Soul can be defined as a blend of Gospel and Rhythm & Blues. The themes are usually secular (i.e. not religious), but may still contain elements of testifying, in other words, sharing one life experiences. The word “soul” refers to deep heartfelt emotion, thus Soul music is considered emotional music. Borrowed from Gospel music is the caller-response technique, and from Rhythm & Blues the emphasis on catchy rhythms.
Soul music started around the 60’s, the same time Rock ‘n Roll took the stage. This early style of Soul “often included accompaniments featuring large brass, woodwind, and string sections, as well as backup vocal groups” (Crossroads in Music, p. 220).
Ray Charles, who we listened to before when discussing “From Blues to Rhythm & Blues” is often thought of as the first Soul singer. Listen to one of his hit songs, “Unchain my Heart.” Note how it reminds of a Gospel song with the caller-response, and the hand clapping. This performance almost looks like one of those African-American celebration churches.
A more “soulful” song is “I Need Your Love So Bad” by Irma Thomas.
Another famous song sung by Irma Thomas is “Time Is on My Side”.
You may not have heard this song sung by Irma Thomas before. Most people know “Time Is on My Side” because it was covered by the Rolling Stones. Below is their 1964 version (very much in the Rock ‘n Roll style of the time, and part of the “British Invasion”).
The version below dates from the 80’s.
Known as the “Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin is one of the most prominent Soul singers. Let’s take note of a couple of her most famous songs:
“Say a Little Prayer”
“A Natural Woman”
“Respect”
“I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”
Again, the more famous version is by the Rolling Stones:
It was also covered by Britney Spears in 1999:
Another interesting cover of this song is by Björk and PJ Harvey, performed at the 1994 BRIT-Awards:
This is song is a good example of how Rock ‘n Roll was based on other music genres; in this case Soul, which in turn is based on Gospel and Rhythm & Blues.
But, let’s get back to Soul Music.
Probably one of the most recognizable Soul songs is “My Girl.” Let’s listen to a live performance by The Temptations:
“My Girl” was also sung by the young Michael Jackson:
Another classic Soul song is “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye.
Notice the electronic keyboard, as well as the electric bass guitar. These synthetic / electronic sounds will become increasingly more prominent as we listen to the next three genres: Funk, Disco, and Dance.
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
From Blues to Rhythm & Blues
Rhythm & Blues is a term used for African American music that evolved out of Blues, Gospel, and Jazz (the latter we will discuss next week). It is often associated with Soul, Funk, and Disco – we will look at these three genres later in this course.
In his “A Brief Introduction to Rhythm ‘n’ Blues,” Piero Scaruffi writes:
The lyrics still has the repetitive style typical of blues, but the sound is perked up and the theme much more humorous. Another hit by Louis Jordan is “Choo choo ch’boogie.”
Listen to Ray Charles singing “Baby Please Don’t Go / I Got a Woman.” He begins by singing the old blues song “Baby Please Don’t Go,” but the rhythm suddenly shifts as he starts singing “I Got a Woman.” This is a nice example of traditional blues changing in mood and style to what would later be known as Rhythm & Blues.
Koko Taylor, known as the “Queen of Blues,” is another important crossover artist from blues to Rhythm & Blues. Listen to her sing “Wang Dang Doogle.” Listen to orchestration and try to hear how this song is different from the typical blues songs (like “I’m a Woman”) for which Koko Taylor is known for.
Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” is a good example of what Rhythm & Blues eventually became. When listening to this song, try to identify the elements from blues and from Gospel. Can you identify anything unique about this song that is neither blues nor Gospel?
From here on it is a small step to Contemporary R&B, which you are probably much more familiar with, and which we will cover towards the end of the semester.
In his “A Brief Introduction to Rhythm ‘n’ Blues,” Piero Scaruffi writes:
The blues was mutating according to the changing social and artistic landscape. The 32 beats of white pop music, the dramatic emphasis of gospel singers, the heavy rhythm of jump blues, the tight brassy riffs of swing orchestras, the witty attitude of minstrel shows, all had a role in making blues music more malleable and entertaining. Transplanted in the dancehalls, the juke joints and the vaudeville theaters, blues music became energetic and exuberant. Form (arrangement, rhythm and vocal style) began to prevail over content (message and emotion). While the lyrics were still repeating the traditional themes of segregation, the music was largely abandoning its original traits.A prominent feature of Rhythm & Blues is its emphasis on beat, especially the backbeat or shuffle beat. We’ve already heard some songs that started to move away from traditional blues to a greater focus on dance rhythms. One example of this crossover style is Louis Jordan and his band. Below you will hear “Five Guys Named Moe,” by Louis Jordan.
The lyrics still has the repetitive style typical of blues, but the sound is perked up and the theme much more humorous. Another hit by Louis Jordan is “Choo choo ch’boogie.”
Listen to Ray Charles singing “Baby Please Don’t Go / I Got a Woman.” He begins by singing the old blues song “Baby Please Don’t Go,” but the rhythm suddenly shifts as he starts singing “I Got a Woman.” This is a nice example of traditional blues changing in mood and style to what would later be known as Rhythm & Blues.
Koko Taylor, known as the “Queen of Blues,” is another important crossover artist from blues to Rhythm & Blues. Listen to her sing “Wang Dang Doogle.” Listen to orchestration and try to hear how this song is different from the typical blues songs (like “I’m a Woman”) for which Koko Taylor is known for.
Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” is a good example of what Rhythm & Blues eventually became. When listening to this song, try to identify the elements from blues and from Gospel. Can you identify anything unique about this song that is neither blues nor Gospel?
From here on it is a small step to Contemporary R&B, which you are probably much more familiar with, and which we will cover towards the end of the semester.
Blues
Before the emancipation the slaves sang the spirituals – they sang about a better life, literally once they are freed from slavery, and figuratively, once they are freed from sin in this world and enjoy the blessings in Heaven. After their emancipation many African-Americans found that their literal freedom did not necessarily bring a better life as they were still poor and discrimination was still felt. This disillusionment made them sing about their sorrows. The jubilantly happy Gospel songs were an opposite reaction to these "sorrow songs."
“After the Civil War, African-American performers began to improvise a new type of song sometimes referred to as the “sorrow song,” lamenting their many difficulties in a world still unfriendly in spite of emancipation. Shortly after the turn of the twentieth century the sorrow song acquired a relatively standardized structure and another name: the “blues”” (Crossroads in Music, p. 107).
First the Spirituals, then the Blues
Blues developed out of spirituals, but with a slight change in emphasis: “blues tend to express individual, worldly feelings while spirituals express the religious feelings of a group,” also the “…spirituals are unaccompanied while blues are accompanied” (Crossroads in Music, p. 108).
Listen to Sleepy John Estes perform the old spiritual “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
Mood
“The prevailing mood [in blues] is one of sadness or depression, perhaps because of disappointment in love, loneliness, or longing for distant locations. The vocal style strives less for beauty of tone or precise intonation that for expressive communication of sentiments that are not serene or soothing” (Crossroads in Music, p. 109).
Listen to Bessie Smith singing “Nobody Knows When You Are Down and Out.” The theme of this song is clearly that of sadness, depression, and loneliness.
Blues Structure
Bessie Smith is known as the “Empress of Blues.” Listen to her perform “Mean Old Bed Bug Blues”.
Below are the first three verses of the song. Notice how the first two lines in each verse is the same, but the third line is different. This is called the traditional blues form/structure, or the AAB-form.
The blues is also known for its twelve measure structure, where each measure has four beats. Listen to the song above again – as soon as Bessie Smith starts singing start to tap the beat, every four beats equals one measure. What do you notice?
Twelve Bar
Each verse contains this twelve measure structure. It is also known as the blues “twelve bar.” The twelve bar is the basic form in blues and is repeated many times in a song. Often the vocals would sing the first two beats of the measure, and there would be some kind of improvised instrumental fill for the second two beats of the measure. This mimics the call-response method derived from African music, which was incorporated into spirituals and also used in Gospel music.
Boogie Woogie
"Boogie woogie is a solo piano style that often uses the twelve-measure blues structure. Its most characterisitc feature is a powerful, repeated eight-note pattern (four beats per measure, subdivided into two notes on each beat) played by the left hand" (Crossroads in Music. p. 212).
Above you can see a typical boogie-woogie base line progression ("riff") which is played by the left hand on the piano. You can listen to an audio clip of it here.
"Above this pattern, the right hand is free to interpret the melody or to improvise. The contrast between the two hands is so stirking that it can give the impression of two players" (Crossroads in Music. p. 212).
Although the boogie woogie is related to blues music, it is not sorrowful at all; rather it is cheerful dance music. Listen to Johan Blohm from The Refreshments play a boogie-woogie riff.
Meade Lux Lewis was probably one of the most prominent boogie woogie performers. Listen to him play the boogie woogie in the YouTube-video below.
In the YouTube-video below you can listen to an example of blues and the boogie woogie used together -- Big Joe Turner singing "Role 'Em Pete":
Notice how the boogie woogie is used as a strong intro from where the blues song (lyrics) builds with the clear AAB-structure. After the first three verses there is boogie woogie piano solo (accompanied with percussion). Later a saxophone joins the instrumental interlude.
Syncopated Rhythms
Another feature of blues is that it incorporated a syncopated rhythm, with focus on the "off" beat. In other words, in a 4/4 rhythm, the second and fouth beat is accentuated. This back beat pattern became a common feature rhythm & blues, jass, Rock 'n Roll, and other modern music.
Blues artist also sometimes use a "shuffle beat", which is a syncopated beat slightly before the regular bear. For instance, when you tap a 4-rhythm beat, ad a quick beat just before the regular rhythm -- The shuffle beat can be thought of as the "and"in "and one, and two, and three, and four".
“After the Civil War, African-American performers began to improvise a new type of song sometimes referred to as the “sorrow song,” lamenting their many difficulties in a world still unfriendly in spite of emancipation. Shortly after the turn of the twentieth century the sorrow song acquired a relatively standardized structure and another name: the “blues”” (Crossroads in Music, p. 107).
First the Spirituals, then the Blues
Blues developed out of spirituals, but with a slight change in emphasis: “blues tend to express individual, worldly feelings while spirituals express the religious feelings of a group,” also the “…spirituals are unaccompanied while blues are accompanied” (Crossroads in Music, p. 108).
Listen to Sleepy John Estes perform the old spiritual “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
Mood
“The prevailing mood [in blues] is one of sadness or depression, perhaps because of disappointment in love, loneliness, or longing for distant locations. The vocal style strives less for beauty of tone or precise intonation that for expressive communication of sentiments that are not serene or soothing” (Crossroads in Music, p. 109).
Listen to Bessie Smith singing “Nobody Knows When You Are Down and Out.” The theme of this song is clearly that of sadness, depression, and loneliness.
Blues Structure
Bessie Smith is known as the “Empress of Blues.” Listen to her perform “Mean Old Bed Bug Blues”.
Below are the first three verses of the song. Notice how the first two lines in each verse is the same, but the third line is different. This is called the traditional blues form/structure, or the AAB-form.
“Mean Old Bed Bug Blues”
Yeah, bed bugs sure is evil, they don't mean me no good
Yeah, bed bug sure is evil, they don't mean me no good
Thinks he's a woodpecker an’ I'm a chunk of wood
When I lay down at night, I wonder how can a poor gal sleep
When I lay down at night, I wonder how can a poor gal sleep
When some is holdin’ my hand, others eatin’ my feet
Bed bug as big as a jackass, will bite you and stand an’ grin
Bed bug as big as a jackass, will bite you and stand an’ grin
Will drink all the bed bug for them turn around and bite you again
The blues is also known for its twelve measure structure, where each measure has four beats. Listen to the song above again – as soon as Bessie Smith starts singing start to tap the beat, every four beats equals one measure. What do you notice?
Twelve Bar
Each verse contains this twelve measure structure. It is also known as the blues “twelve bar.” The twelve bar is the basic form in blues and is repeated many times in a song. Often the vocals would sing the first two beats of the measure, and there would be some kind of improvised instrumental fill for the second two beats of the measure. This mimics the call-response method derived from African music, which was incorporated into spirituals and also used in Gospel music.
Boogie Woogie
"Boogie woogie is a solo piano style that often uses the twelve-measure blues structure. Its most characterisitc feature is a powerful, repeated eight-note pattern (four beats per measure, subdivided into two notes on each beat) played by the left hand" (Crossroads in Music. p. 212).
Above you can see a typical boogie-woogie base line progression ("riff") which is played by the left hand on the piano. You can listen to an audio clip of it here."Above this pattern, the right hand is free to interpret the melody or to improvise. The contrast between the two hands is so stirking that it can give the impression of two players" (Crossroads in Music. p. 212).
Although the boogie woogie is related to blues music, it is not sorrowful at all; rather it is cheerful dance music. Listen to Johan Blohm from The Refreshments play a boogie-woogie riff.
Meade Lux Lewis was probably one of the most prominent boogie woogie performers. Listen to him play the boogie woogie in the YouTube-video below.
In the YouTube-video below you can listen to an example of blues and the boogie woogie used together -- Big Joe Turner singing "Role 'Em Pete":
Notice how the boogie woogie is used as a strong intro from where the blues song (lyrics) builds with the clear AAB-structure. After the first three verses there is boogie woogie piano solo (accompanied with percussion). Later a saxophone joins the instrumental interlude.
Syncopated Rhythms
Another feature of blues is that it incorporated a syncopated rhythm, with focus on the "off" beat. In other words, in a 4/4 rhythm, the second and fouth beat is accentuated. This back beat pattern became a common feature rhythm & blues, jass, Rock 'n Roll, and other modern music.
Blues artist also sometimes use a "shuffle beat", which is a syncopated beat slightly before the regular bear. For instance, when you tap a 4-rhythm beat, ad a quick beat just before the regular rhythm -- The shuffle beat can be thought of as the "and"in "and one, and two, and three, and four".
Religious Music: Gospel
One of the earliest Gospel singers were Mahalia Jackson. Listen to her perform “Be Still, My Soul.” Listen to the orchestration; also note the timbre of her voice and the style in which she sings. Mahalia Jackson seems to blend the typical hymn-style with the spiritual-style.
Out of the spirituals evolved Gospel music: “African-American singing enthusiastically affirmative of the singer’s religious faith” (Crossroads in Music, p. 88). Gospel music is often characterized by the leader-chorus format, where the lead singer entices the choir (or audience) to respond. This is known as the “call and response pattern.” Orchestration often include a choir, piano, Hammond organ, and sometimes percussion instruments, as well as the bass guitar and electric guitar.
Below are four YouTube-videos showing clippings from a BBC-documentary entitled “The History Of Gospel Music”:
After having watched the snippets from the BBC-documentary, what would you say are the most influential socio-economic or cultural events or trends that contributed to the development of Gospel music?
The YouTube-video below tells a short history of the Davis-Sisters, a once famous Gospel ensemble that came to a sad end.
Listen to the Davis Sisters perform "By and By". As the song progress try to describe it using all the music-terminology you have learned so far.
Out of the spirituals evolved Gospel music: “African-American singing enthusiastically affirmative of the singer’s religious faith” (Crossroads in Music, p. 88). Gospel music is often characterized by the leader-chorus format, where the lead singer entices the choir (or audience) to respond. This is known as the “call and response pattern.” Orchestration often include a choir, piano, Hammond organ, and sometimes percussion instruments, as well as the bass guitar and electric guitar.
Below are four YouTube-videos showing clippings from a BBC-documentary entitled “The History Of Gospel Music”:
After having watched the snippets from the BBC-documentary, what would you say are the most influential socio-economic or cultural events or trends that contributed to the development of Gospel music?
The YouTube-video below tells a short history of the Davis-Sisters, a once famous Gospel ensemble that came to a sad end.
Listen to the Davis Sisters perform "By and By". As the song progress try to describe it using all the music-terminology you have learned so far.
Religious Music: Spirituals
You can read more about the history of negro spirituals at NegroSpirtuals.Com.
Listen to the short documentary in the video clip below, then describe what you think are the “spirituals”.
Negro spirituals can readily be identified as a type of folk music – “the music of the people”. Crossroads in Music (p. 63) explains that “folk music communicates on a direct personal level and is readily accepted by a large percentage of the population. An important defining feature of folk music is the anonymity of its creators. In addition, it is usually performed by amateurs and – at least in recent years – has been most often transmitted by oral tradition…”
“The spiritual is the first combining of African and European elements” (Crossroads in Music, p. 104). Negro spiritual are the songs that were originally sung by African-American slaves and were one of the main influences from which Gospel music, blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, country and rock ‘n roll would eventually evolve.
There are basically two types of spiritual: the leader-chorus and the verse-and-refrain. “The leader-chorus type closely resembles the call and response type so characteristic of African singing: in both, lines of text sung by a soloist alternate with a sung group response. Songs that tell a story are often in verse and refrain, the action is told in a series of verses, and each verse is followed by a refrain . . . Spirituals often combined the two types. Singers would raise and lower notes, slide from note to note, and add melodic embellishments to emphasize the emotional content of the words. These traits closely resembled the traditional elements of African singing” (Crossroads in Music, p. 104).
Water is a common theme in spirituals because it had both a spiritual meaning as well as a practical value. Spiritually water refers to baptism and the washing away of sins. Jesus also identified Himself as the source of Living Water, the source of Everlasting Life. On a practical level slaves fleeing from the slave masters were admonished to “Wade in the Water,” so that they could not easily be tracked. The word “wade” means to walk through shallow water.
Listen to Yolanda Rhodes singing “Wade in the Water”:
Another famous water-themed spiritual is “Take me to the Water (to Be Baptised)”, sung here by Nina Simone.
Listen to Alison Krauss singing “As I went down to the river to pray”
To be free from slavery was about both freedom from their physical slave masters, but also free from their spiritual slave master – namely Satan and sin. The song “Steal Away” is an example of a song that reflects this double meaning. Listen to “Steal Away” as sung by Mahalia Jackson and Nat King Cole.
Apart from “Amazing Grace”, one of the most famous spirituals is “Swing Low Sweet Chariot.” Listen to it in the YouTube-video below. This version by Etta James starts to sound more like Gospel Music – which we will take a look at in the next post. You can also listen to a Gospel rendition of "Amazing Grace" by Aretha Franklin below that.
How do you think spiritual music differ from Gospel music?
Listen to the short documentary in the video clip below, then describe what you think are the “spirituals”.
Negro spirituals can readily be identified as a type of folk music – “the music of the people”. Crossroads in Music (p. 63) explains that “folk music communicates on a direct personal level and is readily accepted by a large percentage of the population. An important defining feature of folk music is the anonymity of its creators. In addition, it is usually performed by amateurs and – at least in recent years – has been most often transmitted by oral tradition…”
“The spiritual is the first combining of African and European elements” (Crossroads in Music, p. 104). Negro spiritual are the songs that were originally sung by African-American slaves and were one of the main influences from which Gospel music, blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, country and rock ‘n roll would eventually evolve.
There are basically two types of spiritual: the leader-chorus and the verse-and-refrain. “The leader-chorus type closely resembles the call and response type so characteristic of African singing: in both, lines of text sung by a soloist alternate with a sung group response. Songs that tell a story are often in verse and refrain, the action is told in a series of verses, and each verse is followed by a refrain . . . Spirituals often combined the two types. Singers would raise and lower notes, slide from note to note, and add melodic embellishments to emphasize the emotional content of the words. These traits closely resembled the traditional elements of African singing” (Crossroads in Music, p. 104).
Water is a common theme in spirituals because it had both a spiritual meaning as well as a practical value. Spiritually water refers to baptism and the washing away of sins. Jesus also identified Himself as the source of Living Water, the source of Everlasting Life. On a practical level slaves fleeing from the slave masters were admonished to “Wade in the Water,” so that they could not easily be tracked. The word “wade” means to walk through shallow water.
Listen to Yolanda Rhodes singing “Wade in the Water”:
Another famous water-themed spiritual is “Take me to the Water (to Be Baptised)”, sung here by Nina Simone.
Listen to Alison Krauss singing “As I went down to the river to pray”
To be free from slavery was about both freedom from their physical slave masters, but also free from their spiritual slave master – namely Satan and sin. The song “Steal Away” is an example of a song that reflects this double meaning. Listen to “Steal Away” as sung by Mahalia Jackson and Nat King Cole.
Apart from “Amazing Grace”, one of the most famous spirituals is “Swing Low Sweet Chariot.” Listen to it in the YouTube-video below. This version by Etta James starts to sound more like Gospel Music – which we will take a look at in the next post. You can also listen to a Gospel rendition of "Amazing Grace" by Aretha Franklin below that.
How do you think spiritual music differ from Gospel music?
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