Southern Soul Country
tagStarted mid-1960sPeak 1965–1975Last big hit still active
Southern Soul Country merges country storytelling with soul-styled vocals, gospel ache, horn or organ color, and laid-back but deep-pocket rhythm sections. The vocals often carry a plaintive, pleading tone closer to soul confession than Nashville coolness.
History
The style flourished around the Alabama and Mississippi studio corridor, where racial musical boundaries were porous even when the larger culture was not. Arthur Alexander, Percy Sledge, Dan Penn, Donnie Fritts, and the Muscle Shoals ecosystem made records that sounded too country for some soul gatekeepers and too soulful for some country gatekeepers—which is often how the good stuff happens.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Encyclopedia of Alabama on Percy Sledge and Muscle Shoals
- Donnie Fritts