The Timeline of African American Music explores the evolution of African American musical genres spanning the past 400 years.

Discover the Timeline

Learn more about the artists whose music served as the inspirational soundtrack that championed for justice, progress and equality.

Featured performers

Billie Holiday

Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington

Bernice Johnson Reagon

The Staple Singers

Ruth Brown

Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter

Tupac Shakur (2-Pac)

Max Roach

John Coltrane

James Brown

Marvin Gaye

Etta James

Learn more about the diverse musical expressions tied to rhythm and blues.

Featured genres

Singer & Civil Rights Activist

The Civil Rights movement was a “singing movement.” In the 1950s, African American churches hosted community groups that organized mass protest activities against racial segregation in the South. The tradition of congregational singing led by strong song leaders soon extended to choirs, small ensembles, and soloists who sang in mass meetings, marches, and in jails. Their repertoire was called Civil Rights freedom songs, also known as protest songs.

The modern <a href="/stories/revolutionary-concepts-in-african-american-music" rel="noopener noreferrer">Civil Rights and Black Power movements</a> emerged from an era of social unrest in the mid-1950s when African Americans from the South mounted a series of grassroots activities to protest their social status as second-class citizens. These activities gained widespread momentum and spread to the North, attracting national attention in the 1960s. Music was integral to both movements and served a multitude of functions. It galvanized African Americans into political action; provided strength and courage; united protesters as a cohesive group; and became a creative medium for mass communication.Participation in the Civil Rights movement crossed generational, professional, and racial boundaries. The musical repertoire reflected this diversity, consisting of original versions and new interpretations of spirituals, hymns, ballads, gospel, rhythm and blues, and soul music, as well as original creations. For example, at a meeting of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Atlanta in 1964, members of the Freedom Singers led protesters in a medley consisting of both contemporary and traditional songs, “Freedom Medley: Freedom Chant/Oh Freedom/This Little Light of Mine” and “Lord Hold My Hand While I Run This Race,” which came from the repertoire of a rural Baptist church congregation. The younger generation reinterpreted and created new songs in the traditions of the jubilee concert spiritual and gospel quartet (“Oh Prichett, Oh Kelly” and <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:191,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;In the Mississippi River&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;266687460&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;In the Mississippi River&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The Freedom Singers&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Voices of the Civil Rights Movement: Black American Freedom Songs 1960-1966&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1997-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/55\/b1\/78\/mzi.wjxdfkqj.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1425,&quot;height&quot;:1425,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;05050d&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;f6f6f6&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;c3c9ca&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;c6c6c8&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;9da2a4&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/dc\/31\/5f\/dc315f57-99a9-8bd5-e0d9-c27fc44971c0\/mzaf_11067254128143757266.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“In the Mississippi River”</a> by the Freedom Singers). They also sang contemporary gospel songs, rhythm and blues, and soul music, which they turned into freedom songs such as <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:192,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Get Your Rights, Jack&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;266686564&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Get Your Rights, Jack&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The CORE Freedom Singers&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Voices of the Civil Rights Movement: Black American Freedom Songs 1960-1966&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1997-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/55\/b1\/78\/mzi.wjxdfkqj.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1425,&quot;height&quot;:1425,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;05050d&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;f6f6f6&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;c3c9ca&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;c6c6c8&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;9da2a4&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/c0\/54\/8a\/c0548a09-3688-adc1-8a23-0867a9a9a529\/mzaf_13855183031528688103.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Get Your Rights, Jack”</a> by the CORE Freedom Singers based on Ray Charles’s “Hit the Road, Jack” (1961). The updated versions of these songs captured the energy of the movement and the prevailing message of freedom.

Other well-known freedom songs include <a href="https://admin.music-staging.assemble.studio/more/genres/12/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:193,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;We Shall Overcome&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;126121452&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;We Shall Overcome&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Dorothy Cotton, Freedom Singers &amp; Pete Seeger&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Smithsonian Folkways American Roots Collection&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1990-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is1-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/18\/80\/df\/mzi.cyrkzlhg.tif\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;fdf7ee&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;0f0d0f&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;16160d&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;3f3c3c&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;44433a&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/Music2\/v4\/a6\/81\/3d\/a6813d27-697e-4551-3cb4-1b8ad71d6f24\/mzaf_3213187704652589693.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“We Shall Overcome,”</a> theme song of the movement and now an international anthem for freedom and resistance; “Come Bah Yah” (also known as “Kumbaya,” and derived from the spiritual “Come By Here”), <a href="https://admin.music-staging.assemble.studio/more/genres/12/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:194,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Ain\u2019t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;85149670&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Ain&#039;t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The SNCC Freedom Singers&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Every Tone a Testimony: An African American Aural History&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2001-01-23&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is4-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/45\/47\/f8\/mzi.pzwjwjzi.tif\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;height&quot;:600},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/f0\/ac\/a2\/f0aca27f-a53f-6f61-2b6f-a2eb6acf77c9\/mzaf_15594564158213029452.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around”</a> (spiritual), “99½ Won’t Do” (gospel), and <a href="https://admin.music-staging.assemble.studio/more/genres/12/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:195,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Calypso Freedom&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1550315266&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Calypso Freedom&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Sweet Honey In the Rock&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;This Land Is Your Land: Songs Of Unity&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2002-10-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is4-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music124\/v4\/23\/4a\/52\/234a5290-0367-0a1a-046e-189b91df1f98\/20CRGIM23578.rgb.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:3000,&quot;height&quot;:3000,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;1b1718&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;fdfdff&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;f8c21b&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;cfced0&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;cba01b&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview124\/v4\/cd\/04\/d3\/cd04d303-efad-1b3d-e6ff-13b37ee3b1d3\/mzaf_7325160302117604861.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Calypso Freedom”</a> (Caribbean calypso). During the folk revival of the 1960s, many white and Black folk singer-songwriters began writing and/or performing protest and Civil Rights songs, including Peter Seeger (<a href="https://admin.music-staging.assemble.studio/more/genres/12/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:196,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;If I Had a Hammer&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;126118791&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;If I Had a Hammer - Hammer Song&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Pete Seeger&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Smithsonian Folkways American Roots Collection&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1980-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is1-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/18\/80\/df\/mzi.cyrkzlhg.tif\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;fdf7ee&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;0f0d0f&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;16160d&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;3f3c3c&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;44433a&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/10\/ae\/44\/10ae4406-d48d-8bfa-971e-76a681ca5fcf\/mzaf_5466277922979808327.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“If I Had a Hammer,”</a> written with Lee Hays from the Weavers), Tom Paxton, Bob Dylan (<a href="https://admin.music-staging.assemble.studio/more/genres/12/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:197,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Blowin\u2019 in the Wind&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;834450810&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Blowin&#039; In the Wind&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Bob Dylan&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The Essential Bob Dylan (Revised Edition)&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1963-05-27&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is3-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music125\/v4\/44\/20\/0d\/44200da9-f754-cf25-118b-db61e03a19e9\/dj.qgfyggio.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1500,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;353535&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;e2e1df&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;9fb9e4&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;bfbebd&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;8a9ec1&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/bf\/6c\/a3\/bf6ca31a-d2b4-079e-1e9e-5d83d40fbae2\/mzaf_16993776901787096797.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Blowin’ in the Wind”</a>), Odetta, Richie Havens, Len Chandler, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and the group Peter, Paul and Mary. The power of the freedom struggle, in the 1960s and beyond, directly impacted the work of many musicians working in vernacular, jazz, and popular/commercial genres, including Taj Mahal, Harry Belafonte, Miriam Makeba, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone, Ray Charles, Max Roach, Charlie Mingus, Randy Weston, Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, and Olatunji.

Songs were performed in a variety of familiar modes: spirituals and ballads, gospel-hymns, traditional and modern gospel, or lined hymn (an older style of singing in which the congregation repeats each line sung by the leader). Other examples embody rhythm and blues, soul, and calypso. Well-known melodies were often adapted to fit new texts.

The themes of freedom and empowerment, and the rejection of second-class citizenship and cruel treatment by the police, dominate the texts of freedom songs. The lyrics and melodies of folk spirituals, folk ballads, hymns, gospel, and popular songs were adapted to reflect the issues of the situation at hand and the protestor’s vision for social and political change.

Soul

Punk & Alt-Rock

Gospel-Hymn

Traditional Gospel

Gospel Group

Rhythm & Blues

Woke Up This Morning With My Mind Stayed On Freedom

Woke Up This Morning with My Mind Stayed on Freedom

Folk Spiritual

Gospel Quartet

Voice

Ballad

Hymns

Ensemble

Freedom Songs

The SNCC Freedom Singers

Odetta

Pete Seeger

Bob Dylan

Joan Baez

Peter, Paul and Mary

Phil Ochs

In the Mississippi River

Get Your Rights, Jack

We Shall Overcome

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around

Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around

Calypso Freedom

If I Had a Hammer - Hammer Song

If I Had a Hammer

Blowin' In the Wind

Blowin’ in the Wind

Political Issues/Activism

Black Power/Pride

Freedom

Racism/Discrimination

Social Consciousness

Sacred

Since the earliest days of slavery, singing has accompanied all kinds of group and individual work activities of African Americans. These improvised songs, known as work songs, field calls (also field hollers) and street calls (also street cries) served many functions. Singing passed the time, coordinated the movements of workers and offered encouragement. They also communicated human emotions and provided a forum for criticizing whites in positions of authority.

Physician working in Sierra Leone, West Africa, from 1792 to 1796

As Africans in America, the enslaved retained many customs of the past, which remained relevant after the abolition of slavery. While working long hours in the cotton and tobacco fields or clearing brush, husking and grinding corn, cutting wood, rowing boats, and laying railroad tracks, and as stevedores and fishermen, they sang work songs to pass the time, relieve boredom, and coordinate the movements of repetitive manual labor. Many work crews had song leaders who improvised a line, to which the others responded with a refrain. This singing style is heard in <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:214,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Lost John&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;200166598&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Lost John&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Prison Farm Work Group&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Music Down Home: An Introduction to Negro Folk Music, U.S.A.&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1965-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is3-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/97\/71\/ba\/mzi.nffcqprt.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1425,&quot;height&quot;:1425,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;ae4400&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;e3f2f7&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;d6e5ec&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;d8cfc5&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;cec5bd&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/Music2\/v4\/5b\/da\/d5\/5bdad5d5-74d8-9753-ce02-a7f9c15c2e62\/mzaf_7599616300670455968.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Lost John”</a> by a prison farm work group. Other work songs consisted only of repeated choruses.Even though work songs commonly are associated with groups, individuals, who worked alone in the field or at a distance from others, used song as a personal form of communication. Their improvised utterances, known as field calls/field hollers, conveyed human needs (i.e. calling for water and food) as well as expressed human emotions of fatigue and loneliness. The latter is heard in the wordless song <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:215,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Arwhoolie&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;200166598&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Lost John&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Prison Farm Work Group&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Music Down Home: An Introduction to Negro Folk Music, U.S.A.&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1965-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is3-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/97\/71\/ba\/mzi.nffcqprt.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1425,&quot;height&quot;:1425,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;ae4400&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;e3f2f7&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;d6e5ec&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;d8cfc5&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;cec5bd&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/Music2\/v4\/5b\/da\/d5\/5bdad5d5-74d8-9753-ce02-a7f9c15c2e62\/mzaf_7599616300670455968.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Arwhoolie.”</a> Crew leaders also used calls to give work instructions, as did Henry Truvillion in <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:216,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Rails Unloading&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;91812919&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Rail Unloading&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Henry Truvillion&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Field Recordings, Vol. 6: Texas (1933-1958)&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2005-09-13&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is3-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/09\/d4\/cb\/mzi.tpanflxh.tif\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:614,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;eeeff5&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;1f221f&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;2b2e2e&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;494b4a&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;525556&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/Music\/54\/c3\/aa\/mzm.ronpmwhh.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Rails Unloading.”</a> Street vendors in towns and cities used street calls (also known as street cries) to describe and sell products, such as watermelons, peaches, apples, ice cream, etc. Individuals also sang while performing other common work activities such as weaving, cooking, cleaning, and shining shoes.Work songs/field calls became a forum for satirical commentary and protest. As both slaves and free people, African Americans poked fun at whites and frequently expressed their displeasure of poor working conditions, the unreasonable expectations of overseers/employers and inhumane treatment from those in authority as communicated by Rich Amerson in <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:217,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Railroad 2&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;200166424&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Railroad, 2&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Rich Amerson&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Music Down Home: An Introduction to Negro Folk Music, U.S.A.&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1965-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is3-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/97\/71\/ba\/mzi.nffcqprt.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1425,&quot;height&quot;:1425,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;ae4400&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;e3f2f7&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;d6e5ec&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;d8cfc5&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;cec5bd&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/Music\/v4\/f8\/08\/78\/f808783d-a159-4996-f2b7-fb83e8441627\/mzaf_2174780090225149525.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Railroad, 2”</a> and heard in <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:218,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Complaint Call&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;85141404&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Complaint Call&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Enoch Brown&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Every Tone a Testimony: An African American Aural History&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2001-01-23&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is4-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/45\/47\/f8\/mzi.pzwjwjzi.tif\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;height&quot;:600},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/92\/f0\/c3\/92f0c3f1-185c-fe6c-bb54-c45aeb23a241\/mzaf_17837001505625868801.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Complaint Call.”</a>

Work songs are improvised using call-and-response structures, repetitive refrain lines, or choruses. They are sung in heterophony with melodic and timbral variation. Field and street calls are also improvised but vary in structure according to a freely personalized style. Some contain a few words or short phrases, but others consist of non-verbal utterances such as moans and hollers. An observer describes such singing:

The texts of work songs describe the labor being done (e.g., beating rice, corn shucking, rowing, woodcutting, and railroad songs, etc.) and recount the personal experiences of workers:<blockquote>I Gwine To Beat Dis Rice</blockquote><blockquote>I gwine to beat dis rice</blockquote><blockquote>Gwine to beat um so</blockquote><blockquote>Gwine to beat um until the husks come off</blockquote><blockquote>Ah hanh hanh, Ah hanh hanh.</blockquote><blockquote>Gwine to cook dis rice when I get through</blockquote><blockquote>Gwine to cook um so</blockquote><blockquote>Ah hanh hanh, Ah hanh hanh.</blockquote><blockquote>Gwine to eat my belly full</blockquote><blockquote>Ah hanh hanh, Ah hanh hanh.</blockquote><blockquote>(Parrish, Slave Songs 1992: 236)</blockquote><blockquote> </blockquote><blockquote>Woodcutting Song (explicit)</blockquote><blockquote>A cold frosty morning,</blockquote><blockquote>The niggers feeling good,</blockquote><blockquote>Take your axe upon your shoulder,</blockquote><blockquote>Nigger, talk to the wood.</blockquote>Satirical and Protest SongsThese songs drew from biblical themes, relationships, and folk tales, especially those about slaves who outwitted their masters by running away and freedmen who defied authority. Some songs criticized whites, and their imposed oppressive life as enslaved and free people.<blockquote>Long John</blockquote><blockquote>It’s a long John, It’s a long John,</blockquote><blockquote>He’s a long gone, he’s a long gone,</blockquote><blockquote>Like a turkey through the corn, through the long corn,</blockquote><blockquote>Well, my John said, in the ten chap ten,</blockquote><blockquote>If a man die, he will live again,</blockquote><blockquote>Well, they crucified Jesus and they nailed him to the cross,</blockquote><blockquote>Sister Mary cried, my child is lost.</blockquote><blockquote> </blockquote><blockquote>Old Daniel</blockquote><blockquote>You call yourself church member,</blockquote><blockquote>You hold your head so high,</blockquote><blockquote>You praise God with your glittering tongue,</blockquote><blockquote>But you leave all your heart behind.</blockquote><blockquote> </blockquote><blockquote>No Title</blockquote><blockquote>She sift de meal, she gimme de dust,</blockquote><blockquote>She bake de bread, she gimme de crust,</blockquote><blockquote>She eat the meat, she gimmie the skin,</blockquote><blockquote>An’ dat’s de way she tuck me in.</blockquote><blockquote> </blockquote><blockquote>No More Auction Block for Me</blockquote><blockquote>No more auction block for me, no more; no more;</blockquote><blockquote>No more auction block for me, many thousands gone,</blockquote><blockquote>No more peck o’ corn for me, no more, no more;</blockquote><blockquote>No more peck o’ corn for me, many thousands gone,</blockquote><blockquote>No more driver’s lash for me, etc. (2X)</blockquote><blockquote>No more pint o’ salt for me, etc. (2X)</blockquote><blockquote>No more hundred lash for me, etc. (2X)</blockquote><blockquote>No more mistress call for me, etc. (2X)</blockquote>Field calls convey emotions and communicate specific personal needs; street calls describe the product being sold.

Lost John

Rural/Folk Blues

Call and Response

Phrasing

Vocals

Improvisation

Vocal Sounds

Repetition

Work Song, Field/Street Call, Satirical & Protest Songs

Richie Havens

Georgia Sea Island Singers

Arwhoolie

Rail Unloading

Rails Unloading

Railroad, 2

Railroad 2

Complaint Call

Slavery

Love/Relationships

Oral Traditions

Secular

Asked for a definition of the blues, most blues singers say that the blues is about real life, hard times and the troubles men and women have getting along. When your partner mistreats you badly then you get the blues, an “aching heart disease.” When your boss tells you your work is no good, you get the blues. Hearing the blues, you realize that you’re not the only one who’s been mistreated, and this helps you feel a little better.Rural blues, sometimes known as folk blues because the music and lyrics were widely shared in oral tradition, was the earliest and most basic incarnation of this genre that has assumed many forms since its introduction. A direct path can be traced from the most ancient blues form up through rhythm &amp; blues, rock &amp; roll, soul, funk, disco, all the way to rap.Distinctive to blues is its three-line verse or stanza form of blues in which the second line more or less repeats the first line, while the third line closes out the thought with a different line that rhymes with the first and second. However, the earliest rural blues from the 19th century sometimes had two-line verses, the second line either similar to or repeating the first and the second line different and finishing the thought with a rhyme. Most blues songs are accompanied with musical instruments.

After the Civil War, Blacks remained tied to the land they had worked as enslaved people, but now as tenant farmers or sharecroppers where they were treated unfairly by landlords and employers. Jim Crow segregation laws took away their rights and freedom, and the violent activities of the Ku Klux Klan created a hostile environment. Sung in the colloquial (familiar, conversational) language of rural African Americans, blues songs served as a form of communication among a group of people that had few other entertainment options available to them.African Americans invented and nurtured blues right from its beginnings in the Deep South as a recognizable musical genre in the 1890s. Sharing some elements with ragtime, it is believed to have originated in the cotton plantations, especially in the Mississippi Delta (although its lyrical and melodic roots undeniably lie in the songs brought over to the United States by enslaved Africans). The three-line rural blues form emerged out of African American work songs, field calls and protest songs, game songs and social songs, spirituals, and folk ballads.Most of the early, rural/folk blues singer-guitarists did not specialize in blues only. They also performed Black folksongs, like “John Henry” and “Stagger Lee,” religious music, and also the popular songs of the day, depending on the audience and the occasion. They thought of themselves as “songsters,” or “musicianers,” rather than as blues singers. But beginning in 1920 the recording companies, suddenly competing with a new medium, radio, decided to open up a new, untapped market and record Black people singing blues—first the vaudeville blues, and a few years later, the rural blues. In the 1920s blues records were heavily advertised in the Black press, sold by mail order and in furniture stores (where they also sold the phonographs that played the records) in towns and cities, and became something of a fad. Audiences wanted blues, and musicians began to think of themselves as blues singers.Rural blues were performed by both individuals accompanying themselves on guitar and by groups accompanying themselves mostly with portable instruments: acoustic guitar, harmonica, violin, banjo, and mandolin, and occasionally cornet. In the rural juke joints musicians also accompanied blues on piano, if there was one. An example of early acoustic guitar blues is <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:221,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Levee Camp Blues&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;204113171&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Levee Camp Blues&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Son House&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Son House&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2003-09-08&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is1-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music\/00\/ff\/8d\/mzi.heaovqmq.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;090708&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;f4ecb8&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;e3b058&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;c5be95&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;b88e48&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/3c\/c2\/1a\/3cc21a52-7217-c17f-6d76-1df94fe30dcd\/mzaf_8714653565380758954.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Levee Camp Blues”</a> by the powerful Delta vocalist Son House, performed after his “rediscovery” in the 1960s. Blind Blake’s virtuoso playing is featured on <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:222,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Diddie Wa Diddie&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;70679706&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Diddie Wa Diddie&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Blind Blake&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Blind Blake, Vol. 3 (1928 - 1929)&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1995-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is2-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music123\/v4\/65\/42\/88\/654288ff-cd42-fbe5-4ba1-5d470f9b47f4\/669910033357.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:3000,&quot;height&quot;:3000,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;bebcc1&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;060706&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;12120e&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;2b2b2c&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;343432&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/f5\/64\/20\/f5642089-9bd2-968f-2002-c3de1b387412\/mzaf_8888552480077198917.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Diddie Wa Diddie”</a> in a 1920s recording showing his “ragtime” piano-sounding guitar in which his right-hand fingers play melody notes, riffs and responses to his vocals. At the same time, his thumb either independently lays down a separate, syncopated bass line or it enhances the melodic line. Robert Johnson’s <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:223,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Sweet Home Chicago&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;546817780&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Sweet Home Chicago&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Robert Johnson&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The Complete Recordings&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1990-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is1-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music114\/v4\/01\/f1\/b4\/01f1b41a-cb41-8f51-7a97-adf7a2954759\/886443584365.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1500,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;090305&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;fcfbf7&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;ddc5be&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;cbc9c7&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;b29e99&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/d7\/18\/3e\/d7183e59-fee1-6de4-d87e-72c763914716\/mzaf_1373692165723823420.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Sweet Home Chicago”</a> comes from the 1930s and incorporates a sparse texture in the accompaniment, a more modern rhythmic feel and a boogie-woogie bass line on guitar that later became a staple of urban, post-World War II Chicago blues and early rock ‘n’ roll. <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:12,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Knox Country Stomp&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;337908050&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Knox County Stomp&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The Tennessee Chocolate Drops&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Country Blues Outlaws&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2007-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is1-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music124\/v4\/8a\/26\/12\/8a261245-912b-f04b-7b24-53cd7fd93223\/mzi.femmdfhj.tif\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1500,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;f5cd81&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;0b0200&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;230800&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;3a2a1a&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;4d2f19&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/Music\/2f\/06\/ca\/mzm.idyogcqz.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Knox Country Stomp,”</a> a contemporary performance by the Tennessee Chocolate Drops utilizes guitar, violin, mandolin, and bass in a rural string band. Sometimes homemade or ad hoc instruments were used, such as washboards, washtubs, jugs, scrappers, bones, kazoos, and diddley bow, a one-stringed guitar. Examples of these can be heard by Sonny Terry’s Washboard Band and <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:14,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Whitewash Station&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1569132558&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Whitewash Station Blues&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Memphis Jug Band&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Memphis Jug Band&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1990-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music115\/v4\/e2\/99\/f6\/e299f6f4-b7c5-c2a7-717b-3c62486d3bae\/00016351016720_Cover.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1400,&quot;height&quot;:1400,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;000100&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;f26e79&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;3593e7&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;c25861&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;2b76b8&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/6c\/f1\/83\/6cf18372-3bf3-7ddc-cb73-a064cb611865\/mzaf_17141289280171325816.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Whitewash Station”</a> by the Memphis Jug Band. In the 1940s, rural blues became more cosmopolitan as many Blacks migrated from the plantations to work for wages in cities like Chicago and Detroit. The instruments became electrified, producing an amplified, urban blues sound. The rhythms became more pronounced and therefore more danceable, resulting in the hybrid genre rhythm &amp; blues, which remains one of the most commercially popular today (although contemporary R&amp;B bears little resemblance to the first recordings to wear that label). Rural blues influenced many other related genres during the early and mid-20th century, including boogie-woogie, vaudeville blues, urban blues and, always, the various strains of jazz.

The harmonic structure of most blues songs, whether rural blues, urban blues, boogie-woogie, or jazz, is based on a 12-bar form that centers on three chords: tonic, subdominant, and dominant seventh in a predictable sequence.Vaudeville/classic blues songs, like the well-known “St. Louis Blues,” were a little different: they usually had blues sections with this structure, but they also had sections resembling the songs from musical theatre, with introductions, choruses and refrains. Blues adheres to a handful of established rhythmic and melodic patterns, but within those patterns it allows for a great deal of melodic and rhythmic improvisation within each song. The melody might be elaborated and varied in different ways in each verse. It can incorporate moans, cries, hollers, etc., and changing vocal timbres, from rich and smooth to raw and harsh. Instrumental responses, breaks and solos take a somewhat different route each time a song is performed. The voice interacts directly with the instruments. Musicians might use a call-and-response or question-and-answer technique where the lead instrument echoes the melody being sung or plays a “riff” or repeated melodic figure related to it. Sometimes the instruments play in tandem with the vocal line, at times slightly deviating from the melody line rather than playing in unison or harmony. Guitarists, in particular, also sometimes alter the sound by bending the strings or sliding a bottle neck or metal bar atop one string or several, up and down, following the sliding contours of the voice and emphasizing the blue notes (the flatted third and seventh degrees of the scale).

<blockquote><a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:224,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;High Sheriff Blues&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1569173877&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;High Sheriff Blues&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Charley Patton&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The Best of Charlie Patton&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2003-10-21&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is2-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music125\/v4\/9e\/f5\/b3\/9ef5b396-e6a9-654c-a57b-0f28f8829b52\/00016351206923_Cover.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1400,&quot;height&quot;:1400,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;e2d6ca&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;241611&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;2e1f16&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;4a3c36&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;52443a&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/1b\/84\/cb\/1b84cbbb-5ebb-b9cd-5e35-b1959af7fcb9\/mzaf_15221343693537710924.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“High Sheriff Blues”</a></blockquote><blockquote>When your trial’s in Belzoni, ain’t no use to screamin’ and cryin’</blockquote><blockquote>When your trial’s in Belzoni, ain’t no use to screamin’ and cryin’</blockquote><blockquote>Mr. Ware will take you to the Belzoni jailhouse now.</blockquote><blockquote>Let me tell you folks how he treated me</blockquote><blockquote>Let me tell you folks how he treated me</blockquote><blockquote>Lord he put me in a cellar it was dark as it could be.</blockquote>The words to rural blues served as commentaries on the ups and downs of daily life. Themes included relationships, hardship, traveling, imprisonment, current events and protest. Most of them protested mistreatment by lovers. A small but significant number, such as Charley Patton’s <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:224,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;High Sheriff Blues&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1569173877&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;High Sheriff Blues&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Charley Patton&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The Best of Charlie Patton&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2003-10-21&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is2-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music125\/v4\/9e\/f5\/b3\/9ef5b396-e6a9-654c-a57b-0f28f8829b52\/00016351206923_Cover.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1400,&quot;height&quot;:1400,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;e2d6ca&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;241611&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;2e1f16&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;4a3c36&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;52443a&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/1b\/84\/cb\/1b84cbbb-5ebb-b9cd-5e35-b1959af7fcb9\/mzaf_15221343693537710924.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“High Sheriff Blues”</a> protested racial discrimination, in this case making reference to the legal system that unfairly targeted African Americans. The songs were often handed down orally and underwent subtle changes from region to region. The earliest rural blues singers shared a repertoire of verses that they could recall and insert into a song once they got going. When they accompanied dancers, the songs went on for five, ten, or fifteen minutes and so a good singer was one who had a lot of verses stored up in memory. In this way they made up the songs during performance by singing the verse that related to the title of the song, and following it with other verses, some more closely related to the title and theme than others. As blues recordings began to influence the song-making process, from the 1920s onward, the younger singers began to memorize a set of verses and sing them back the same way every time.

Syncopated Brass Bands

Rural Gospel

Ragtime

Knox County Stomp

Knox Country Stomp

Vaudeville/Classic Blues

Boogie-Woogie

Urban Blues

Harmonica

Bass

Guitar

Other Percussion

Strings

Instrumentals

Accompaniment

Slide

Timbre

Blues Form

Harmony

Robert Johnson

Charley Patton

Son House

Mississippi John Hurt

Blind Blake

Country Farm Blues

Fighting for Dear Old Uncle Sam

Sonny's Jump (Instrumental)

Sonny’s Jump

Whitewash Station Blues

Whitewash Station

Travel

Daily Life

Segregation

Soul is a gospel-influenced African American popular music style that evolved out of rhythm and blues in urban areas beginning in the late 1950s. Its passionate vocalizing, powerful rhythms, and honest lyrics spoke directly to a generation of young African Americans, and soul music became synonymous with the social and political developments affecting them. Soul became popular as a distinctive style during the 1960s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1970s. Its rise paralleled that of <a href="/stories/revolutionary-concepts-in-african-american-music" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Civil Rights and the Black Power movements</a>, acting as the “soundtrack” for the ascension of Black pride during these years—the music can’t be separated from the prevailing mood at the time, and vice versa.

As the momentum of the 1950s Civil Rights movement continued to build in the 1960s, Black college students rejected the nonviolent and integrationist approach advocated by civil rights leaders. In 1966 as an alternative, they embraced the Black nationalist ideology of Malcolm X. Under the rubric of Black Power and led by Kwame Ture (A.K.A. Stokley Carmichael) proponents of this ideology promoted national Black unity, Black pride, and self-determination. Their activism grew into a political movement to which Black people assigned social and cultural meanings described as “soul.” The term became associated with a range of Black cultural productions such as music, dance, visual art, foodways, fashion, natural hairstyles, a nonverbal communication style, and a unique language style of inner-city street talk and slang. With its roots in gospel music and the broader Black church culture, soul music captured the spirit, emotions, and chaos of the 1960s civil unrest that continued into the early 1970s.The soul sound began to take shape during the 1950s, the beginning of the modern Civil Rights movement. Pioneers Ray Charles and James Brown, followed by Brown, Sam Cooke, and Curtis Mayfield in the 1960s, tapped into the gospel music tradition to give a new voice to a people struggling for their rights as first-class citizens. They borrowed the rhythms, musical structures, vocal and instrumental style, and emotional delivery of gospel music and transformed rhythm and blues into soul. Ray Charles took this a step further by turning the spiritual song “This Little Light of Mine” into a soul song “This Little Girl of Mine” (1955). His reinterpretation of the 1952 rhythm and blues hit “Drown in My Own Tears”(1956), written as “I’ll Drown in My Tears” by Sonny Thompson and Lula Reed, introduced the gospel rhythms of the 12/8 meter, call-and-response structures, gospel harmonic progression, vocal phrasings, and improvisatory style.James Brown favored an intense, percussive, and gospel-inflected vocal sound similar to that of Black preachers he had observed in his youth. Brown’s dynamic persona lent a tension and excitement to his music, evident in the midtempo ballad “Please, Please, Please” (1956) with its repetitive, drawn-out choruses.

In the mid-1960s, Sam Cooke introduced the silky smooth, laid-back, melismatic vocal style associated with the gospel quartet the Soul Stirrers. Cooke was featured as lead singer and grafted that style onto rhythm and blues when he left the group for a secular solo career. His early recording of “You Send Me” (1957) was a precursor of the soul sound. By the mid-1960s, Brown evolved a distinctive soul sound that earned him the title “The Godfather of Soul.” He increased the intensity of his performance by adding a polyrhythmic foundation and incorporating vocal screams and hollers into his singing. His album Live at the Apollo, recorded in 1962, gave listeners a taste of the frenetic excitement Brown could generate and his fans’ dramatic reactions; some consider it the greatest live album ever recorded by any artist. Brown’s hit single “I Got You (I Feel Good)” (1965) is also one of the most thrilling classic soul recordings. Brown’s impassioned musical sound paralleled the emergence of the Black Power movement that promoted self-sufficiency, community control, and economic and political empowerment. Its leaders inspired unity, racial pride, and identification with the motherland of Africa among African Americans. Soul embodied this spirit as well as its sense of urgency to achieve these goals. The combination of soul’s social and political messages with its sheer musical power encouraged various levels of activism among African Americans and the nation as a whole.

The soul sound encompasses many different vocal styles and timbres. It ranged from the more lyrical and tempered style of Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, and Al Green, to the gospel-folk style of the Staple Singers to the percussive and shouting approach of James Brown, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and Sam and Dave. Performances of soul music were similar to the preaching style and gospel singing heard in African American folk-styled churches. The singing was improvisatory and intensified the performance by repeating words and phrases, and punctuating with grunts, shouts, and moans. Timbres alternated between lyrical and percussive, shifted from high to low pitches, and incorporated bends, slides, melisma, and passing tones in the melody. Instrumentalists imitated these vocal sounds, using the technological devices of the day such as guitar wah-wah pedals and keyboard synthesizers to make their instruments “talk.”

Soul music performers promoted the ideology of Black Power through their lyrics, which advocated national Black unity, activism, and self-pride. Curtis Mayfield, songwriter and lead singer of the Impressions, set the stage with <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:298,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Keep on Pushing&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1442919644&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Keep On Pushing&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The Impressions&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Keep On Pushing&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1963-10-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music124\/v4\/1d\/1b\/f7\/1d1bf72a-f081-d768-8390-a3731302a32c\/00602557467956.rgb.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:3000,&quot;height&quot;:3000,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;341814&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;fbe829&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;d2a975&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;d3be25&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;b28c62&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/18\/d4\/ba\/18d4ba91-d765-e363-a23e-0ba2538cfa86\/mzaf_5421898072126070615.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Keep on Pushing”</a> (1964), “People Get Ready” (1964), “We’re a Winner” (1967), and “This is My Country” (1968). These themes also resonate in the recordings of Sam &amp; Dave’s “Soul Man” (1967) and the Staple Singers’ “You’ve Got to Earn It” and “Respect Yourself” (1971). James Brown stressed the need for racial pride in “Say It Loud—I’m Black and I’m Proud, Pt. 1” (1968) and he addressed social and political issues in “I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I’ll Get It Myself)” (1969) and “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved” (1970). By the end of the turbulent 1960s, Motown artists began to address a range of social issues as heard in the Temptations’ “Cloud Nine” (1968) and “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today)” (1970), Gladys Knight &amp; The Pips’ “Friendship Train” (1969), Edwin Starr’s “War” (1970), and Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City” (1973) and <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:299,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Higher Ground&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1440807404&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Higher Ground&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Stevie Wonder&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Innervisions&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1973-08-03&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is1-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music115\/v4\/ff\/c2\/5f\/ffc25f04-cb3b-b56e-dd28-8b77ae63e613\/00602537070824.rgb.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1431,&quot;height&quot;:1431,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;cb933e&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;050403&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;050504&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;2c210f&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;2d2110&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/3d\/a2\/b8\/3da2b8f9-e389-563b-e349-cf43f43ec750\/mzaf_13481458924750549834.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Higher Ground”</a> (1973).Other prevalent themes in the lyrics of soul focused on unity and respect, not only among African Americans as a community but in personal relationships as well. Otis Redding spoke of committed personal relationships in “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” (1965), “Respect” (1965), and <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:300,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Try a Little Tenderness&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;997088842&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Try a Little Tenderness&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Otis Redding&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The Very Best of Otis Redding&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1966-10-15&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is1-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music125\/v4\/92\/3e\/f6\/923ef641-d13b-c0ac-1271-332f74b17956\/603497887217.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:2400,&quot;height&quot;:2400,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;000000&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;4fb2f4&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;3e9de9&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;3f8ec3&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;317eba&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview122\/v4\/d0\/93\/2e\/d0932e89-ed44-171c-19af-165162543c12\/mzaf_17667679326630100305.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Try a Little Tenderness”</a> (1966), as did Sam and Dave in “You Don’t Know Like I Know” (1965) and “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby” (1966), and Al Green in “Let’s Stay Together” (1971) and “I’m Still In Love With You” (1972). Joe Tex’s “A Sweet Woman Like You” (1965), Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Women” (1966), and Wilson Pickett’s “I Found a Love” (1967) acknowledged the importance of women in their lives. Aretha Franklin (known as the “Queen of Soul”) echoed related themes from the opposite perspective in “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” (1967), “Do Right Woman—Do Right Man” (1967), and “I Can’t See Myself Leaving You” (1968), and Gladys Knight &amp; The Pips in “If I Were Your Woman” (1970).

Soul music remained a major form of Black popular expression through the mid-1970s. The changes envisioned by African Americans, especially those living in the inner city, came at a much slower rate than anticipated. Musicians continued to speak on behalf of the community: The Isley Brothers expounded on the need for <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/more/genres/24/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:301,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Freedom&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;198021832&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Freedom&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The Isley Brothers&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The Essential Isley Brothers&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1970-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music125\/v4\/1e\/34\/dd\/1e34ddc4-b87d-d9f9-ebbd-aa822a29cc79\/mzi.nqjgihhk.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;d7d3d0&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;0a0b0a&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;242321&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;333331&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;484644&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/c1\/5f\/66\/c15f6645-e97f-87ca-5ce1-74bce7ce4d8b\/mzaf_2794225123669043066.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Freedom”</a> (1970) and the Chi-Lites reminded society that the critical mass of African Americans had not yet been empowered in “(For God’s Sake) Give More Power to the People” (1971). The O’Jays cautioned about “Backstabbers” (1972) and Marvin Gaye spoke of inner-city social problems in “What’s Going On” (1971) and “Inner City Blues” (1971), as did the O’Jays’ “Give the People What They Want” (1975). By the mid-1970s, the defining sound of soul had largely disappeared from the popular music landscape, replaced by funk and disco, and later, rap/hip-hop.

Contemporary Gospel

Soul Jazz

Smooth Jazz

Gospel Choir

Respect

Disco

Funk

Neo Soul

New Jack Swing

Drums

Electric Guitar

Electric Piano/Synthesizer

Piano

Meter

Melody

Rhythms

Ray Charles

Sam Cooke

Aretha Franklin

Otis Redding

Sam & Dave

The Isley Brothers

Stevie Wonder

Keep On Pushing

Keep on Pushing

Higher Ground

Try a Little Tenderness

Economics/Poverty

Civil Rights

Community

Arranger/Producer

The term “disco,” the abbreviation of the French word discothèque, first became associated with European up-scale dance venues that featured primarily recorded Black music, especially jazz. In the US and pioneered by mobile disc jockeys (DJs), it emerged as a musical genre in underground dance venues such as house and loft parties, bathhouses in New York City frequented by African Americans, Latinos and gays where DJs played soul, funk, and Latin American music. Soon, disco evolved into a distinct music style defined by a core set of features, including the “disco beat,” created by the studio musicians of Philadelphia International Records (known as the “Philly Sound”). In the mainstream, disco became associated with a cultural movement of music, dance, fashion, and style.

Singer of several Paradise Garage hits mixed by Levan

The concept for public, nighttime dance parties with entertainment provided by a disc jockey using a single turntable began in the European war time musical culture in the late 1930s and 1940s in Germany and France. The performance space was called a discotheque in France, and over time, disco became the recognized term to refer to the dance club as well as the genre of music.By 1964, dance music culture made its way to England at a club called Mecca Locarno where white DJ Jimmy Savile requested two turntables set up side-by-side on the stage instead of the initial set-up of one turntable hidden away up in the light box out of sight from the dancers. In these early years, the European discotheque began to refer specifically to a smaller party and dance space as opposed to the larger dancehalls built to hold thousands. In 1965 at a club called Arthur in New York City, Terry Noel brought seamless mixing of two records to the disco, rather than the earlier format of one record played immediately after the end of the previous record with no silence in between while the DJ cues up the next song.In the early 1970s, New York City’s emerging disco culture was coming up as a gay club culture, with fans, musicians, and dancers who were primarily African American and Latina/Latino. The DJ became a new kind of star, controlling the sound and creating the atmosphere by manipulating the lights from the DJ booth. Their names often would be well known to dancers such as the most influential DJ Larry Levan. Resided at the Paradise Garage, Levan kept the dancers on the dance floor playing a wide-ranging repertoire. By the mid-1970s, a distinctive disco sound dominated the scene. Observed by Joe Radcliffe, Billboard’s (music trade magazine) dance editor during the emergence of disco, “in 1974–1975, the disco music scene was literally controlled by a handful of Black artists affiliated with a small group of specialized record labels led by Motown and Philadelphia International Records” (also known as the Philly Sound). Among the most influential disco songs are the recordings of MFSB—an acronym for “Mother Father Sister Brother”—produced by Philadelphia International Records.By the mid-1970s, the role of the producer in disco music often eclipsed that of studio singers and musicians. Producers such as Giorgio Moroder, who worked with disco superstar Donna Summer, and Nile Rodgers, founder of the super group Chic, became legends in their own right. Disco crossed over from primarily Black and gay audiences into the mainstream following the release of Saturday Night Fever (1978), a popular disco film featuring a soundtrack by the Australian bother trio the Bee Gees. Many rock and popular artists began including disco-influenced material in their repertoires.By the early 1980s, Disco began to fade in popularity due to its growing commercial sound and lack of originality, but also as a result of rising racism and homophobia directed at disco music and club culture. In 1979, Chicago radio disc jockey, Steve Dahl, hosted Disco Demolition Night in Comiskey Baseball Park. After the first game in the scheduled double-header, Dahl detonated a large pile of thousands of pieces of vinyl. The records were mostly those of disco artists, but also included funk, soul, rhythm &amp; blues, and rock records by artists of color. This event was terrorizing on a large social and cultural scale, resulting in the movement of club culture toward a safer underground context. Disco music, the concept of the disco club, and the role of the disco DJ influenced DJ culture from hip-hop to house and techno, and electronic music in general.

Studio Drummer, Philadelphia Records

Club DJ

A concept essential to disco is the extended song length beyond the standard three-minute length, often remixing and editing pop song formats into a six to eight-minute, or even longer piece of music to inspire all night dancing, following the introduction of the 12-inch single.Disco is distinguished from other popular music styles by its beat and instrumental sound, pioneered by Philadelphia International Records. The basic disco beat is a four-to-the-bar bass drum pattern which is subdivided by beats on the high-hat cymbal (and variations on this pattern). Examples are: MFSB’s “T.S.O.P” and “Love Is the Message” (1973), Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes’ “Bad Luck” (1974), and Lou Rawls’ “You’ll Never Find a Love Like Mine” (1976). <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:238,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;T.S.O.P.&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;278929947&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia) [feat. The Three Degrees]&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;MFSB&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Love Is the Message&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1973-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is2-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music115\/v4\/fb\/16\/2b\/fb162bd3-1487-499c-a052-e2929de18d42\/888880306159.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:3000,&quot;height&quot;:3000,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;1d1e19&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;fefcf0&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;d97c70&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;d1cfc5&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;b3695f&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview122\/v4\/f3\/60\/97\/f3609756-3109-b474-4ed4-451b36246ec5\/mzaf_5486049582571547756.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“T.S.O.P.”</a> became the theme song for the television dance show Soul Train.The most popular disco style spotlights lush string arrangements over an unwavering disco beat. Funk-rooted disco also features strings, but the beat combines funk and disco patterns (Chic’s “Le Freak” from 1978). Other disco styles reflect the musical influences of European and Latin popular traditions (McCoy’s <a href="" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:302,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;The Hustle&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1605183240&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;The Hustle - Original Mix&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Van McCoy&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Disco Baby&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1975-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music122\/v4\/a1\/62\/17\/a16217f1-43ed-ac0c-1c5e-2114d0604067\/051617900610.png\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1600,&quot;height&quot;:1600,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;000000&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;f1945d&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;df7b4e&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;c0764a&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;b2623f&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview126\/v4\/8b\/73\/57\/8b73574d-5122-70ca-c2a2-96edcf1923b5\/mzaf_5136415590270521200.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer">“The Hustle”</a>). Disco initially was performed by studio musicians, but later productions used technology in conjunction with them.

Later disco producers and performers co-opted Philly-style arrangements as a model for new disco songs such as Gloria Gaynor’s “Never Can Say Goodbye” (1974) and <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/more/genres/25/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:303,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;I Will Survive&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1443818368&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;I Will Survive&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Gloria Gaynor&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Gloria Gaynor&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1978-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is1-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music128\/v4\/33\/12\/df\/3312dfbf-2cd2-e149-1ccb-9688e2a60980\/00731454913720.rgb.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1431,&quot;height&quot;:1419,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;ffffff&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;010102&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;32240d&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;343435&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;5b4f3e&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/97\/55\/dd\/9755dd8f-a332-4486-4946-c049059f0edf\/mzaf_18336667409268238306.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“I Will Survive”</a> (1978), and Salsoul Orchestra’s “Tangerine” (1976). Other disco styles reflect the musical influences of European and Latin popular traditions as well as funk. The Ritchie Family’s “Brazil” (1975) and <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/more/genres/25/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:304,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;The Best Disco in Town&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;391645268&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;The Best Disco In Town&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;The Ritchie Family&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Arabian Nights - EP&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1976-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is3-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music114\/v4\/e8\/65\/21\/e865215d-84ea-708b-0253-d4eca0175c7b\/mzi.bgmbatyv.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1440,&quot;height&quot;:1440,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;000000&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;ecedf0&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;e8916a&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;bdbec0&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;b97455&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/77\/06\/e6\/7706e679-fd97-a8af-5d34-adb1d3db25d7\/mzaf_845445909044054606.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“The Best Disco in Town”</a> (1976), Donna Summer’s <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/more/genres/25/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:305,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Love to Love You Baby&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;1423290771&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Love To Love You Baby&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Donna Summer&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Love To Love You Baby&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1975-08-27&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is2-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music118\/v4\/16\/56\/89\/16568924-8f4a-0893-e282-f57fa413c44a\/00602567831310.rgb.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1500,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;181713&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;efe9f1&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;e9c9c6&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;c4bfc4&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;bfa6a2&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/0c\/7d\/f4\/0c7df44f-48c4-dfec-c5b0-f52e45ffa147\/mzaf_12652561749622879754.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Love to Love You Baby”</a> (1975), the Trammps’ “That’s Where the Happy People Go” (1976), and the Village People’s “San Francisco” (1977) and “Macho Man” (1978) typify the Euro-disco style. Latin rhythms and percussive instruments were incorporated by Carol Douglas <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/more/genres/25/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:306,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Doctor\u2019s Orders&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;289566678&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Doctor&#039;s Orders&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Carol Douglas&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;The Carol Douglas Album&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1975-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is2-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music123\/v4\/37\/75\/18\/37751897-7cce-cdbd-d043-c107d36f471a\/dj.zsopsabk.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1440,&quot;height&quot;:1440,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;2e1f18&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;fefefe&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;f60c2f&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;d4d1d0&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;ce102b&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/8c\/70\/e6\/8c70e66c-cc40-890f-9c2f-baac36e10185\/mzaf_14093525257337426562.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Doctor’s Orders”</a> (1974). Funk-based disco included B.T. Express’s “Express” (1974), the German group Silver Convention’s “<a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/more/genres/25/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:505,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Fly Robin Fly&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;394743930&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Fly Robin Fly&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;Silver Convention&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Fly Robin Fly&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;1975-01-01&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music124\/v4\/80\/a1\/7f\/80a17f6e-af9f-fa2a-ea49-30ced7f6ec66\/mzi.kifpsuud.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:620,&quot;height&quot;:620,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;160f00&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;efda87&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;d3b15f&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;c3b16c&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;ad904c&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview115\/v4\/aa\/64\/d9\/aa64d91b-dc40-c1ce-c8e9-6f1fa612cde6\/mzaf_5652833384272995304.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fly Robin Fly</a>” (1975), Taste of Honey’s <a href="https://admin.cms.timeline.carnegiehall.org/more/genres/25/" data-song-json="{&quot;id&quot;:307,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Boogie Oogie Oogie&quot;,&quot;apple_music_song_id&quot;:&quot;716070281&quot;,&quot;song_file&quot;:null,&quot;apple_music_attributes&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Boogie Oogie Oogie&quot;,&quot;artist_name&quot;:&quot;A Taste of Honey&quot;,&quot;album_name&quot;:&quot;Classic Masters: A Taste of Honey&quot;,&quot;release_date&quot;:&quot;2002-01-29&quot;,&quot;artwork&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/is5-ssl.mzstatic.com\/image\/thumb\/Music124\/v4\/8c\/9e\/54\/8c9e5425-1185-1415-25a8-ab0e1c3cd71e\/00724353725853.jpg\/{w}x{h}bb.jpg&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:1500,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;bgColor&quot;:&quot;0c111e&quot;,&quot;textColor1&quot;:&quot;fefeff&quot;,&quot;textColor2&quot;:&quot;c9bcb5&quot;,&quot;textColor3&quot;:&quot;cdced1&quot;,&quot;textColor4&quot;:&quot;a39a97&quot;},&quot;preview_song_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/audio-ssl.itunes.apple.com\/itunes-assets\/AudioPreview125\/v4\/70\/d2\/b0\/70d2b04c-f8c7-760d-4c3e-a184438cd368\/mzaf_12770012139207724139.plus.aac.p.m4a&quot;},&quot;video_file&quot;:null}" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Boogie Oogie Oogie”</a> (1978), and Chic’s “Good Times” (1979).

Like most popular music of its era, disco songs focused on love and relationships, but many disco songs focused on dancing and the act of partying itself.

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