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One who did not diminish the power of R&B lyrics, or the music itself, was [[Elvis Presley]], whose remarkable covers of songs written by black artists, starting in July of 1954 with Arthur Crudup's "That's all right, Mama", and continuing thru 1955 with Roy Brown's "Good Rocking Tonight", Kokomo Arnold's "Milkcow Blues Boogie" and his last single for the SUN label, Junior Parker's "Mystery Train", were the first to be relayed on a truly massive scale, first regionally and then nationally, the latter especially after his move to RCA, in November of 1955, when his entire SUN catalog was purchased by his new label, and re-packaged for early 1956 release.
One who did not diminish the power of R&B lyrics, or the music itself, was [[Elvis Presley]], whose remarkable covers of songs written by black artists, starting in July of 1954 with Arthur Crudup's "That's all right, Mama", and continuing thru 1955 with Roy Brown's "Good Rocking Tonight", Kokomo Arnold's "Milkcow Blues Boogie" and his last single for the SUN label, Junior Parker's "Mystery Train", were the first to be relayed on a truly massive scale, first regionally and then nationally, the latter especially after his move to RCA, in November of 1955, when his entire SUN catalog was purchased by his new label, and re-packaged for early 1956 release.


In 1956, this time on prime-time television, his all-out, no-holds barred performances of some of R&B's most well-known compositions, including Jesse Stone's "Shake, Rattle and Roll", Big Joe Turner's "Flip, Flop and Fly", Ray Charles' "I got a woman", Arthur Gunter's "Baby, let's play house" and Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" (at CBS-TV's "Stage Show, hosted by Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey), and "Ready Teddy" (at "The Ed Sullivan Show", also on CBS), drew cumulative ratings in excess of 200 million TV-viewers in 1956 alone, as per the TRENDEX ratings then available. Ratings for his only TV appearance in 1957, which incidentally marked the sole time he was filmed above the waist, reached 60 million viewers, as he drew on both his Black Gospel and R&B influences when delivering Thomas Dorsey's "Peace in the Valley" and, as part of a medley of his 1956 hits, his massive R&B-rooted hit, the Otis Blackwell composition "Don't be cruel", on what became his third, and last ever appearance on "The "Ed Sullivan Show".
In 1956, this time on prime-time television, his all-out, no-holds barred performances of some of R&B's most well-known compositions, including Jesse Stone's "Shake, Rattle and Roll", Big Joe Turner's "Flip, Flop and Fly", Ray Charles' "I got a woman", Arthur Gunter's "Baby, let's play house" and Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" (at CBS-TV's "Stage Show, hosted by Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey), and "Ready Teddy" (at "The Ed Sullivan Show", also on CBS), drew cumulative ratings in excess of 200 million TV-viewers in 1956 alone, as per the TRENDEX ratings then available. Ratings for his only TV appearance in 1957, at "The Ed Sullivan Show" which incidentally marked the sole time he was filmed above the waist, reached 60 million viewers, as he drew on both his Black Gospel and R&B influences when delivering Thomas Dorsey's "Peace in the Valley" and, as part of a medley of his 1956 hits, his massive R&B-rooted hit, the Otis Blackwell composition "Don't be cruel".


Presley also sang "Hound Dog" (a former number 1 record in the Billboard R&B chart for Blues artist Big Mama Thornton), on both ABC-TV's "The Steve Allen Show", and on all three of his apperances at the aforementioned "The "Ed Sullivan Show", but not before premiering the song on NBC-TV's "The Milton Berle Show", his delivery during this particular presentation causing such furor and controversy that over 800,000 protest letters were received by the network, and by Steve Allen himself, in the week that followed. Although the song is associated with R&B, it was written by Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber, themselves an early, yet quite typical example of white musicians in the "blue-eyed soul" category.
Presley also sang "Hound Dog" (a former number 1 record in the Billboard R&B chart for Blues artist Big Mama Thornton), on both ABC-TV's "The Steve Allen Show", and on all three of his appearances at "The Sullivan Show", but not before premiering the song on NBC-TV's "The Milton Berle Show", his delivery during this particular presentation causing such furor and controversy that over 800,000 protest letters were received by the network, and by Steve Allen himself, in the week that followed. Although the song is associated with R&B, it was written by Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber, themselves an early, yet quite typical example of white musicians in the "blue-eyed soul" category.


In the early 1960s, one of the rare female blue-eyed soul singers was [[Timi Yuro]], whom many assumed to be black. By the mid-1960s, British vocalists [[Dusty Springfield]] and [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]] became major catalysts for emerging soul musicians in Europe.<ref name=musicianguide>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608000465/Dusty-Springfield.html|title=Dusty Springfield Biography. The musicianguide.com site}}</ref> The regional [[beach music]] and [[carolina shag|shag music]] trends in the areas around North and South Carolina in the late 1950s and 1960s are, at least partly, a manifestation of blue-eyed soul. Local white bands backed nationally popular black R&B artists at their road gigs, and performed on their own at fraternity parties and other college social events. The widespread popularity of the Carolina shag enabled many bands to keep their careers into the 2000s. According to "beach band" historian Greg Haynes, national artists such as [[Bonnie Bramlett]] and [[The Allman Brothers]] (as The Escorts) began their careers on this same college "kegger" circuit. Bill Deal and The Rhondells and [[The Swinging Medallions]] are beach bands which have charted nationally.
In the early 1960s, one of the rare female blue-eyed soul singers was [[Timi Yuro]], whom many assumed to be black. By the mid-1960s, British vocalists [[Dusty Springfield]] and [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]] became major catalysts for emerging soul musicians in Europe.<ref name=musicianguide>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608000465/Dusty-Springfield.html|title=Dusty Springfield Biography. The musicianguide.com site}}</ref> The regional [[beach music]] and [[carolina shag|shag music]] trends in the areas around North and South Carolina in the late 1950s and 1960s are, at least partly, a manifestation of blue-eyed soul. Local white bands backed nationally popular black R&B artists at their road gigs, and performed on their own at fraternity parties and other college social events. The widespread popularity of the Carolina shag enabled many bands to keep their careers into the 2000s. According to "beach band" historian Greg Haynes, national artists such as [[Bonnie Bramlett]] and [[The Allman Brothers]] (as The Escorts) began their careers on this same college "kegger" circuit. Bill Deal and The Rhondells and [[The Swinging Medallions]] are beach bands which have charted nationally.

Revision as of 22:14, 21 February 2008

Blue-eyed soul (also known as white soul) is a term used to describe R&B or soul music performed by white artists.

The term doesn't refer to a distinct style of music, and the meaning of blue-eyed soul has evolved over decades. Originally the term was associated with mid-1960s white artists who performed soul and rhythm and blues music that was similar to the raw, expressive music of the Motown and Stax record labels. Many blue-eyed soul singers have been described as sounding black because they had a full voice with a throaty, resonant timbre. The term continued to be used in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly by the British to describe a new generation of singers who adopted elements of the classic Stax Records and Motown sounds. To a lesser extent, the term has been applied to singers in other music genres that are influenced by soul music (such as dirty pop, urban music, and hip-hop soul).

1960s and 1970s

Blue-eyed soul began when white musicians from the southern United States remade black music to play for mass audiences, due to segregation laws that prevented blacks from performing for whites. Often the music was diluted for its new audience, a move that angered many African-Americans.

One who did not diminish the power of R&B lyrics, or the music itself, was Elvis Presley, whose remarkable covers of songs written by black artists, starting in July of 1954 with Arthur Crudup's "That's all right, Mama", and continuing thru 1955 with Roy Brown's "Good Rocking Tonight", Kokomo Arnold's "Milkcow Blues Boogie" and his last single for the SUN label, Junior Parker's "Mystery Train", were the first to be relayed on a truly massive scale, first regionally and then nationally, the latter especially after his move to RCA, in November of 1955, when his entire SUN catalog was purchased by his new label, and re-packaged for early 1956 release.

In 1956, this time on prime-time television, his all-out, no-holds barred performances of some of R&B's most well-known compositions, including Jesse Stone's "Shake, Rattle and Roll", Big Joe Turner's "Flip, Flop and Fly", Ray Charles' "I got a woman", Arthur Gunter's "Baby, let's play house" and Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" (at CBS-TV's "Stage Show, hosted by Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey), and "Ready Teddy" (at "The Ed Sullivan Show", also on CBS), drew cumulative ratings in excess of 200 million TV-viewers in 1956 alone, as per the TRENDEX ratings then available. Ratings for his only TV appearance in 1957, at "The Ed Sullivan Show" which incidentally marked the sole time he was filmed above the waist, reached 60 million viewers, as he drew on both his Black Gospel and R&B influences when delivering Thomas Dorsey's "Peace in the Valley" and, as part of a medley of his 1956 hits, his massive R&B-rooted hit, the Otis Blackwell composition "Don't be cruel".

Presley also sang "Hound Dog" (a former number 1 record in the Billboard R&B chart for Blues artist Big Mama Thornton), on both ABC-TV's "The Steve Allen Show", and on all three of his appearances at "The Sullivan Show", but not before premiering the song on NBC-TV's "The Milton Berle Show", his delivery during this particular presentation causing such furor and controversy that over 800,000 protest letters were received by the network, and by Steve Allen himself, in the week that followed. Although the song is associated with R&B, it was written by Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber, themselves an early, yet quite typical example of white musicians in the "blue-eyed soul" category.

In the early 1960s, one of the rare female blue-eyed soul singers was Timi Yuro, whom many assumed to be black. By the mid-1960s, British vocalists Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones became major catalysts for emerging soul musicians in Europe.[1] The regional beach music and shag music trends in the areas around North and South Carolina in the late 1950s and 1960s are, at least partly, a manifestation of blue-eyed soul. Local white bands backed nationally popular black R&B artists at their road gigs, and performed on their own at fraternity parties and other college social events. The widespread popularity of the Carolina shag enabled many bands to keep their careers into the 2000s. According to "beach band" historian Greg Haynes, national artists such as Bonnie Bramlett and The Allman Brothers (as The Escorts) began their careers on this same college "kegger" circuit. Bill Deal and The Rhondells and The Swinging Medallions are beach bands which have charted nationally.

The terms "blue-eyed soul" and "white soul" were first used in the 1960s to describe white singers whose style was heavily influenced by soul and rhythm and blues. Blue-eyed soul artists in the 1960s included: The Righteous Brothers, The Rascals, Steve Marriott, Eric Burdon, Dusty Springfield, Lonnie Mack, Van Morrison, Tom Jones, The Box Tops, Mitch Ryder, Tony Joe White and Roy Head. Jerry Lee Lewis, whose latter days at Sun Records (1961-63) had been characterized by R&B covers, recorded an album for Smash entitled Soul My Way in 1967, immediately prior to his successful switch to mainstream country. In some cases (most notably The Flaming Ember, Lonnie Mack and The Rascals), the artists initially "passed" as black singers on the radio - deliberately in many cases, to avoid alienating receptive black radio audiences. Georgie Woods, an air personality with WDAS, Philadelphia, came up with the term "blue-eyed soul" to describe white artists receiving airplay on R&B radio stations. Delaney and Bonnie (Bramlett) produced the classic "blue-eyed soul" album Home on Stax in 1969. [1]

In the 1970s, soul music flourished, and artists such as Richard Rudolph helped pave the way for what is known as blue-eyed soul. Notable artists at this time included Todd Rundgren, Hall & Oates, Elton John, David Bowie, Van Morrison, Bobby Caldwell, Boz Scaggs, and Michael McDonald. Tower of Power were the first white act to appear on the soul music show Soul Train, on February 1, 1975. Elton John appeared on the May 17 episode. A notable album of this time is Hall & Oates' Silver Album (real title Daryl Hall & John Oates) (1975), which includes the classic ballad "Sara Smile" (long considered a blue-eyed soul standard), "Camellia", "Alone Too Long", "Out Of Me Out of You" and the funk love song "Nothing At All".

1980s and later

In the 1980s, blue-eyed soul hits were released by artists such as Hall & Oates ("Private Eyes"), Rick Astley ("Together Forever"), and Steve Winwood ("Roll With It"). Boy George, although not having the "black voice", was considered a blue-eyed soul artist because much of the music of Culture Club fit in the genre of R&B. Another 80s British invasion artist, Annie Lennox, of Eurythmics fame, was often cited as possessing "soul" and went on to record the female empowerment anthem "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" with Aretha Franklin. In the late 90s, music video channel VH1 would proclaim Lennox to be the greatest living female blue-eyed soul singer. Around the same time as Boy George and Annie Lennox's debuts, audiences were struck by the soulfulness of Teena Marie. While also celebrated as mainstream popular and rock stars, Hall & Oates' chart success was at its highest when their singles got heavy airplay on urban contemporary (black) radio, as was the case with "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)", "One on One", "Say It Isn't So", "Adult Education", "Out of Touch", "Method of Modern Love" and "Everything Your Heart Desires". Most of those singles charted high or at number-one on the R&B and dance charts. A backlash ensued in the late 1980s as some African-Americans felt that whites were cashing in on the new popularity of their music. This backlash was so strong that in 1990 Ebony Magazine ran an article deriding whites singing black music. At the top of their list was a young Mariah Carey (who is in fact multiracial) and Céline Dion, who, while having a powerful voice, has built a career in the mainstream popular and adult contemporary genres and is not usually considered a blue-eyed soul artist.

Later artists who have been labelled blue-eyed soul include Christina Aguilera, Jon B., Remy Shand, Joss Stone, American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, Marc Broussard, Nikka Costa and Anastacia. Robin Thicke gained some notoriety after his single "Lost Without U" became the first by a white male artist to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart since George Michael's "One More Try" (1988).

Notable artists

1960s and 1970s

1980s and later

United States

United Kingdom

Poland

Australia

References

  1. ^ "Dusty Springfield Biography. The musicianguide.com site".

External links

References

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