 Soul and Tamla Motown
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The Supremes
The Tamla Motown "sound", epitomized by the Supremes, was described as "pop-soul"
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Soul music was so prevalent by the end of the '60s that the word itself took on a world of meaning for black America. "Black people identified themselves as soul brothers and soul sisters," says Nelson George, who has been writing about African-American music and culture for more than 30 years.
As the fervent optimism and vocal intensity of gospel joined with the secular energy of rhythm & blues, a powerful idiom emerged in which individual expression and the social activity of dance combined. The triumph of Soul music meant a lot, signifying a major shift in popular musical taste in America. Songs like Otis Redding's Respect -especially as performed by Aretha Franklin- or James Brown's Say It Loud took the music into a more political area.
Commercial confidence was vital, too, and no-one showed this better than Berry Gordy, Jr. His Motown company, formed in 1960 and based in Detroit, not only pioneered black ownership in the music business, but operated a system of in-house production which ensured that all stages of a record's life remained within the company's control.
The Tamla Motown "sound", epitomized by the Supremes and the Four Tops, was patronizingly described as "pop-soul"; Motown was too inventive, however, to be constrained as a mere hybrid of black music and white commerce. Soul music has grown and changed and kept up with the times. Today, it seems to be enjoying a revival.
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1960 - 1973
