Soul Snaps

This section of the website is devoted to significant book quotations, not quotations which help define soul, but quotations that may help to explain any other aspect of the music, its history or its social significance. The source of the quotation will always be acknowledged and sometimes I may include a comment of my own to explain why I think the quotation is particularly important.

1. ""Dancing In The Street" derived much of its force from subtle references to the Civil Rights struggle. Lyrics like "This is an invitation across the nation, a chance for folks to meet", "Are you ready for a brand new beat?" and "Let's form a big strong line" seemed like wily double entedres, while that martial beat and whip-crack snare seemed to imitate the tramping of a million feet marching to the Capitol."

Comment: I had been aware for some time that 'Dancing In The Street' was considered a Civil Rights song, but for the life of me I had never understood why. To me it was a dance record, pure and simple. I am grateful to Peter Shapiro for explaining the subtleties behind this record. It does beg the question whether Berry Gordy also missed them given what is often perceived to be Motown Policy at the time.

2. "Motown had spent all of its history papering over the cracks of racial strife, creating a fantasy world where blacks and whites listened, danced made out and broke up to the same music. When Gaye and Wonder demanded creative control of their records, they wanted to articulate a vision that was light years away from Berry Gordy's crossover Eden of Deportment lessons and smiling faces. In the face of race riots, Civil Rights legislation falling short of its promises, and the innovations of Sly Stone, Wonder wanted to sing, "This place is cruel, nowhere could be much colder/If we don't change, the world will soon be over.""

Comment: This quotation is not only significant because it once again draws attention to the fact Motown Policy seemed to be ignoring Civil right's issues (which again makes one wonder whether Berry Gordy appreciated the subtle message of "Dancing In The Street"), but also because it draws attention to the realism that genuine soul music needs. Both Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye hat to fight for artistic freedom so that they could sing 'message' songs and not be hampered by Motown's 'fantasy world'.

3. "No matter how much the radio stations were shoving Rhythm and Blues back in the corner, I still believed and I believe today in the permanent value and staying power of soul music. Soul Music is cultural, and it should forever be enshrined as one of the world's greatest forms of music. It is a people, a nation, and it is the rhythm of our lives and loves and losses and wins, our hopes and dreams and passions on parade. Like jazz and gospel, it is a musical strain that will live forever because it is born out of real emotions and people's experiences. R&B isn't a fad; it's the truth."

Comment: Aretha clearly explains how soul is a part, not only of hers, but every other Afro-American's heritage. The comment was made in reaction to 'Disco' music's dominance of the airwaves at the expense of soul. Whether her prediction on the longevity of soul music becomes a reality only time will tell.

4a."Nothing came closer to realising the Black Power movement's (often betrayed) ideal of 'unity without uniformity' than its response to the woman universally recognised as 'the Queen of Soul''.

P.120)

4b.'Chain of Fools' expresses the movements revolutionary determination.

(P.120)

4c. She created her most powerful music when her sense of connection to the black revolution was at its strongest.

(P.122)

4d. The five albums she released between 1970 and 1972 speak to the inner depths of what was happening in America with far greater accuracy than any political manifesto of the period.

(P.122)

4e. Aretha's use of politically charged gospel images both connects her with and underscores her difference from the black power movement.

(P.123)

All these quotes taken from 'A Change is Gonna Come' - Craig Werner

The above quotations all illustrate ways in which Soul Singers in general and Aretha Franklin in particular were used as powerful propoganda weapons in the fight against oppression. In fact Werner goes on to suggest that Aretha might even have been more important than Martin Luther King himself because, 'You'd hear Aretha three or four times an hour. You'd only hear King on the news'. (P.120) You have to admit, he's got a point.