MU158 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Ben E. King, Jerry Wexler, Soul Music
Document Summary
Enjoyed success in early 60s with drifters, coasters, ben e king. Highly produced and often relaxed style of sweet soul. Later on in decade, atlantic invested heavily in harder-edged brand of black pop that became known as southern soul. Cofounder ahmet etegun and producer jerry wexler responsible for much of success in late 50s. Important sylistic differences in approaches to sweet and southern soul. Drifters and ben e king sweet soul from early 60s included more restrained vocal arrangements. Southern soul incorporated enthusiastic emotional expression often associated with gospelm. Gospel influence perceived as truer to african american heritage than softer, most pop oriented styles of black music. Wexler realized potential for music that expressed a growing consciousness of racial identity in contexts of the civil rights movement. White listeners fascinated with real black culture and unadulterated sounds from south. Wexler played crucial role in developing southerm soul. Larger record companies often licensed music from smaller labels.
