel, classical, jazz, rap, blues and the contributions they made.

The rise of Soul music was a product of the particular environment of that time in which the musicians who created it lived, a period much paralleled with the Civil Rights Movement (CRM) and Black Power Movement (BPM) (Maultsby, 1983, 54). The objective of this research was to examine any existence of political and social messages delivered in Soul music around the civil rights movement era in America, which would lead to a better understanding of the role of Soul music having served in the process of political and social changes in the country.

African American influence in music has been an ever present and controversial subject in American history. Stemming from many different cultures, religions and backgrounds, large portions of American music was introduced by, and credited to African Americans. Although in many cases, this music was used for entertainment by the masses or majority, contrary to popular belief, black music served a greater purpose than just recreation. Dating all the way back to the beginning of slavery in the U.S. during the 17th century, music has been used to make a statement and send a message. As African American music progressed over the years, there were common themes expressed as the genres evolved. It has been an open letter to the world, documenting and protesting the ongoing oppression faced by blacks in the United States, as well as an outlet for frustration. For many African Americans, the music gave them the only voice that couldn’t be silenced by their oppressors.

Lorraine O’Gradys’ unintentionally historic performances, seemingly elevate everyday life to the status of art. In her ‘exhibit’ at the Studio Museum, her work is represented through photographs, in ‘Art is…’. Thirty years ago, O’Grady presented ‘Art is’ in the form of a float in the African American Day Parade right here in Harlem. Performers pranced with empty frames, metaphorically capturing fleeting pictures of the people and places that surrounded the route of the parade. By doing so, the trappings of high art were brought out of the museum, into the street, which promotes a new way people might begin to recognize this new art form in the celebrations of every day life. The

Thanks to the critically acclaimed “Muscle Shoals” documentary, music lovers are finding their way to the small town in northwest Alabama where some of the world’s greatest hits were recorded. This was the very town where, at Rick Hall’s FAME Studios and the rival Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Aretha Franklin found her groove, Paul Simon developed “Kodachrome” and Wilson Pickett cranked up “Mustang Sally.”

Charlie Pride did it in 1971. Darius Rucker did it in 2009. That’s it. Two black men, spanning thirty-eight years, are the only black artists to win a Country Music Association Award. With country music rooted in bluegrass and rhythm and blues, why aren’t there more black country music stars? When considering the roots of country music, and how closely related country is to blues, bluegrass and honky tonk music, an examination of what happened to all the black musicians seems warranted, no? This paper examines the dearth of black artists in country music and the careers of one of the few black artists who has had commercial success in this genre of music.

I have definitely learned a lot about the Evolution of Music in this class. I found it to be very intriguing. So when I was faced with the chore of deciding what I would do my report on, I chose to use the book Black Music in America by James Haskins. This book gave a detailed account of not only the music genres but it’s performers. American music is made up of music from many different types of ethnic backgrounds. What gives this book a plus is that it highlights aspects American music, and its performers. The people and events that really caught my attention were the concert singers, Minstrelsies, Jubilee songs, and brass bands. Born as a slave, a girl by the

Featured Artists that Brought the Motown Sound to Life. (2012, November 19). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from

Stax Records wanted to give everyone in the city changes to prove their musical abilities, so they developed an “open-door policy” that soon attracted a mixture African American and Caucasian R&B artist. Stax began growing a very diverse population of musicians which

picked up a copy of Peter Guralnick’s book, Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom. Guralnick’s landmark book, released in 1986, is “A gripping narrative that captures the tumult and liberating energy of a nation in transition.” In the book, Guralnick dedicates eighty of its 353 pages to the history and importance of Stax Records. Though Archer grew up in Memphis, he was unaware of Stax’s South Memphis location, rather he believed it to be at its later satellite location in Midtown Memphis. So, he decided to take a drive to the corner of College and East McLemore in late July. Upon his arrival he became awash with mixed feelings. Happy to still see the Stax building standing but aghast at its

Florida’s rich history often spotlights two distinctive groups; the plentiful Hispanic population, or the conventional Caucasian syndicate. What most people tend to overlook are the copious amounts of esteem found in Black History; a chronicle furnished on centuries of symbiotic suffering and triumph. Thousands of individuals have contributed to this amorphous embodiment, but there is one woman in particular that has succeeded in evolving our world’s views on art at

From songs like “My Girl” by The Temptations to “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye, Motown has had a number of successes. Other similar artists Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross, as well as many more, help create this small-record company, founded on $800, into a powerhouse in the music industry. Motown Records had well over 100 hit singles throughout the sixties and seventies, and continued this push longer until it’s dissolvement in the 21st century. Motown created a new a mixed sound that resonated with the people and spoke message of social justice from its artists. It was pop music that wasn’t supposed to be.

African Americans are no stranger to discrimination. Children across American are taught about the horrific times of slavery. Following slavery, we learn about the discrimination African Americans face in the light of their bittersweet freedom. Due to this unstability, many amazing young African American artist emerged with breathtaking stories to reveal; the stories weren’t easy to expose because publishing companies and the alike were very

The foundations of today’s popular music were built by an unlikely source: a poor white

The broadcasting and recording industries did not solely represent the conquering racial assumptions of the 1950's, they internalized them and helped to continue them. Racial conventions permeated the organization and structure of the music industry at every level. The very existence