Gospel-Blues Soul
tagStarted 1954Peak 1959-1968Last big hit still active
Located in 1 route
Soul built where the sanctified church meets the 12-bar blues: 12/8 triplet sways, call-and-response, ringing gospel piano and organ, and lead voices that testify in full melisma over blues changes. The grain is rough and ecstatic, sermon-like phrasing carrying secular lyrics over chord moves lifted straight from gospel quartets and the storefront pulpit.
History
Ray Charles' move to graft gospel structure onto blues lyrics in the mid-1950s sparked the form, with "I Got a Woman" and "Drown in My Own Tears" importing 12/8 meter and call-and-response. Former gospel singers Sam Cooke, Solomon Burke and Etta James carried the church into secular blues-soul, and Atlantic and Duke records built a hit-making style on that pulpit-to-jukebox crossover.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://www.udiscovermusic.com/in-depth-features/gospel-influenced-rhythm-n-blues/
- https://www.britannica.com/art/soul-music
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Cooke