stylistic origins: Urban Contemporary Gospel, Blues, R&B
cultural origins: Late 1950s, United States (especially New York, Chicago and Illinois)
Soul music is a music genre that combines rhythm and blues and gospel music, originating in the United States . According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm and blues into a form of funky, secular testifying." The genre occasionally uses improvisational additions, twirls and auxiliary sounds. Catchy rhythms stressed by handclaps and plastic body moves are an important feature. Other characteristics are a call and response between the soloist and the chorus, and an especially tense vocal sound.
Sam Cooke, Nina Simone, Jackie Wilson, and Etta James were early popular stars of the music genre, and other soul forerunners include Mahalia Jackson, Louis Jordan, Arthur Conley and Big Joe Turner. Some of the earliest soul artists included Ray Charles, who is widely considered to be the inventor of soul music by putting the blues and gospel music together with his groundbreaking hit "I Got A Woman" (1954), as well as Little Richard, Fats Domino and James Brown, although all were happy to call themselves rock and roll performers at the time.
Many artists in various genres of electronic music (such as House, Drum & Bass, UK Garage, Downtempo and others), such as London Elektricity, Landslide, Miguel Migs, Romina Johnson, Jazzanova, Burial, 4hero, King Kooba, J Boogie's Dubtronic Science, Mark Farina, Soulstice, DJ Zinc, Gemma Fox, Squarepusher, Todd Edwards, Grooverider, Fabio, DJ Spooky, Chuck Love, Nu:Tone, Jenna G and Afro-Mystik are heavily influenced by soul and have produced many soul-inspired compositions.
