Various - Where Southern Soul Began - Vinyl LP

The Golden Age of southern soul lasted from about 1964 to 1975, when disco ripped the heart out of it.

Although it may seem as if the blend of country, gospel and R & B that emerged from the great studios in Memphis and Muscle Shoals in that decade was entirely new, like any other genre, southern soul absorbed influences from a whole variety of sources. Part of the 'History of Soul' series, these CDs reveal the musical antecedents that gave southern soul its inspiration.

A good few of the artists here, represented in their early attempts at creating an individual style, went on to become some of the biggest stars of the '60s. Others, perhaps less famously, provided ideas and techniques that became stylistic standards.

If you ever wondered what musical forms anticipated the southern soul explosion, the answer is in these tracks. If you thought that secularised gospel started with Sam Cooke and Ray Charles, think again as you listen to vocalists who pioneered this many years before them. And if you imagined that the producers at Royal Studios, or Fame or Cosimo's in New Orleans invented something completely unprecedented, you were missing something. The accompanying booklet is written by John Ridley. The music here will tell you the real story – and it will knock your socks off too!