Blue-eyed soul

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This article is about the sub-genre of soul music. For the seventies cover band, see Blue Eyed Soul (band).

Blue-eyed soul is a term used to describe soul music performed by white people. It is (strictly speaking) a misnomer: the musician does not have to have blue eyes. Here, "blue-eyed" is synonymous with Caucasian.

It's also a misnomer in that it's not a discrete style of music; the meaning of "Blue-eyed soul" has changed over the past forty years, and involves at least three different subgenres:


History

Blue-eyed soul began when Southern white musicians re-made 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. Elvis Presley would sing songs written by a black artist to mainstream acclaim when the black artist's performances were not allowed on the radio. He then split the profits with that artist. Eventually, other white musicians starting playing the music, both in America and abroad. Much of this music would eventually become rock and roll in the mid and late sixties.

The regional "beach music" or "shag music" phenomenon in North and South Carolina and surrounding states of the late 1950s and 1960s is, at least partly, a manifestation of blue-eyed soul. It dove-tailed with the beginnings of other such groups in the early 1960s, when local white bands backed up nationally-popular black R&B artists at their road gigs, and also performed on their own at fraternity parties and other college social events in the region. The widespread popularity of the Carolina shag enabled many of these groups to keep their careers going up to the present day. 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.

Blaxploitation Era

In the 1970s, as integration overcame segregation, black culture sprang up in earnest. Soul music flourished, and musicians such as Richard Rudolph helped to pave the way for what we know today as blue-eyed soul. Artists including Hall & Oates, The Young Rascals, Van Morrison, Bobby Caldwell, and especially Michael McDonald were examples of the "white person with the black voice".

Modern-day blue-eyed soul

In the eighties, artists such as Michael McDonald and Rick Astley scored for the blue-eyed soul movement. Boy George, although not having the "black voice", is considered a blue-eyed soul artist because so much of the music of Culture Club fits in the genre of R&B. However, a backlash ensued in the late eighties as some African-Americans felt 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, though she looked Caucasian, was in fact multiracial, and Celine Dion. Dion, while having a powerful voice, has built a career in the pop and adult contemporary genres and is not usually considered a blue-eyed soul artist.

Because today much popular music contains elements from traditionally black music genres (called urban music), the list of artists considered to belong to the blue-eyed soul genre is not very large. The artists Jon B., Remy, Joss Stone, Christina Aguilera (whose song 'I Turn to You' was so soulful, people first thought the song was sung by Monica Arnold),Justin Timberlake, and (in hip-hop) Eminem, have enjoyed a career in the black-music genres. Because the lines separating musical genres continue to blur, the list of blue-eyed soul artists is contentious as well as small.

Characteristics

Coming up with a single description of "Blue Eyed Soul" is a bit like trying to describe "Music" itself; there are so many types that any attempt at a single explanation is doomed.

However, there have been some basic characteristics over time:

  • It has paralleled contemporary Rhythm and Blues styles. In the 1960's, artists like Van Morrison performed music that was similar to the raw, expressive music of the Motown and Stax/Volt labels; forty years later, the genre echoes the slick, ornamented style of 21st century R and B.
  • "Sounding Black" - the greatest compliment that can be paid a "Blue Eyed Soul" singer is that everyone guessed they were African-American (or Afro-British).

Blue-eyed Soul Artists

If one accepts that there are multiple subgenres of "Blue Eyed Soul", it's easier to break down the very large list of stars that fit the description.

See Category:Blue eyed soul for a fuller listing of performers under this sub-genre of music.

Notable "White Soul" Artists of the Sixties and Seventies

This subgenre's descendants include artists like Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen, whose earlier work reflects this genre's styles.

White Rhythm and Blues Artists

Teena Marie

No other artist is more revered in the world of blue-eyed soul than Teena Marie. First signed to Motown Records in the mid-seventies as a backup singer, she hooked up with the legendary Rick James, who was creating music that was a swift departure from the "Motown sound"; the music was funk, soul, and fresh. Rumors of a rift with Lady Diana aside, Rick James teamed up with his protegé on his records, resulting in a hit Fire and Desire. Teena Marie later came out with her album. So soulful was her coloratura soprano, Motown refused to put her picture on the cover of her debut 'Wild and Wonderful', and audiences were shell-shocked when a white woman appeared on TV at an awards show to sing; people really thought she was black. To this day, no other artist (especially female) has been a symbol for blue-eyed soul like Teena Marie, although some would argue Joss Stone and Christina Aguilera are trying.

Joss Stone

When it seemed Christina Aguilera had only Britney Spears for completition, the world quickly embraced her as the next Teena Marie. So when a 16 year old soul singer named Joss Stone came out with an album of cover songs, the comparisons were swift. Although well-received, a few critics derided Stone as a studio creation of Betty Wright and other established soul musicians. When she returned with her sophomore effort, Mind, Body and Soul, with all the songs penned or co-penned by herself, Stone threatened to snatch the rug from under Aguilera. While Aguilera has built herself into a mainstream act, Joss Stone has proven herself to be the next toascend to the throne created by Teena Marie.

Michael Bolton

Michael Bolton, a strong belter, started his career in rock music in the seventies. In the late eighties, Michael Bolton crossed into the blue-eyed soul market, singing 'How Am I Supposed To Live Without You'. However Bolton, despite having a strong chesty voice, easily able to sing F5 in his chest register (some singers have difficulty with the note in head voice), and despite covering some soul classics well, has not received a lot of respect in the genre, especially among African-Americans. This is partially due to the Isley Brothers' suit against him for copyright infringement in 1993. Nonetheless he remains a popular artist.

Bobby Caldwell

Bobby Caldwell was another white soul singer whose identity was hidden when his soul songs were first released. To play up to the African-American-dominated format, Caldwell sang behind curtains and under silhouette for as long as possible to avoid revealing that he was in fact Caucasian.

Christina Aguilera

In the latter nineties, as Britney Spears was reintroducing the world to the voice of the soubrette, record labels started creating music with an easy key to which nearly anybody could sing along. Despite her Reflections fame, Christina Aguilera came out quietly with a pop track, 'Genie In a Bottle', in the vein of Spears. However, the difference was she held a soulful voice. Despite having the traditional cute and blonde look, critics took quick note of her far superior singing abilities. Later singles, What A Girl Wants and especially the Diane Warren-penned I Turn To You made many believe she was the heir apparent to the throne created by Teena Marie herself. Aguilera has since made a name for herself with several imitators (including JoJo and Lindsay Lohan). At the first BET awards, Aguilera performed Whitney Houston's Run To You so well, Houston remarked that she sang the best version of the song (besides herself of course).

Britney Spears

Britney Spears deserves a mention not because of her soubrette voice, but rather because of the contention at she is too derivative of Janet Jackson, Pebbles and other African-American pop singers.

Jon B.

Jon B. scores well because, like many current blue-eyed soul artists, he is not very well known outside the soul music genre. Jon B.'s music is mostly popular with African-Americans.

British "Blue Eyed Soul" Artists of the '80s and '90s

During the decade beginning in 1982, the British musical press proclaimed a new generation of "Blue Eyed Soul" artists in Britain, artists who nodded at least nominally to the styles of Motown and Stax/Volt.

In addition, the influence of rhythm and blues upon British/Irish singers like Bono and Stuart Adamson was fairly obvious.

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