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Music genre From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Psychedelic soul (originally called black rock[1] or conflated with psychedelic funk[2]) is a form of soul music which emerged in the United States in the late 1960s. The style saw African-American soul musicians embrace elements of psychedelic rock, including its production techniques, instrumentation, effects units such as wah-wah and phasing, and drug influences.[3] It came to prominence in the late 1960s and continued into the 1970s, playing a major role in the development of funk and disco.
| Psychedelic soul | |
|---|---|
Jimi Hendrix on stage at Gröna Lund in Stockholm, Sweden in June 1967 | |
| Other names |
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| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Mid to late 1960s, United States |
| Derivative forms | |
| Other topics | |
Pioneering acts working in the genre included Sly and the Family Stone, Isaac Hayes, the Temptations, the Chambers Brothers, and Parliament-Funkadelic.
Following the lead of Jimi Hendrix as he moved from soul to psychedelic rock, the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s began to have a widespread impact on African-American musicians, particularly the stars of the Motown label.[3] Influenced by the civil rights movement, this style had a darker and more political edge than much contemporary psychedelic rock.[3] The Temptations and their producer Norman Whitfield moved from a relatively light vocal group into more hard-edged and topical material like "Cloud Nine" (1968), "Runaway Child, Running Wild" (1969), and "Psychedelic Shack" (1969).[4] Sly and the Family Stone also helped pioneer the sound with songs like "Dance to the Music" (1968), "Everyday People" (1968) and "I Want to Take You Higher" (1969), which combined psychedelic rock with funk and emphasized distorted electric guitar and strong basslines.[4]
Other Motown acts soon followed into psychedelic territory, including the Supremes with "Reflections" (1967), "Love Child" (1968), and "Stoned Love" (1970).[5] Psychedelic influences could also be heard in the early 1970s work of Stevie Wonder[3] and Marvin Gaye's 1971 album What's Going On.[6] Acts that broke through with psychedelic soul included the Chambers Brothers with "Time Has Come Today" (1966, but charting in 1968),[5] Arthur Brown with "Fire" (1968),[7][8][9] the 5th Dimension with a cover of Laura Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic" (1968),[5] Edwin Starr with "War" (1970), and the Undisputed Truth with "Smiling Faces Sometimes" (1971).[3]
George Clinton's interdependent Funkadelic and Parliament ensembles and their various spin-offs took influence from Detroit rock groups including MC5 and the Stooges, using extended distorted guitar solos and psychedelic sound effects coupled with surreal imagery and stage antics forming part of an Afrofuturist overarching mythology,[1] leading to three US top ten singles, and three platinum albums.[10] Shuggie Otis' 1974 album Inspiration Information emerged too late to take advantage of the style's peak of popularity, but later found acclaim when it was reissued in 2001.[11]
While psychedelic rock began to waver at the end of the 1960s, psychedelic soul's popularity continued into the 1970s and declined only towards the end of the decade.[3] Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield added orchestral instrumentation to psychedelic soul, creating a style known as cinematic soul which became a predecessor to disco.[12] Artists which began in psychedelic soul such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Kool & the Gang, and the Ohio Players incorporated its sounds into funk and disco.[13]
Modern psychedelic soul artists include Erykah Badu,[14] Bilal,[15] Black Pumas,[16] Janelle Monáe,[17] Adrian Younge,[18] and Kali Uchis.[19]
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