Vintage R&B
tagStarted 1996Peak 2007-2019Last big hit still active
Located in 1 route
Deliberate throwback R&B that recreates 1960s soul technique end to end: live horn sections, tube amps, spring reverb, tape and mono mixing, with raw blues-shouting leads over deep-pocket band grooves. The aim is period-correct warmth and grit, not pastiche-pop; arrangements echo Stax and early Atlantic while writing fresh material with modern bite.
History
Retro-soul began in late-1990s New York around Desco and Daptone, where crate-digging producers cut new records to sound like vintage vinyl. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings set the template that peaked around 2007; the next decade brought Eli "Paperboy" Reed, St. Paul & The Broken Bones and Black Pumas, whose blues-soaked, analog-cut R&B reached Grammy nominations and wide audiences.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- 100 Days, 100 Nights — Sharon Jones & The Dap-KingsSpotifyYouTube
- Come and Get It — Eli "Paperboy" ReedSpotifyYouTube
- Colors — Black PumasSpotifyYouTube
- S.O.B. — Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night SweatsSpotifyYouTube
- Call Me — St. Paul & The Broken BonesSpotifyYouTube
- Faithful Man — Lee FieldsSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro-soul
- https://soultracks.com/review/review-sharon_jones-100days/
- https://www.hobokenlibrary.blog/2013/04/29/soul-funk-and-blues-revival-some-contemporary-bands-sporting-a-energetic-retro-sound/