Soul: Post R&B, Post Rock & Roll: 1964 (and Beyond)

Successful artists who survived the transition from R&B to the soul genre had a large black audience before the shift from R&B to Soul occurred. Successful artists to survive in New Orleans included Earl King, The Neville Brothers, and The Meters. Successful artists to survive nationally included Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and of course, James Brown. Many black artists who had a predominantly white audience during the 1950s (Examples: Sugar Boy Crawford - New Orleans, and Earl Connelly King - Philadelphia) were unable to remain commercially successful after the popularity shift from R&B to Soul.

For further discography during the "Post R&B Years," visit the web for soul discographies.

• Aaron Neville
• Allman Brothers Band
• James Crawford (Georgia) See James Brown Revue in your search engine. "James Brown Show of Tomorrow," album vinyl LP, 1968.
• Otis Redding
• Slim Harpo
• The Meters

After the shift from R&B to Soul occurred, local artists of both races had difficulty finding a broad audience to buy their records. By 1969, British groups (Eamples: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd) were releasing vinyl LPs. The market for 45-rpm records was shrinking. British Rock songs dominated the New Orleans music scene.

From 1965 to 1969, there was a trend away from previous genres of American music toward a British sound. One need only read the Cashbox Top 100 Singles from 1967 to see a demarcation between Soul music, for and by black audiences, and Pop, Anti-War, Psychedelic music for white audiences. Forces eroding traditional American music were the:

1. British sounds - The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd
2. Fats Domino - (Reprise 0775 1968) Lovely Rita
   Fats recording of the Beatles song, "Lovely Rita," could be seen as the end to American Rock & Roll.
3. Psychedelic music (American) - Jimi Hendrix
4. Vietnam War
5. War protest songs
6. Dwindling interest in American music
7. Notions that earlier music was old fashioned
8. A split between the races, marked by a backlash to the so-called Civil Rights Movement, and determination for black artists to cater to militant blacks through popular music.
9. The forces that led to a blend of American popular music into a genre named Rock & Roll had passed.

Who was the black artist whose recording "Hello Dolly" made #1 in 1964?

Louis Armstrong.

Louis Armstrong was one of New Orleans' most influential performers before Rock & Roll. He performed as cornet player and singer. He also was an arranger and universal jazz musician who shaped the future of New Orleans music during the 1940s. In 1963 Armstrong scored a huge international hit with his version of "Hello Dolly". This number-one single knocked the Beatles off the top of the charts in 1964. Louis Armstrong's contribution to Jazz music cannot be measured.

Influential Vinyl LPs and the 1970s

It may be noted that during the 1970s, FM radio stations flourished by offering what was considered "underground" rock programming. Accustomed to the longer play times of Classical music, FM radio stations aired the British sounds and other longer Rock songs that AM radio stations refused to play on the air. Of course, the demand was so great for these programs that Americans switched their listening habits to FM radio.

The following are a few of the most influential vinyl LPs to dominate the American music scene, from 1967 through 1973, during the post R&B and post Rock & Roll periods.

• Psychedelic music (American) - Jimi Hendrix
  (vinyl LP US, Reprise 1967) "Are You Experienced" -- tracks:
  • 1. Purple Haze;
  • 2. Manic Depression;
  • 3. Hey Joe;
  • 4. Love Or Confusion;
  • 5. May This Be Love;
  • 6. I Don't Live Today;
  • 7. The Wind Cries Mary;
  • 8. Fire;
  • 9. Third Stone From The Sun;
  • 10. Foxey Lady;
  • 11. Are You Experienced?
  
  
  
• British Blues - Led Zeppelin
  (vinyl LP US, Atlantic SD 8216 1969 "Led Zeppelin") -- tracks:
  • Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You
  • Black Mountain Side
  • Communication Breakdown
  • Dazed & Confused
  • Good Times Bad Times
  • How Many More Times
  • I Can't Quit You Baby
  • You Shook Me
  • Your Time Is Gonna Come
  
  
  
• British - American Blues - Howlin' Wolf
  (vinyl LP US, Chess 60008 1971 "The London Sessions") -- tracks:
  • I Ain't Superstitious
  • Poor Boy
  • The Red Rooster
  • Worried About my Baby
  • Do The Do
  • Built For Comfort
  • Sittin On Top Of The World
  • Highway 49
  • What A Woman
  • Who's Been talking
  • Rockin' Daddy
  • Wang-Dang-Doodle
  • Highway 49
  
  
  
• British progressive music - Pink Floyd (vinyl LP, Harvest SHVL 804 1973 "Dark Side of the Moon") -- tracks:
  • Speak to Me (Instrumental)
  • Breathe
  • On the Run (Instrumental)
  • Time
  • The Great Gig in the Sky (Instrumental)
  • Money
  • Us and Them
  • Any Colour You Like (Instrumental)
  • Brain Damage
  • Eclipse

End of Section

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