Soul as a style developed out of r&b and gospel, becoming a distinct strand on its own in the mid 1950's when Ray Charles took both forms and began adding pop flavourings, culminating in his 1959 hit What'd I Say, with its call-and-response gospel structure, secular lyrics and electric piano backing. Sam Cooke was also rooted in gospel, but became the first to make the crossover into mainstream pop with his 1957 breakthrough hit You Send Me. At the time, using one's gospel training to sing secular lyrics was seen as a betrayal by the gospel community, and had Ray and Sam failed to find an audience there would have been no way back. Thankfully both were a phenomenal success, leading the way for many others to follow, including Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke, Ben E. King, the Womack brothers and Aretha Franklin. Another pioneer, James Brown, known as'The Godfather Of Soul', has spanned the whole modern era from soul right through to funk and beyond, writing and performing gospel-tinged r&b such as Please, Please, Please as long ago as 1956, the classic soul of It's A Man's Man's Man's World in 1965, and the much funkier I Got You (I Feel Good) in the 1970's.

Since those early breakthroughs soul has been at the centre of American popular music alongside rock, developing many regional stylistic variations, Berry Gordy's Detroit-based motown label, it's more blues and r&b orientated rival Chess Records, based in Chicago, the gritty, riffing, horn-based style of the Memphis based Stax label, and the smooth sound of 1970's Philadelphia soul being the most prominent.

The style's greatest exponent however, and the acknowledged 'Queen of Soul' is the aforementioned Aretha Franklin, an artist whose genius could turn virtually any song into an unforgettable experience. Her career, though largely unrivalled, was overshadowed to some extent by the rise of funk under James Brown, Sly Stone and George Clinton. Funk's groove-based style began in the mid-1960's and grew into a rival to the disco craze of 1970's, in the process forming the foundations of hip-hop.

Today, classic soul as a vital force appears to have run its course. Modern hybrids, such as 'New Jack Swing', 'Nu Soul and 'Hip Hop Soul', although somewhat overwhelmed by the commercial pressures and technical innovations of the modern music business, nevertheless continue to produce fine songwriters and artists of the calibre of Bobby Brown, Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, Beyonce Knowles and John Legend.

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