The Rock Soul Divide
The distinction between rock and roll and r&b was an illusionary one driven by industry prejudice. But the distinction between rock and soul is a musical rather than a political one and arises from the two genres having somewhat different musical ancestry. We can think of rock and soul as musical half-siblings with the blues as the common parent.
Rock is the child of a combination of the blues with country. Country is the music of the diffuse society of rural and small-town America and had its own origins in both Anglo-Celtic rural music and rural blues. It had been popularized in the post-war era by artists like Hank Williams. This was drawn on and combined with the newer urban blues to form rock. Pioneers of this combination included Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly. What began as a US phenomenon soon became one practiced on both sides of the Atlantic and many important rock acts have come from the UK.
In one form or another rock has existed from circa 1960 to the present day. In much of that time variations or derivations of rock – genres like metal or hardcore or punk – have been more prominent than rock itself. However standard rock has been an ever-present part of popular music and since the 1990s contemporary rock bands like Coldplay, Placebo and Powderfinger have continued the tradition.
Soul is the child of a combination of the blues with gospel. Gospel is the music of the Afro-American churches and had its own origins in both Anglo-Celtic church music and rural blues. It had been popularized in the post-war era by artists like Mahalia Jackson. This was drawn on and combined with the newer urban blues to form soul. Pioneers of this combination included Ray Charles and Sam Cooke. While the originators of soul were Afro-Americans, the genre has been embraced by artists both black and white.
In one form or another soul has existed from circa 1960 to the present day. In much of that time variations or derivations of soul – genres like funk or hip-hop or disco – have been more prominent than soul itself. However standard soul has been an ever-present part of popular music and since the 1990s contemporary soul acts like TLC, Mary J Blige and Macy Gray have continued the tradition.
Over much of the past half-century there has been a distinct division between rock-derived music and soul-derived music. But at the same time there has been a constant cross-pollination between the two strands of blues-derived popular music and both have experienced similar changes over time (which will be explored in the next few pages). There have been a number of artists who have recognised the kinship between rock and soul and who have determined to produce and perform music of both genres. It is therefore worth recognising the contribution to both genres by popular singer-songwriters such as Billy Joel and Elton John. Some have even specialized to the extent that we can identify – say – Neil Diamond as preferring soft rock and shallow soul while Lenny Kravitz is more a fan of hard rock and deep soul. So now onto such variations within the rock and soul traditions…
Rock is the child of a combination of the blues with country. Country is the music of the diffuse society of rural and small-town America and had its own origins in both Anglo-Celtic rural music and rural blues. It had been popularized in the post-war era by artists like Hank Williams. This was drawn on and combined with the newer urban blues to form rock. Pioneers of this combination included Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly. What began as a US phenomenon soon became one practiced on both sides of the Atlantic and many important rock acts have come from the UK.
In one form or another rock has existed from circa 1960 to the present day. In much of that time variations or derivations of rock – genres like metal or hardcore or punk – have been more prominent than rock itself. However standard rock has been an ever-present part of popular music and since the 1990s contemporary rock bands like Coldplay, Placebo and Powderfinger have continued the tradition.
Soul is the child of a combination of the blues with gospel. Gospel is the music of the Afro-American churches and had its own origins in both Anglo-Celtic church music and rural blues. It had been popularized in the post-war era by artists like Mahalia Jackson. This was drawn on and combined with the newer urban blues to form soul. Pioneers of this combination included Ray Charles and Sam Cooke. While the originators of soul were Afro-Americans, the genre has been embraced by artists both black and white.
In one form or another soul has existed from circa 1960 to the present day. In much of that time variations or derivations of soul – genres like funk or hip-hop or disco – have been more prominent than soul itself. However standard soul has been an ever-present part of popular music and since the 1990s contemporary soul acts like TLC, Mary J Blige and Macy Gray have continued the tradition.
Over much of the past half-century there has been a distinct division between rock-derived music and soul-derived music. But at the same time there has been a constant cross-pollination between the two strands of blues-derived popular music and both have experienced similar changes over time (which will be explored in the next few pages). There have been a number of artists who have recognised the kinship between rock and soul and who have determined to produce and perform music of both genres. It is therefore worth recognising the contribution to both genres by popular singer-songwriters such as Billy Joel and Elton John. Some have even specialized to the extent that we can identify – say – Neil Diamond as preferring soft rock and shallow soul while Lenny Kravitz is more a fan of hard rock and deep soul. So now onto such variations within the rock and soul traditions…
posted by Dan at 22.2.06
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