Saturday, 4 May 2013

Enjoying The Memphis Soul Songs

By Alison Wilcox


Soul music is one of the most popular genres of music. A fact that many people do not know is that there are many different types of this music that comes from different areas. Each area has their own distinct sound that differentiates from others. Memphis soul songs come from the unique sound that was created in the area.

The music was most popular in the 60s and 70s. Disco music came out in the late 70s and took over mainstream music. Memphis music still had enough followers to continue its success but nothing like it once was. The success of the artists has made lots of them Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.

Although most people who like this type of music will usually enjoy all soul music, they usually have a preference with one style over others. Besides the Memphis sound, rivals included Philadelphia, Chicago, Northern and Southern soul. All genres have had there share of success producing music and legendary artists.

There are so many artists that have come out of Tennessee. Some of these artists include Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, Issac Hayes and the reverend Al Green. The best way to describe this music is lots of horns, organs and drum beats. Even though Al Green's music was later re-released under the Motown sound, he was originally an artists who came out of the Tennessee area.

Successful hits to come out of these artists include "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay", "Midnight Hour", "Soul Man" and "Shaft" to name a few. Many of these songs are still popular today and listened to by people of all generations. Their is even a museum that honors all of the music that these artists have made.

Otis Redding's "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" was one of the biggest hits in the country when it was released. It was a song that was meant to be as there was nobody who supported it. Nobody wanted Otis to release it because they did not think it would be good for his career. They even told him that it didn't sound like R&B music. Despite all of this, it was Redding's favorite song that he had made, and he released it anyways. The rest is history. The whistling in the song made in really unique from other songs.

Wilson Picket created many hit songs and is most known for his hit song "Midnight Hour". He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Wilson would later write hits for artists of different genres such as Led Zeppelin, Van Halen and Aerosmith. Issac Hayes also had many hits, but there was no hit as famous as his "Shaft" song.

The Memphis soul songs will live on forever. Especially since there is a museum that was created for them to honor their works. The Stax Museum not only honors locals talents, it honors many other artists that contributed to great music. These artists will always be remembered for their creativity and entertainment that they brought to all of their fans.




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