The Legacy Of Soul Music

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Soul is a music genre that over five decades or so remains very popular in the music industry. This may be due to the fact that soul has had a huge impact upon other genres. Shuker defines soul as a “secular version of gospel, soul was the major black musical form of the 1960s and 1970s and remained evident in various hybrid styles since, for example, contemporary neo-soul and soul jazz (312). The history of soul music is notable for producing a range of artists who have assisted African-American societies with societal and political issues through the rise and fall of soul music. In what follows, I will argue how soul music had a significant impact during the 1960s through bringing together both the white and black subcultures. Firstly, through examining the history and effects of slavery in the African-American societies. Secondly, by discussing the impact that two Mahalia Jackson and Issac Hayes, have had on giving African-American society a voice and lastly, discussing the assassination of Martin Luther King and the influence this tragedy has had on the content of soul music and the message it delivers. I will draw on the work of Roy Shuker (2012), particularly his notions of racism, gospel, motown and African-American; black music as key terms that have allowed soul music to become such a prominent form, crucial to the contemporary experience of popular music.

Once soul music entered the music industry in the 1960’s, the rhythm and blues genre of the 1950s was
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