{
  "slug": "soul",
  "name": "Soul",
  "aliases": [
    "southern soul",
    "motown",
    "deep soul",
    "rhythm and blues"
  ],
  "description": "Gospel technique moved to secular subject matter, recorded in Detroit and Memphis from the early sixties by house bands who played together every day. The root system almost everything else on this map grew out of.",
  "origin": {
    "place": "Detroit and Memphis",
    "year": 1961
  },
  "lineage": [
    {
      "genre": "gospel",
      "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/gospel/",
      "inherited": "The whole technique, secularised. Cooke, Franklin and Redding were trained in church and changed the subject and nothing else; the melisma, the call-and-response and the build to a shout all arrive fully formed."
    },
    {
      "genre": "rhythm-and-blues",
      "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/rhythm-and-blues/",
      "inherited": "The band behind them. Soul is jump blues with the shuffle straightened and the horn section made to serve a singer rather than a dancer, cut by the same players for the same labels."
    },
    {
      "genre": "blues",
      "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/blues/",
      "inherited": "The material and the tuning of the voice. The bent third that makes a soul vocal sound like it is telling the truth is a blues inflection, applied to a song that now has a bridge."
    }
  ],
  "bpm": {
    "min": 60,
    "max": 130
  },
  "updated": "2026-08-29",
  "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/soul/",
  "trackCount": 10,
  "curatedBy": [],
  "playlists": {},
  "tracks": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "trackKey": "marvin-gaye--whats-going-on",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/marvin-gaye--whats-going-on/",
      "title": "What's Going On",
      "artist": "Marvin Gaye",
      "artistUrl": "https://waxonia.com/artist/marvin-gaye/",
      "year": 1971,
      "label": "Tamla",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "Motown's biggest star refused to make another Motown record and was proved right within a month. A protest song that sounds like a conversation at a party, and the label's finest hour was the one it tried to prevent.",
      "alsoOn": [
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "the-desk-one-subject",
          "name": "The Waxonia Desk — One Subject",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-one-subject/"
        },
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "the-desk-the-hundred",
          "name": "The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/"
        }
      ],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Marvin%20Gaye%20What's%20Going%20On",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=KDK7TiEiMOI",
          "exact": true
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "trackKey": "sam-cooke--a-change-is-gonna-come",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/sam-cooke--a-change-is-gonna-come/",
      "title": "A Change Is Gonna Come",
      "artist": "Sam Cooke",
      "artistUrl": "https://waxonia.com/artist/sam-cooke/",
      "year": 1964,
      "label": "RCA Victor",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "Cooke heard Blowin' in the Wind and was annoyed that a white folk singer had got there first. The strings are almost unbearable, and no record on this site carries more weight per bar.",
      "alsoOn": [
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "the-desk-the-hundred",
          "name": "The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/"
        }
      ],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Sam%20Cooke%20A%20Change%20Is%20Gonna%20Come",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBlaMOmKV4",
          "exact": true
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "trackKey": "aretha-franklin--respect",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/aretha-franklin--respect/",
      "title": "Respect",
      "artist": "Aretha Franklin",
      "artistUrl": "https://waxonia.com/artist/aretha-franklin/",
      "year": 1967,
      "label": "Atlantic",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "Otis Redding wrote a song about a man wanting his due; Franklin rearranged it into something else entirely and he conceded the song was hers now. The most complete act of reinterpretation in popular music.",
      "alsoOn": [
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "the-desk-the-hundred",
          "name": "The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/"
        }
      ],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Aretha%20Franklin%20Respect",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=A134hShx_gw",
          "exact": true
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "trackKey": "otis-redding--try-a-little-tenderness",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/otis-redding--try-a-little-tenderness/",
      "title": "Try a Little Tenderness",
      "artist": "Otis Redding",
      "artistUrl": "https://waxonia.com/artist/otis-redding/",
      "year": 1966,
      "label": "Volt",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "A 1932 ballad taken slowly for two minutes and then dismantled. Redding's final minute is the single best argument that soul is a technique for controlling release, not for avoiding it.",
      "alsoOn": [
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "the-desk-the-hundred",
          "name": "The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/"
        }
      ],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Otis%20Redding%20Try%20a%20Little%20Tenderness",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=pli44utBOwo",
          "exact": true
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "rank": 5,
      "trackKey": "james-brown--papas-got-a-brand-new-bag",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/james-brown--papas-got-a-brand-new-bag/",
      "title": "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag",
      "artist": "James Brown",
      "artistUrl": "https://waxonia.com/artist/james-brown/",
      "year": 1965,
      "label": "King",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "The hinge. Still recognisably a soul record, already audibly something else — two years from here the horn stabs stop serving the chords and start serving the drummer.",
      "alsoOn": [],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/James%20Brown%20Papa's%20Got%20a%20Brand%20New%20Bag",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=rnDEr9R0snU",
          "exact": true
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "rank": 6,
      "trackKey": "martha-and-the-vandellas--dancing-in-the-street",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/martha-and-the-vandellas--dancing-in-the-street/",
      "title": "Dancing in the Street",
      "artist": "Martha and the Vandellas",
      "artistUrl": "https://waxonia.com/artist/martha-and-the-vandellas/",
      "year": 1964,
      "label": "Gordy",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "A dance record that a summer of civil unrest turned into something the label never intended. Proof that Motown's assembly line was making ammunition without meaning to.",
      "alsoOn": [],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Martha%20and%20the%20Vandellas%20Dancing%20in%20the%20Street",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ilEVETwkNtw",
          "exact": true
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "rank": 7,
      "trackKey": "the-miracles--the-tracks-of-my-tears",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/the-miracles--the-tracks-of-my-tears/",
      "title": "The Tracks of My Tears",
      "artist": "The Miracles",
      "artistUrl": "https://waxonia.com/artist/the-miracles/",
      "year": 1965,
      "label": "Tamla",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "Smokey Robinson's writing at its most economical — one metaphor, held for three minutes and never over-explained. Dylan reportedly called him America's greatest living poet, and this is the exhibit.",
      "alsoOn": [
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "sung-to-someone",
          "name": "Sung to Someone",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/theme/sung-to-someone/"
        }
      ],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Miracles%20The%20Tracks%20of%20My%20Tears",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=rNS6D4hSQdA",
          "exact": true
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "rank": 8,
      "trackKey": "sam-and-dave--soul-man",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/sam-and-dave--soul-man/",
      "title": "Soul Man",
      "artist": "Sam & Dave",
      "artistUrl": "https://waxonia.com/artist/sam-and-dave/",
      "year": 1967,
      "label": "Stax",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "Booker T. and the M.G.'s playing with almost aggressive restraint while two men trade lines over the top. The Memphis answer to Detroit: less orchestration, considerably more room.",
      "alsoOn": [],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Sam%20%26%20Dave%20Soul%20Man",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=sbXw4EFioRI",
          "exact": true
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "rank": 9,
      "trackKey": "curtis-mayfield--move-on-up",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/curtis-mayfield--move-on-up/",
      "title": "Move On Up",
      "artist": "Curtis Mayfield",
      "artistUrl": "https://waxonia.com/artist/curtis-mayfield/",
      "year": 1970,
      "label": "Curtom",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "Nine minutes of unbroken forward motion, congas and a horn line that never lets up. Mayfield's optimism is the harder thing to write, and this is the most durable example of it.",
      "alsoOn": [
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "the-desk-one-subject",
          "name": "The Waxonia Desk — One Subject",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-one-subject/"
        },
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "the-desk-the-hundred",
          "name": "The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/"
        }
      ],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Curtis%20Mayfield%20Move%20On%20Up",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=A9RMr9KuVZo",
          "exact": true
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "rank": 10,
      "trackKey": "bill-withers--aint-no-sunshine",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/bill-withers--aint-no-sunshine/",
      "title": "Ain't No Sunshine",
      "artist": "Bill Withers",
      "artistUrl": "https://waxonia.com/artist/bill-withers/",
      "year": 1971,
      "label": "Sussex",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "Two minutes, one chord change and twenty-six repetitions of \"I know\" because Withers had not finished the verse and was told to leave it. The accident is the best part of the record.",
      "alsoOn": [],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Bill%20Withers%20Ain't%20No%20Sunshine",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=YuKfiH0Scao",
          "exact": true
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}