Racial Considerations
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Racial Considerations
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Many purists believe that there there is a racial component to soul in that it can only be performed by Black Artists. Whist it is patently true that the roots of soul lie in Black America such an assertion is clearly ludicrous. If it were true then listeners would be able to identify Dean Parish, Bobby Paris, Chris Clarke and Doni Burdick as being white by listening to their singing. Without knowing otherwise however I am sure that most people would guess that they were black. A racial argument when applied to soul music has too many contradictions to be ignored. When a white artist covers a soul classic does this mean that the song is no longer soul? Conversely if a black artist covers a pop number does the pop music suddenly become Soul? It may well be that the Soul is not always in the lyric, but in the way it is handled. A classic example is the traditional folk song, "Where have all the flowers gone?" which in the hands of Walter Jackson it is given a treatment which is clearly soulful. Soul is not always inherent in the lyrics, but often comes from the way those lyrics are managed. If the colour of the singer does not matter, then what about the producer? I have often questioned whether Ian Levine's productions are 'soul' or not. In Ian's case it is not his whiteness I object to, but his heritage. Dean Parish, Bobby Paris, Chris Clarke and Doni Burdick may all be white, but they are also relatively disadvantaged and grew up in America alongside black soul singers. They shared the experience from which Soul is derived. Ian Levine by contrast is English and the son of a Millionaire. Whilst I can accept that pain and suffering is not exclusive to the poor the rich do not endure the day to day drudgery of having to make ends meet. For me it is Ian's experience not his colour which makes him unsuited to producing soul. This does not mean his music is bad, indeed much of it is very pleasant, but for me it is 'Disco' as opposed to Soul. The classics he has given the 'Motorcity' treatment to are unquestionably good for dancing but have lost many of their soulful qualities. Soul Music will always be predominantly black, but there will inevitably be rare white musicians who are truly soulful. In these cases the music should be judged on its own merits and not the skin colour of the people who made it. If discrimination against blacks is wrong then discrimination against whites is equally unacceptable. |
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Why Not visit the Authors other Website, 'The Alternative Blackpool Website' at http://www.localdial.com/users/jsyedu133/bpool This Site Last Updated 18/05/05
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