Blue-eyed soul
Encyclopedia
Blue-eyed soul is a media term that was used to describe rhythm and blues
and soul music
performed by white
artists, with a strong pop music influence. The term was first used in the mid-1960s to describe white artists who performed soul and R&B that was similar to the music of the Motown and Stax
record label
s. The somewhat controversial term was coined during racial segregation in 1960s America at the time of the music genre's emergence in popular music culture.
The term continued to be used in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly by the British music press, to describe a new generation of white singers who adopted elements of classic soul music. To a lesser extent, the term has been applied to singers in other music genre
s that are influenced by soul music, such as urban music and hip-hop soul.
, but pleased others who felt the growth of their music genre
was positive.
The regional beach music
and Carolina shag
trends that originated in the areas around North and South Carolina in the late 1950s were, at least partly, a manifestation of blue-eyed soul. Local white bands backed nationally popular black R&B artists during their tours, and performed on their own at fraternity
parties and other college social events. According to beach band historian Greg Haynes, artists such as Bonnie Bramlett
and The Allman Brothers (originally known as The Allman Joys) began their careers on this circuit. Bill Deal and the Rhondels
and The Swinging Medallions are beach bands which have charted nationally.
Georgie Woods
, a Philadelphia radio DJ, came up with the term blue-eyed soul in the 1960s to describe white artists who received airplay on rhythm and blues
radio stations. In the early 1960s, one of the rare female blue-eyed soul singers was Timi Yuro
, whose vocal delivery and repertoire were influenced by African American singers such as Dinah Washington
. Perhaps one of the most famous duos to be associated with the term were The Righteous Brothers
, due to their emotive vocal style; their 1964 LP Some Blue-Eyed Soul was named after the term. Groups such as The Rascals
(originally The Young Rascals) had soul-tinged songs, but it was the soulful vocals of Felix Cavaliere
that gave them the blue-eyed soul sound. By the mid-1960s, British singers Dusty Springfield
, Eric Burdon
and Welshman Tom Jones
had become leading vocal stars of the emerging style. Other notable UK exponents of blue-eyed soul included The Spencer Davis Group (featuring singer-organist Steve Winwood
) and archetypal mod band The Small Faces
, whose sound was heavily influenced by the Stax label's house band Booker T & the MGs. Blue-eyed soul singer, Chris Clark became the first white singer to have an R&B hit with Motown Records in 1966. Most of the leading UK pop groups of the period – including The Beatles
, The Rolling Stones
, The Kinks
and The Who
– regularly covered Stax and Motown tracks on record or in concert, and all of them have acknowledged the influence of Motown and Stax artists on their music. In 1967, Jerry Lee Lewis
, whose latter days at Sun Records
(1961–1963) had been characterized by R&B covers, recorded an album for Smash entitled Soul My Way. Delaney and Bonnie (Bramlett) produced the blue-eyed soul album Home on Stax in 1969.
Michael Sembello
, who left home at 17 to tour with Stevie Wonder, wrote and performed on numerous blue-eyed soul hits for Wonder, Brian McKnight, David Sanborn
, Bill Champlin and Bobby Caldwell
. Todd Rundgren
began his career in Woody's Truck Stop, a group based on the model of the Paul Butterfield
Blues Band. He left the band to form the garage rock
band Nazz in 1967.
Outside the Anglo-American scene, in Italy
, Mina
and Carmen Villani
fused elements of soul music with the traditional Italian pop music. Carola and Doris
were notable Scandinavian artists who were influenced by soul music.
On 1 February 1975, Tower of Power
became the first white/mixed act to appear on Soul Train
. Also in 1975, David Bowie
, another early white artist to appear on Soul Train, released Young Americans
, a popular blue-eyed soul album. It featured the funk- inspired "Fame
", which became Bowie's first #1 hit in the US. Hall & Oates
' 1975 Silver Album (real title Daryl Hall & John Oates) includes the ballad "Sara Smile", long considered a blue-eyed soul standard, as well as "She's Gone", another soulful hit. Average White Band is a Scottish funk and R&B band who had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980, their biggest two being "Pick Up the Pieces" from their 1975 best-selling album AWB
, and "Cut The Cake" from their 1975 album of the same name
. Boz Scaggs
' 1976 "Lowdown
", which featured Scaggs' laid-back vocals and a smooth funky groove, peaked at #3 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart (and reaching Top 5 on the R&B chart). In April 1976, The Faragher Brothers
became the first all-white ensemble to make an appearance on Soul Train.
In 1978, The Bee Gees
topped R&B album charts with their Saturday Night Fever
soundtrack, along with several songs from the album, including "Stayin' Alive
", "Night Fever
", and "You Should Be Dancing
", which originally charted back in 1976. The Bee Gees again had a hit album on the R&B charts in 1979 with the Spirits Having Flown
album along with its three pop #1 singles, "Too Much Heaven
", "Tragedy
" and "Love You Inside Out
".
Other blue-eyed soul of the decade include the hits "How Long" by Ace (Paul Carrack, lead vocals), three hits by Ambrosia, "How Much I Feel", "Biggest Part of Me", and "You're the Only Woman", and Bobby Caldwell's soul standard "What You Won't Do (Do for Love)".
brought soul influences into his pop music, and was the first white solo artist to sing a duet with Aretha Franklin
, in their hit I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)
. Michael was the first white male vocalist to hit #1 on the US R&B album charts, with his debut album Faith
. His fourth single from the album, One More Try
, hit #1 in the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts. In 1989 he became the first white artist to win the American Music Award for Favourite Male Vocalist and Favourite Album (Faith) (Soul/R&B). Annie Lennox
, of the Eurythmics, was often cited as possessing "soul", and went on to record Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves
with Franklin. Around the same time, audiences were struck by the soulfulness of Teena Marie
, who exclusively wrote and performed R&B and funk, as well as Michael McDonald
, who is also frequently described as a 'blue-eyed soul' artist.
Hall & Oates
' chart success was at its highest when their singles got heavy airplay on urban contemporary
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 #1 on the R&B and dance charts. Simply Red
scored one of the most successful blue-eyed soul ballads of all time in 1986 with Holding Back the Years
.
Other blue-eyed soul hits of the 1980s include: Phil Collins
' cover version
of You Can't Hurry Love
, Culture Club
's Church of the Poison Mind
(1983), The Style Council
's Speak Like a Child
, (1983) Eurythmics
' Missionary Man
(1986), and Steve Winwood
's Roll With It
(1988). As the decade drew to a close, British artist Lisa Stansfield
had considerable success on R&B radio, scoring three #1 R&B hits, the most popular being All Around the World
.
A backlash ensued in the late 1980s as some black people felt that white people were cashing in on the popularity of their music. However, the extent of the backlash was not universally agreed upon. In 1989, Ebony Magazine published an article exploring whether white people were "taking over" R&B. The article featured various members of the music industry, both black and white, who believed collaboration was a unifying force, and there was agreement that the future of R&B was not compromised by the contemporary urban sound. A similar article in Ebony, written in 1999 highlighted conflicting opinions about the "blue-eyed" influence; however the source of contention was not about the artistic merit of blue-eyed soul, but rather the economic inequality that persisted in American life and within the music industry. In the late 1990s, artists such as Jon B.
, Jamiroquai
, and 98 Degrees
have continued the blue eyed soul movement.
In the 2000s, Amy Winehouse
, Joss Stone
, Duffy
, Natasha Bedingfield
and Adele
have enjoyed success in the American charts, leading to talk of a "Second British Invasion", "Female Invasion" or "British soul invasion". In 2007, soul artist Guy Sebastian
recorded The Memphis Album
, a tribute album of soul classics, with many of the original Stax Records
musicians, including Steve Cropper
, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Lester Snell and Steve Potts
. Other artists who are a part of the genre in the mid to late 2000s' have included Mayer Hawthorne
, Remy Shand
, Jamie Lidell
, Justin Timberlake
and Robin Thicke
, who enjoyed considerable success in the R&B charts with the 2007 hit Lost Without U
, and Sex Therapy
in 2009.
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
performed by white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
artists, with a strong pop music influence. The term was first used in the mid-1960s to describe white artists who performed soul and R&B that was similar to the music of the Motown and Stax
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s. The somewhat controversial term was coined during racial segregation in 1960s America at the time of the music genre's emergence in popular music culture.
The term continued to be used in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly by the British music press, to describe a new generation of white singers who adopted elements of classic soul music. To a lesser extent, the term has been applied to singers in other music genre
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
s that are influenced by soul music, such as urban music and hip-hop soul.
1960s and 1970s
Blue-eyed soul began when white musicians remade African American music for mass audiences. Often the music was diluted for its new audience, a move that angered some African Americans as cultural appropriationCultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. It describes acculturation or assimilation, but can imply a negative view towards acculturation from a minority culture by a dominant culture. It can include the introduction of forms of...
, but pleased others who felt the growth of their music genre
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
was positive.
The regional beach music
Beach music
Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, is a regional genre which developed from various musical styles of the forties, fifties and sixties. These styles ranged from big band swing instrumentals to the more raucous sounds of blues/jump blues, jazz, doo-wop, boogie, rhythm and blues,...
and Carolina shag
Carolina shag
Carolina Shag is a six-count partner dance done mostly to moderate tempo music . During the dance the upper body and hips hardly move as the legs do convoluted kicks and fancy footwork. The lead is the center of attention, and the follow's steps either mirror the lead's or mark time while the lead...
trends that originated in the areas around North and South Carolina in the late 1950s were, at least partly, a manifestation of blue-eyed soul. Local white bands backed nationally popular black R&B artists during their tours, and performed on their own at fraternity
Fraternity
A fraternity is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. An organization referred to as a fraternity may be a:*Secret society*Chivalric order*Benefit society*Friendly society*Social club*Trade union...
parties and other college social events. According to beach band historian Greg Haynes, artists such as Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Bramlett is an American singer and sometime actress known for her distinctive vocals in rock and pop music. This began in the mid 1960s as a backing singer, forming the husband-and-wife team of Delaney & Bonnie, and continuing to the present day as a solo artist.-Life and career:Bramlett...
and The Allman Brothers (originally known as The Allman Joys) began their careers on this circuit. Bill Deal and the Rhondels
Bill Deal and the Rhondels
Bill Deal & the Rhondels were formed in 1965 in Virginia Beach, crossing blue-eyed soul, Beach music and Horn rock. They had 3 hits in 1969, I've Been Hurt , What Kind Of Fool Do You Think I Am & May I Bill Deal & the Rhondels were formed in 1965 in Virginia Beach, crossing blue-eyed soul, Beach...
and The Swinging Medallions are beach bands which have charted nationally.
Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area....
, a Philadelphia radio DJ, came up with the term blue-eyed soul in the 1960s to describe white artists who received airplay on rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
radio stations. In the early 1960s, one of the rare female blue-eyed soul singers was Timi Yuro
Timi Yuro
Timi Yuro was an American soul and R&B singer. She is considered to be one of the first blue-eyed soul stylists of the rock era.-Early years:...
, whose vocal delivery and repertoire were influenced by African American singers such as Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones , was an American blues, R&B and jazz singer. She has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s", and called "The Queen of the Blues"...
. Perhaps one of the most famous duos to be associated with the term were The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers were the musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They recorded from 1963 through 1975, and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003...
, due to their emotive vocal style; their 1964 LP Some Blue-Eyed Soul was named after the term. Groups such as The Rascals
The Rascals
The Rascals were an American blue-eyed soul group initially active during the years 1965–72. The band released numerous top ten singles in North America during the mid- and late-1960s, including the U.S. #1 hits "Good Lovin'" , "Groovin'" , and "People Got to Be Free"...
(originally The Young Rascals) had soul-tinged songs, but it was the soulful vocals of Felix Cavaliere
Felix Cavaliere
Felix Cavaliere is an American songwriter, singer, music producer, and musician.Although he was a member of Joey Dee and His Starlighters best known for their hit "Peppermint Twist", he is best known for his association with The Young Rascals during the 1960s. The other members of The Rascals...
that gave them the blue-eyed soul sound. By the mid-1960s, British singers Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, Eric Burdon
Eric Burdon
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer-songwriter best known as a founding member and vocalist of rock band The Animals, and the funk rock band War and for his aggressive stage performance...
and Welshman Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
had become leading vocal stars of the emerging style. Other notable UK exponents of blue-eyed soul included The Spencer Davis Group (featuring singer-organist Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
) and archetypal mod band The Small Faces
The Small Faces
The Small Faces were an English rock and roll band from East London, heavily influenced by American rhythm and blues. The group was founded in 1965 by members Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Jimmy Winston, although by 1966 Winston was replaced by Ian McLagan as the band's...
, whose sound was heavily influenced by the Stax label's house band Booker T & the MGs. Blue-eyed soul singer, Chris Clark became the first white singer to have an R&B hit with Motown Records in 1966. Most of the leading UK pop groups of the period – including The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
and The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
– regularly covered Stax and Motown tracks on record or in concert, and all of them have acknowledged the influence of Motown and Stax artists on their music. In 1967, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, whose latter days at Sun Records
Sun Records
Sun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27, 1952.Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was known for giving notable musicians such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash...
(1961–1963) had been characterized by R&B covers, recorded an album for Smash entitled Soul My Way. Delaney and Bonnie (Bramlett) produced the blue-eyed soul album Home on Stax in 1969.
Michael Sembello
Michael Sembello
Michael Sembello is an American musician and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Career:Sembello was born and raised in Philadelphia. He studied with jazz great Pat Martino and began his career as a professional musician by becoming a session musician, working increasingly with...
, who left home at 17 to tour with Stevie Wonder, wrote and performed on numerous blue-eyed soul hits for Wonder, Brian McKnight, David Sanborn
David Sanborn
David Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school...
, Bill Champlin and Bobby Caldwell
Bobby Caldwell
Bobby Caldwell is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who, despite a prolific musical output over his 30-year career, is still best known for his 1978 hit single "What You Won't Do for Love". While he has always maintained a devoted fan base in the United States, a legendary...
. Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
began his career in Woody's Truck Stop, a group based on the model of the Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield was an American blues vocalist and harmonica player, who founded the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the early 1960s and performed at the original Woodstock Festival...
Blues Band. He left the band to form the garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
band Nazz in 1967.
Outside the Anglo-American scene, in Italy
Italian popular music
The expression Italian Popular Music refers to the musical output which is not usually considered Academic or Classical Music but rather have its roots in the popular traditions, and it may be defined in two ways: it can either be defined in terms of the current geographical location of the Italian...
, Mina
Mina (singer)
Anna Maria Quaini, Grand Officer , known as Mina, is an Italian pop singer. She was a staple of Italian television variety shows and a dominant figure in Italian pop music from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s known for her three-octave vocal range, the agility of her soprano voice, and her image as an...
and Carmen Villani
Carmen Villani
Carmen Villani is a former Italian pop singer and actress. She had a recognisable voice and an outstanding musical sense. Villani was a versatile performer, featuring elements of gospel and blues. She is considered among the finest examples of the early beat music in Italy. She also collaborated...
fused elements of soul music with the traditional Italian pop music. Carola and Doris
Doris (singer)
Doris Svensson , billed as Doris is a former Swedish pop singer. Doris is best known for her lone solo album, eclectic pop, rock and funk Did You Give the World Some Love Today Baby recorded in 1970...
were notable Scandinavian artists who were influenced by soul music.
On 1 February 1975, Tower of Power
Tower of Power
Tower of Power is an American R&B-based horn section and band, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing for over 43 years. They are best known for their funky soul sound highlighted by a powerful horn section...
became the first white/mixed act to appear on Soul Train
Soul Train
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
. Also in 1975, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, another early white artist to appear on Soul Train, released Young Americans
Young Americans
Young Americans may refer to:* Young Americans , an album by David Bowie** "Young Americans" , the title track from the album* The Young Americans , a 1993 crime drama* Young Americans , an American television drama...
, a popular blue-eyed soul album. It featured the funk- inspired "Fame
Fame (David Bowie song)
"Fame" is a song recorded by David Bowie, initially released in 1975. It reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of September 20, 1975.-Song development:...
", which became Bowie's first #1 hit in the US. Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
' 1975 Silver Album (real title Daryl Hall & John Oates) includes the ballad "Sara Smile", long considered a blue-eyed soul standard, as well as "She's Gone", another soulful hit. Average White Band is a Scottish funk and R&B band who had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980, their biggest two being "Pick Up the Pieces" from their 1975 best-selling album AWB
AWB (album)
AWB is the second studio album by the Scottish funk and soul band Average White Band, released in August 1974 . An enormous best-seller, AWB was the Average White Band's breakthrough record, stunning many listeners with its soul and funk coming from a Scottish band.AWB topped Billboard's Pop...
, and "Cut The Cake" from their 1975 album of the same name
Cut the Cake (album)
Cut the Cake is the third album released by Average White Band, released in 1975. This album included the hit single "Cut the Cake", which reached #10 on the Billboard pop singles chart....
. Boz Scaggs
Boz Scaggs
William Royce "Boz" Scaggs is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He gained fame in the 1970s with several Top 20 hit singles in the United States, along with the #2 album, Silk Degrees. Scaggs continues to write, record music and tour.-Early life and career:Scaggs was born in Canton,...
' 1976 "Lowdown
Lowdown (Boz Scaggs song)
"Lowdown" is a Billboard hit originally recorded in 1976 by Boz Scaggs for his mainstream-breakthrough album, Silk Degrees. The song was co-written by Scaggs and David Paich...
", which featured Scaggs' laid-back vocals and a smooth funky groove, peaked at #3 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart (and reaching Top 5 on the R&B chart). In April 1976, The Faragher Brothers
The Faragher Brothers
The Faragher Brothers is a Blue-eyed soul family musical group from Redlands, California consisting originally of brothers Tommy Faragher, Davey Faragher, Jimmy Faragher and Danny Faragher...
became the first all-white ensemble to make an appearance on Soul Train.
In 1978, The Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
topped R&B album charts with their Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack)
Original Vinyl ReleaseSide A:#"Stayin' Alive" performed by Bee Gees, produced by Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson – 4:45#"How Deep Is Your Love" performed by Bee Gees, produced by Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson – 4:05...
soundtrack, along with several songs from the album, including "Stayin' Alive
Stayin' Alive
"Stayin' Alive" is a song by the pop group Bee Gees from the Saturday Night Fever motion picture soundtrack. The song was written by the Bee Gees and produced by the Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson. It was released on 13 December 1977, as the second single from the Saturday Night Fever...
", "Night Fever
Night Fever
"Night Fever" is a disco song, written and performed by The Bee Gees. It first appeared on the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever. Producer Robert Stigwood wanted to call the film Saturday Night, but singer Robin Gibb expressed hesitation at the title. Stigwood liked the title Night Fever but was...
", and "You Should Be Dancing
You Should Be Dancing
"You Should Be Dancing" is a single by the Bee Gees, from the album, Children of the World, in 1976. The single hit number one for one week on the American Billboard Hot 100, number one for seven weeks on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, and in July the same year, reached number five on the UK...
", which originally charted back in 1976. The Bee Gees again had a hit album on the R&B charts in 1979 with the Spirits Having Flown
Spirits Having Flown
Spirits Having Flown is the Bee Gees' fifteenth original album, released in 1979. It was the group's first album after their collaboration on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The album's first three tracks were released as singles which all went to no.1 in the US...
album along with its three pop #1 singles, "Too Much Heaven
Too Much Heaven
"Too Much Heaven" is a song by the Bee Gees, which was the band's contribution to the "Music for UNICEF" fund. They performed it at the Music for UNICEF Concert on 9 January 1979. The song later found its way to the group's thirteenth original album, Spirits Having Flown...
", "Tragedy
Tragedy (song)
"Tragedy" is a song recorded by the Bee Gees, included on their 1979 album Spirits Having Flown. The single reached number one in the UK in February 1979 and repeated the feat the following month on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100...
" and "Love You Inside Out
Love You Inside Out
"Love You Inside Out" is a 1979 hit single for the Bee Gees, from their album Spirits Having Flown. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in June 1979...
".
Other blue-eyed soul of the decade include the hits "How Long" by Ace (Paul Carrack, lead vocals), three hits by Ambrosia, "How Much I Feel", "Biggest Part of Me", and "You're the Only Woman", and Bobby Caldwell's soul standard "What You Won't Do (Do for Love)".
1980s and later
George MichaelGeorge Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
brought soul influences into his pop music, and was the first white solo artist to sing a duet with Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, in their hit I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)
I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)
"I Knew You Were Waiting " is a song performed by Aretha Franklin and George Michael as a duet in 1987. It was written by Simon Climie and Dennis Morgan.-Music video:...
. Michael was the first white male vocalist to hit #1 on the US R&B album charts, with his debut album Faith
Faith (George Michael album)
Faith is George Michael's first solo album, released in October 1987 via Columbia Records/Epic Records. The album has won several awards including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1989. To date, the album has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, and received diamond certification from...
. His fourth single from the album, One More Try
One More Try (George Michael song)
"One More Try" is a U.S. number-one hit song written and performed by George Michael and released by Epic Records in 1988 as the fourth single from Faith.-History:...
, hit #1 in the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts. In 1989 he became the first white artist to win the American Music Award for Favourite Male Vocalist and Favourite Album (Faith) (Soul/R&B). Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
, of the Eurythmics, was often cited as possessing "soul", and went on to record Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves
Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves
"Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" is a hit duet recorded between British pop duo Eurythmics and American soul/R&B musician Aretha Franklin, released as a single by RCA Records in October 1985...
with Franklin. Around the same time, audiences were struck by the soulfulness of Teena Marie
Teena Marie
Mary Christine Brockert, better known by her stage name Teena Marie, was an American singer, songwriter and producer...
, who exclusively wrote and performed R&B and funk, as well as Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald (singer)
Michael McDonald is a five-time Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter. McDonald is known for a soulful baritone singing style and a multi-octave range. He began his career singing back-up vocals with Steely Dan...
, who is also frequently described as a 'blue-eyed soul' artist.
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
' chart success was at its highest when their singles got heavy airplay on urban contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
radio, as was the case with I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)
I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)
"I Can't Go for That " is a 1981 song recorded by Daryl Hall and John Oates.It was the fourth number-one hit single of their career on the Billboard Hot 100 and the second hit single from their album Private Eyes...
, One on One, Say It Isn't So, Adult Education, Out of Touch
Out of Touch
"Out of Touch" is a 1984 song by Hall & Oates. This lead single from their 1984 album Big Bam Boom was their last Billboard Hot 100 number one, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in December 1984...
, Method of Modern Love and Everything Your Heart Desires
Everything Your Heart Desires
"Everything Your Heart Desires" is a 1988 song by pop music duo Hall & Oates. Released as the lead single from the Ooh Yeah! album, the song peaked at number three in the United States.-Release and reception:"Everything Your Heart Desires" entered the U.S...
. Most of those singles charted high or at #1 on the R&B and dance charts. Simply Red
Simply Red
Simply Red were a British soul band that sold more than 50 million albums over a 25-year career. Their style drew influences from blue-eyed soul, new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz...
scored one of the most successful blue-eyed soul ballads of all time in 1986 with Holding Back the Years
Holding Back The Years
"Holding Back the Years" is the 7th track of Simply Red's debut studio album Picture Book. The song was a smash success for the group and quickly rose to the top of charts across the world. It remains their most successful single, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending 12...
.
Other blue-eyed soul hits of the 1980s include: Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
' cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of You Can't Hurry Love
You Can't Hurry Love
"You Can't Hurry Love" is 1966 song originally released by The Supremes for the Motown label.Written and produced by Motown production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song topped the United States Billboard pop singles chart and in the UK in the top 5, released and peaking late summer in 1966...
, Culture Club
Culture Club
Culture Club are a British rock band who were part of the 1980s New Romantic movement. The original band consisted of Boy George , Mikey Craig , Roy Hay and Jon Moss...
's Church of the Poison Mind
Church of the Poison Mind
"Church of the Poison Mind" is a 1983 hit single for Culture Club. It was the first single to be released from their second album Colour by Numbers....
(1983), The Style Council
The Style Council
The Style Council were an English band, formed in 1983 by the ex-The Jam singer and guitarist Paul Weller, with keyboardist Mick Talbot. The permanent line-up grew to include drummer Steve White and Weller's then-wife, vocalist Dee C. Lee. Other artists such as Tracie Young and Tracey Thorn also...
's Speak Like a Child
Speak Like a Child
"Speak Like a Child" was the debut single from The Style Council and was included on the album, Introducing The Style Council in 1983 . Backed with "Party Chambers", it became a big hit, peaking at #4 on the UK Singles Chart. Paul Weller and Mick Talbot were already well-known from their previous...
, (1983) Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
' Missionary Man
Missionary Man (Eurythmics song)
"Missionary Man" is a song by the British pop music duo Eurythmics. It was taken from their sixth album, Revenge, and continued the band's rock/R&B musical style of the time and featured Jimmy Zavala on harmonica....
(1986), and Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
's Roll With It
Roll with It (album)
Roll with It is the fifth solo album by blue-eyed soulster Steve Winwood. It topped the album charts in the United States, and has sold over three million copies. The title cut topped the pop singles and the album rock singles charts with subsequent hit status afforded the album tracks released as...
(1988). As the decade drew to a close, British artist Lisa Stansfield
Lisa Stansfield
Lisa Stansfield is an English singer and songwriter.-Early years:Stansfield was born to Marion and Keith Stansfield in Heywood, Lancashire, in England, where she attended Redbrook School, Rochdale. Her first television appearance was on a talent programme in the Granada TV area in 1982...
had considerable success on R&B radio, scoring three #1 R&B hits, the most popular being All Around the World
All Around the World (Lisa Stansfield song)
"All Around the World" is a song by Lisa Stansfield released in late 1989 for her album Affection. It is her biggest hit to date. Written and produced by Lisa Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, the debut solo single by Stansfield became a massive international hit.-Chart performances:It spent...
.
A backlash ensued in the late 1980s as some black people felt that white people were cashing in on the popularity of their music. However, the extent of the backlash was not universally agreed upon. In 1989, Ebony Magazine published an article exploring whether white people were "taking over" R&B. The article featured various members of the music industry, both black and white, who believed collaboration was a unifying force, and there was agreement that the future of R&B was not compromised by the contemporary urban sound. A similar article in Ebony, written in 1999 highlighted conflicting opinions about the "blue-eyed" influence; however the source of contention was not about the artistic merit of blue-eyed soul, but rather the economic inequality that persisted in American life and within the music industry. In the late 1990s, artists such as Jon B.
Jon B.
Jon B. is a Grammy nominated American R&B singer and songwriter.-Early life:...
, Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...
, and 98 Degrees
98 Degrees
98 Degrees is an American adult contemporary boy band consisting of four vocalists: brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, Justin Jeffre, and Jeff Timmons. The group was formed by Timmons in Los Angeles, California....
have continued the blue eyed soul movement.
In the 2000s, Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
, Joss Stone
Joss Stone
Jocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...
, Duffy
Duffy (singer)
Aimée Ann Duffy , known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her 2008 debut album Rockferry entered the UK Album Chart at number one. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold...
, Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Anne Bedingfield is a British pop singer and songwriter. Bedingfield debuted in the 1990s as a member of the Christian dance/electronic group The DNA Algorithm with her siblings Daniel Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle...
and Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
have enjoyed success in the American charts, leading to talk of a "Second British Invasion", "Female Invasion" or "British soul invasion". In 2007, soul artist Guy Sebastian
Guy Sebastian
Guy Theodore Sebastian is an Australian pop, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter who was the first winner of Australian Idol in 2003. He is currently a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor. Sebastian has released six top ten platinum/multi platinum albums, including a number-one and...
recorded The Memphis Album
The Memphis Album
The Memphis Album is a cover album of Memphis soul songs by Australian singer Guy Sebastian released in Australia by Sony Music on 10 November 2007. The album was recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis with Steve Cropper, Donald 'Duck' Dunn, Steve Potts , and Lester Snell...
, a tribute album of soul classics, with many of the original Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
musicians, including Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...
, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Lester Snell and Steve Potts
Steve Potts
Steven "Steve" Potts is an American born English football coach and former professional footballer. He played as a defender and is associated with his time spent at West Ham United...
. Other artists who are a part of the genre in the mid to late 2000s' have included Mayer Hawthorne
Mayer Hawthorne
Mayer Hawthorne is an American singer, producer, songwriter, arranger, audio engineer, DJ, rapper and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles, California, USA. The stage name "Mayer Hawthorne" is a combination of Cohen's real middle name and the name of the street he grew up on in Michigan...
, Remy Shand
Remy Shand
Remy David Shand is a Canadian R&B/soul singer, who released his debut album, The Way I Feel, on Motown Records in 2002.- Early years :...
, Jamie Lidell
Jamie Lidell
Jamie Lidell is an English musician and soul singer living in Nashville, United States...
, Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
and Robin Thicke
Robin Thicke
Robin Charles Thicke is an Award-winning American R&B singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and actor. Thicke's albums, which he previously released under the moniker Thicke, are noted for their feature of a predominantly R&B sound. Robin Thicke has penned hits for popular artists such as...
, who enjoyed considerable success in the R&B charts with the 2007 hit Lost Without U
Lost Without U
"Lost Without U" is the second official single released from Robin Thicke's second album The Evolution of Robin Thicke .-Writing and inspiration:...
, and Sex Therapy
Sex Therapy (song)
"Sex Therapy" is a song by American R&B singer Robin Thicke. The R&B ballad is the lead single from his album Sex Therapy.The song was released to the radio on October 20, 2009...
in 2009.
See also
- 1960s in music1960s in musicFor music from a year in the 1960s, go to 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 1960s....
- British soulBritish soulBritish soul, Brit soul or the British soul invasion is soul music performed by British artists. Soul has been a major influence on British popular music since the 1960s, and American soul was extremely popular among some youth subcultures, such as mods, skinheads and the northern soul movement...
- List of blue-eyed soul artists
- Plastic soulPlastic soulPlastic soul is a term coined by an unknown black musician in the 1960s, describing Mick Jagger as a white musician singing soul music.Paul McCartney heard the comment and later said that the name of the The Beatles album Rubber Soul was inspired by the term "plastic soul"...
, a somewhat derogatory term for this phenomenon
External links
- [ Blue-eyed soul] Definition and examples on Allmusic.com
- Blue eyed soul... Section on Soulwalking.co.uk
- The Birth of Blue-eyed Soul Section on The Righteous Brothers site (have to click on menu)
- Blue-Eyed Soul Section on Musicmatch.com