BMUSIC'97 

Most Important Artists

From Stevie Wonder to Aretha Franklin, here are the most important artists in the history of Soul music.

A Brief History of Soul

Soul music is a combination of R&B and gospel and began in the late 1950s in the United States. Soul diffirentiates from R&B due to Soul music's use of gospel-music devices, its greater emphasis on vocalists and its merging of religious and secular themes.

Influence on Society

 Soul music “arose out of the black experience in America” according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The music of Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, James Brown and other key soul artists spoke out against the time period and helped to build the identity of civil rights activists.