Soul music was born from the tree of R&B, and peaked in its popularity in the mid 70s. emerged in the late 50’s off the heels of gospel influence. The elements of the genre include the rhythm of R&B yet the dramatized vocal stylings of gospel music, yet soul is about romance and social commentary. Soul at many times became a vehicle for social activism as when it wasn’t exploring romance it was still exploring human relationships in the larger context of the world. The genre was prevalent at a time where there was much chaos, surrounding the modern Cilvil Rights Movement, within the community at large about where the direction of our country was headed. Soul music was a direct manifestation of that. James Brown is the most influential Soul artist of our time, laying the foundation for an entire generation of performers to follow in his footsteps. James Brown was an international success, putting the Soul music on the map in a way only he could. Soul music was another genre the record companies took no liberties in exploiting the lucrative nature of. Soul music was selling at a rate that the second companies couldn’t have even predicted, and by the early 70s it became not only a genre but an aesthetic, and a way of life. Shows like Soul Train were a direct result of the magnitude of Soul music. Soul was a direct line to the emergence of funk music, which took the more grittier side of Soul music. Soul laid the groundwork for Funk music, giving it a chance to fill a certain void created by Soul. All in all Soul music to be is one of my favorites because of the quality of performer it produced in its time, they just don’t make them quite like that anymore. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vruy2GRUsV8[/embedyt]