Question 1
Soul music began as a unique blend of gospel and R&B genres stemming from African American roots. This entirely new genera birthed a completely different approach to music and activism through the voices of black artists. As with all types of music it’s inevitable to see changes and transformations as time goes by. For soul, these changes are most apparent when discussing the 60’s and 70’s eras. While 60s soul encompassed the spiritual side of black identity; 70s soul combined the spiritual with the secular to create hit songs and turn them into movement songs. Marvin Gaye was perhaps one of the most famous soul artists to evolve in this way. From his start as a clean cut guy confined to the original Motown sound to the revolutionary rebel he came to be in the 70s; Gayes artistic transition was central to the evolution of soul throughout those decades.…show more content… In his younger years it’s stated that he had only a church, his voice, and a piano to move the crowds that gathered during the religious services1. These formative years, inevitable molded him into an adult with drive and determination for stardom. Eventually Gayes persistence would pay off when he signed to Motown records. Gaye now apart of one of the first African American record labels he began to turn out hits throughout the 60s. One of Gayes earliest musical success was “Hitch Hike” which is described as mixing “pop and soul”2. The pop, catchy, and sophisticated music are what most refer to as the Motown sound, which is definitely something that Gaye mastered in the 60s. However in the 70s Gaye took a different approach to the sound of soul music. Most notably is the introduction to the conga in his album “what’s going on” along with the use of the electric keyboard (synthesizer) in his album “I want you”. Along with Gaye evolving the sound of soul he also illustrated how the look of soul began to