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The inspiration for this article on British Soul comes from Chapter 9 of "The
Blackwell Guide to Soul Recordings" which is entitled "Great Britain and
the European Continent" and written by Geoff Brown. It is a chapter which
discusses the history of British Soul Music before considering the artists he feels were
most influential.
Brown identifies three reasons why Britain became the major catalyst for
emerging soul musicians in Europe. Surely no one would deny the fact that Britain
and America share a common language was the major contributory factor. Brown
believes that the second major reason was the fact that throughout the war Britain was the
only European Country to remain free from Nazi occupation. British independence
meant that many Black American servicemen were stationed in Britain to help fight fascism.
It was they who introduced many British people to R&B music for the first time
through the records they brought with them. Whilst our European counterparts were
having Wagner thrust down their eardrums we were being introduced to the music which would
eventually develop into soul. The third and final influence Brown identifies
is the number of Afro Caribbean workers who immigrated into Britain looking for work
after the war. Again they imported African culture into Britain on a scale not
experienced by the rest of Europe
The quality of this analysis is excellent and few would question the validity
of these arguments. Brown however goes on to say, "The British Experience
was so far removed from that of the African American that no matter how much they loved
the music, they did not have a learning process, like singing in a stomping Baptist choir,
to turn to. So it took years of awkward but diligent, hopeful, earnest, well meaning
imitation. Of course, African American Music revolutionised British popular music,
and lit the fuse of what later exploded into a highly profitable and dominant industry.
But it was some generations before British Soul came of age with a real, home-grown
sound and spirit of its own. Only in fact, since the 1980s have singers emerged who
do not sound thin and weedy besides their vocal role models"
Brown's point about experience in Britain is once again valid, but I would add that it was
not just the gospel choirs that form the roots of soul music but also Civil Rights, Social
Struggle and Vietnam which also played their part. Where our views must part company
however is his assertion that all British soul singers sounded "thin and weedy"
prior to the 1980's. The artists whose work he reviews includes; Geno Washington,
Heatwave, Donna Summer (a cheat because she was born in America), Linx, Soul 11 Soul, Eddy
Grant, Hot Chocolate, Billy Ocean, Biddu, Real Thing, Average White Band, Bloodstone,
Light Of The world, Junior Giscombe (who I have never heard of), Level 42,
Imagination, Five Star, Loose Ends (never heard of them either), The Chimes, and several
more unknowns such as Lavine Hudson, UK Blak, Young Disciples, Black Box and Paul
Johnson.
Considering we are supposed to be the European Leaders in soul music this is an
embarrasingly motley collection of artists. Just how bad must soul music from the
rest of Europe be? Eddy Grant I would suggest is more of a reggae artist,
Heatwave, Donna Summer, Linx, Imagination are disco artists, whilst Hot Chocolate is
clearly fixed within the pop field. The best of the bunch are
undoubtedly Average White Band, but, and it is a big but, why has Geoff Brown left out
Dusty Springfield? I cannot believe a respected soul journalist could make an
omission of this magnitude. In my view she is the greatest soul artist Britain has
ever produced, she performed prior to 1980 and was clearly a singer who was not "thin
and weedy" compared to anyone. To miss out Dusty Springfield is like missing
out Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding or Marvin Gaye in a history of American soul.
There are several reasons why Dusty is so important to Soul music. Firstly she was the
highest profile and greatest ambassador for soul. She did everything she could to
promote it and was responsible for hosting the first performances of Motown artists on
British television. It was not just the high profile stars she promoted either.
She chose to make cover versions of records by many lesser known
singers including, Susan Barrett, Rita Wright, Tommy Hunt, Jimmy Radcliffe, Garnett Mimms
and Baby Washington to name but a few. Now I am well aware of one Black American
luminary who would describe this as "cultural banditry", but he is clearly
missing the point. Dusty may have profited from singing American Soul Songs, but she
brought Europe a whole new awareness of the music that existed on the other side of the
Atlantic. She aroused a curiosity and started a trail that led many to discovering the
joys of Black American music in their original form. She may be the only White
British Artist who was capable of improving on a black American original. Who would
doubt that her version of "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" is
infinitely superior to Tommy Hunt's original??
Dusty Springfield did not just take from American soul music she also added and
contributed to it. The reason she was so successful was that she never tried to copy
the delivery of the Black Soul artist but took the songs and delivered them in her own
personal style, with a very English enunciation and approach. It was the English
copyists who tried to sound authentically black who fell on stony ground and ended up
sounding "thin and weedy". I am not the only one who thought so because
Jerry Wexler believed her to be so soulful that he took her to America's deep south to
work with their soul musicians to cut the legendary "Dusty in Memphis" album.
It was there that she achieved the pinnacle of her soul career with "Son
of a Preacher Man". Not a cover of anybody else's work, but a new and original
piece that is now standard fare for soul artists of all colour and from either side of the
Atlantic. Cliff Richard was wholly perceptive when he dubbed her "The White
Negress".
Britain may be the most soulful country in Europe, but it will never be able to
compete on a grand scale with American contemporaries. None the less we have
produced some great talent, and we must never allow our achievements to be trivialised.
Before publishing this article on the web I released an initial
draught to the Southernsoul Internet group for discussion. The following are a
sample of the responses I received. If they made an interesting contribution I have
included it here irrespective of whether the authors agreed with me or not.
This one comes from Nicci Talbot
John - All in all I think that British soul artists have had the same
problem as British reggae artists - fan snobbery. I read an interview with
Mica Paris early in her career where she complained that people weren't
prepared to accept her as she was British - if you weren't from the US you
weren't considered the 'real deal'....there have been quite a few very
talented female soul singers...such as Jackie Graham and Ruby Turner who
were ignored by the record buying public and soul fans alike.
As for Geoff Brown's list, Geno Washington was also an American so I guess
he is a cheat too! Donna Summer may have become famous as a disco diva but
she came from gospel roots. I saw a documentary on her a while back where
she demonstrated her singing skills on a couple of gospel numbers...she has
a great voice.
One singer that should have been included is Jimmy James - originally from
the Caribbean - but renowned on the 60's British soul circuit. There was a
fairly tacky recent show of his a while back on cable...but through it all
his voice was still intact and he did some very good versions of soul
classics. His voice certainly couldn't be considered 'weedy'! Billy Ocean
had a good voice but was recording at a time when catchy pop tunes were the
order of the day - it's a shame because I thought it was a waste of his
vocal talents.
Looking through the majority of the more recent names Brown selected, they
are ones who were seen as home-grown black talent who were creating a sound
and 'feel' of their own. In the 80's and early 90's there was a period in
which a group of Afro Caribbean and Asian artists hit it big on the dance
scene - the difference between these artists and their predecessors was that
they wrote their own numbers and quite often produced them too. I think
it's a bit unfair to lump Linx in with disco...it wasn't deep soul, but
David Grant (?) was a good songwriter and they wrote some inventive dance
numbers, as did Junior Giscombe.
Loose Ends were part of the smooth, sophisticated 80's soul scene, much
championed by Kiss FM when they were a pirate station. Their big hit was
Hanging on a String...a song I still have a soft spot for!
The Young Disciples were fronted by Carleen Anderson...Vicki Anderson's
daughter...who was going to be the next big thing, but sadly her solo album
didn't live up to expectations, despite her vocal skills.
And as for Dusty in Memphis, if you search through the archives you'll find
several debates about her singing talents and Dusty in Memphis! You will
also find several discussions on Tom Jones, who I still think could have
passed as a soul singer....
This one is from Clive Richardson
I would argue against many of Geoff B's points regarding the acceptance of
soul music in the UK, and focus upon (lack of) radio/broadcast exposure,
notwithstanding the obvious sociological elements.
My main reason for responding is, however, the inclusion of Bloodstone as
'British' soul. Very much a US group (originally from Kansas City, I believe)- just that
Brit Mike Vernon took them under his wing and signed them to Uk Decca. They
were my first experience of hearing a black soul harmony group when John
Abbey booked them for a Blues & Soul-promoted concert at Finsbury Park
Astoria, around the same time as Jackie Wilson made his UK debut. Pure
magic.
This one comes from the Soul Diva Bettye Lavette
On my assertion that no one could think Tommy Hunt's "I just don't know what to do
with myself she says
"Now John. You KNOW who would."
On my comment that Dusty Springfield didn't just take from American soul music but also
added and contributed to
it she says
"Oh BABY!!!
Dusty was a female singer I liked for one of the reason's you sighted. She
didn't really go out of her way to sound black.
But like Dr. John you tend to pick up the inflections and sometimes the
dialect of the people your hanging with.
As they BOTH did.
But as to bringing ANYTHING to the soul/black sound, PLEASE!!
As to taking something away. She took the same thing I feel Elvis, Tom Jones,
and other white artist took.
SALES that were denied to black artist singing "the real deal"
Through no fault of there own."
My comment that the reason she was so successful was that she never tried to
copy the delivery of the Black Soul artist, but sang the songs in an english
kind of way received the following observation
"In my opinion the reason she was so successful was because she sounded
soulful ...and she was white.
She didn't sing any better than Thelma Huston. I use her name as an example
of a hell of a black singer who had a big record and is still struggling.
It is my contention that if she sounded that good and were white she would be
bigger.
Madonna is no better than Donna Summer."
To my observation that those singers who tried to emulate the black singing
style were the ones that sounded "thin and weedy" Bettye says.
"Tom Jones doesn't"
On the suggestion that many found Dusty soulful bettye says
"I did too. But she sounded white to me.
Well, that's my social/musical comment for the day.
I can barely wait to meet you John. (lol)
B."
I hope so too B. Maybe next time you're in the UK
These comments come from Bill Sakovich
Here on the list, we just read the observation that Tom Jones and Dusty
Springfield *took* something from black music, but did not *give* anything
to it.
This brings to mind a couple of things.
Minor point first--I'm not sure if a musician is obliged give *anything* to
music other than their best performance, with the result of entertaining
people. Most musical development is a slow process of aggregation anyway.
Then there was the suggestion that they *took* something from it--as in
*taking something that should have belonged to someone else*.
For the moment, let's assume this is true for the sake of discussion.
If it's true, then it has to work in the other direction, too.
Now, I thought Tom Jones was an OK singer, whose material tended a little
too much toward pop for me, and I don't know much about Dusty Springfield.
But if they *took* something, then it would also have to mean:
1. That during his entire musical career Charlie Pride *took* something that
belonged to someone else.
2. That Johnny Mathis *took* something that belonged to someone else during
his career in the 50s and 60s, doing songs like "Chances Are".
3. That when Nat King Cole switched from jazz to doing things like "Those
Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer", he *took* something that belonged to
someone else.
You might object and say that Nat King Cole had one of the best voices
anybody ever had--and that would be true.
But so did Vic Damone.
So, it would seem to me that this kind of thing--if true--is a two-way
street.
Someone might mention that Pat Boone covered Little Richard songs in the 50s
to reach an audience that would be uncomfortable with Little Richard, so
Boone *took* something that should have been Little Richard's.
Of course, it wasn't as if Pat Boone didn't have a career otherwise. He had
a big seller with songs like "April Love", so he could have done fairly well
without a Little Richard cover.
But if Pat Boone was trying to reach an audience uncomfortable with Little
Richard, what was Solomon Burke doing just a couple years later covering
"Just Out of Reach", and other country songs? It wasn't as if Solomon Burke
didn't (or couldn't) have a career otherwise. Was he trying to broaden his
appeal?
I don't think so.
And to take it a few years down the road, the Kelly Brothers (of all people)
covered "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James and the Shondells (of all
people). Did the Kelly Brothers *take* something (or would they have, had it
been a hit)?
Or was it the case that the audience at the Apollo Theater would have been
glad to have Patsy Cline or Tommy James show up on a Saturday night to
perform these songs, but that the two artists decided to pass up the
opportunity to broaden their appeal?
The more I think about it, the more this two-way street is starting to look
like an interstate highway.
But why stop there? We can go really international.
Was Eric Clapton trying to *take* something that was Bob Marley's by
recording "I Shot The Sheriff"?
You could make the case that he was, but then you'd also have to explain why
Clapton's version of the song outsold Marley's *in Jamaica*.
I have on a CD a version of the Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down" recorded by
Charlotte Dada of Ghana in 1971. Her version of the song consists of her
vocal backed by musicians playing metal percussion instruments.
Did Charlotte Dada *take* something that belonged to Lennon and McCartney?
If not, why not? Was she filling a need for the audiences of Accra that the
Beatles couldn't?
I've mentioned before that I went to high school in Virginia Beach, Va.,
from 63-67. This was the heyday of Tom Jones (and southern soul, for that
matter). And this was the most time I've ever spent listening to AM radio.
If white artists were taking things from black artists at the time, I wonder
what it was. The Jan and Dean audience?
On the AM radio station rotation list in that part of the country for people
our age, there were two "white" stations and one exclusively "black"
station.
Except that the "white" stations weren't exclusively white. In retrospect, I
recall the playlist as being 30%-40% black music. For every song by the
Beatles, or every little tune by Bobby Vinton, they also played every big or
even semi-big song out of Motown, Stax, or songs recorded in Florence
Alabama. It's a wonder they fit them all in.
Some people might say that Motown geared itself to a white audience. Maybe
it did, but the Motown I remember pre-66 or so doesn't sound geared to a
white audience to me. And if it was geared to a white audience, why was it
that we would hear a Stevie Wonder song on a white station, and then change
the station to the black station, and hear the identical Stevie Wonder song?
How was it that this happened *all the time*?
And if these white stations were just playing music geared to white
teenagers, how come they played Slim Harpo songs? Hey, I *heard* them,
followed by the Beach Boys. How come they actually gave air time to Percy
Sledge doing "Out of Left Field"? People around in those days will remember
that everybody was making a big deal about lyrics in youth music. Would that
mean we were just listening to the beat and ignoring the lyrics to Funky
Broadway? We couldn't tell that Wilson Pickett was a black man?
And how would that explain those white stations playing the grooves off of
"Soul Man", by Sam and Dave?
And if they followed that up on the playlist with a Tom Jones number--as
they did--what was it again that Tom Jones was taking?
And it wasn't just the 60s. Do you remember that song by Bobby Caldwell in
the late 70s called "What You Won't Do For Love"? When they came out with
the LP, did they hide his face on the cover and put him in silhouette
because they thought it was artistically cool?
I think this subject is a lot more complicated than some people suspect. For
every example on the one side, there's a counter example on the other.
I don't think that Tom Jones cut into Otis Redding's record sales any more
than Charlie Pride cut into Merle Haggard's.
From JohnsoulSmith
This is probably more than you need to know BUT for the (possible)
edification of (mainly) our US listies.............
Back in the 60's there were at least 5 categories of UK recording
artists who cut soul songs.
1/ Those who genuinely loved the music (Dusty, Lulu, Georgie Fame,
Animals etc.). These artists (as already stated, wanted to make the
UK puplic aware of the originals). Indeed, Georgie Fame cut covers
of recent US soul hits he loved TO BE INCLUDED on his next album.
When his record label (seeing the original soul version hadn't been
gotten UK radio plays & therefore hadn't sold) saw the chance, they
would put these tracks out on 45 ("Sitting In The Park", etc). He was
so upset he told them he would not record again unless they stopped
this practice.
2/ US & Carib artists over here at the time, going with what they knew
they could do & that there was a market here for. Thus we got Geno
Washington, R.B. Greaves (Sonny Childe) from the US and Jimmy
Cliffe (he sang soul in the 60's) & Jimmy James, Joyce Bond, etc from
the Caribbean.
Jimmy J cut his 1st tracks while still in Jamaica and then re-cut some
of these songs in the UK. His great love of Chicago soul led him to add
strings, etc. to his own songs to make em sound more Windy C-ish.
3/ The 60's equivalent of Boy Bands i.e. Love Affair. These were young
lads who looked pretty & had just been signed to a record contract.
Standard practice then was for only the lead singer to be in on their
recording sessions (the others there being session musicians/singers)
Their producer would just scan that weeks US Billboard Pop chart, see
a rising soul cut (they knew this was unlikely to get radio plays here) &
run off a very quick note for note cover & rush it out.
4/ Established artists who needed a hit & who didn't write themselves
or have access to good writers... Scan the US chart, buy every record
climbin the charts, listen to which suited their style, water the original
down (if it was a soul track) & put it out. This stategy was 1st fall back
if there were no 'spare' Beatles LP only songs around at the time (much
the same course of action that some US based soul artists did when
a new Motown major-artist LP was released, check the then non-single
cuts & do a cover of one of em).
5/ Bands going with the flow to get a start in the biz. In the mid 60's to
get noticed most groups had to do mainly covers of soul songs live.
Their popularity doing these, would get them a record contract. They
would then either do soul covers or adopt a style of their own. Thus the
Move were signed up on the strength of their popularity when singing
"Open The Door To Your Heart" (a song originally cut in Detroit by Miss
B's fave singer !!!!!!!!). As soon as soul was replaced by hippy/blues-rock
as the next big thing, just about all these groups ditched their mohair
suits & current name, act to re-invent themselves as a progressive
rock outfit.
ONLY A RARE FEW soul cuts broke out of the clubs (the most
popular ones) to make the pop chart. They would then instantly get
radio plays, reach a far wider audience and thus rocket in the charts
from say # 27 to # 4 in a week ("Harlem Shuffle", "Shotgun Wedding",
"Breakin Down The Walls of Hearbreak", "..Gonna Be A Houseparty",
"Rescue Me", "Stop Her On Sight", etc). It sometimes took years
for a cut to 'escape' from the clubs and thus the likes of the Tams,
Drifters and numerous Motown acts had UK pop chart hits years
after the cut had made the US charts (Tams; 71 against 64; Drifters;
72 against 65).
JRS
My thanks to all who have allowed me to extend the discussion by
their contributions
JP
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