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The Sixties: The African-American Musical Experience

This guide covers the decade 1960 - 1970

Motown, Soul & Funk, Early Disco & Phillie Soul

By the 1960s, African-American music, rooted in the blues and r&b, grew more popular with a white audience and expanded into three different genres:

  • Soul music "was the result of the urbanization and commercialization of rhythm and blues in the '60s. Soul came to describe a number of R&B-based music styles. From the bouncy, catchy acts at Motown to the horn-driven, gritty soul of Stax/Volt..." (allmusic.com)
  • Motown: A record label, established by Berry Gordy, Jr. in Detroit, that created a "smooth, sophisticated blend of R&B and memorable pop melodies". (allmusic.com)
  • Funk: "A music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960’s when African-American musicians created a rhythmic, dance able new form of music through a mixture of soul music, jazz, and rhythm and blues (R&B)," according to the website Black Music Scholar, For a more complete definitions, check out allmusic.com.

In the early 1970s, R&B continued to splinter and create two more subgenres:

  • Phillie soul: A smooth, orchestrated R&B, often with a funky beat, developed in Philadelphia.
  • Disco: A danceable R&B sound, influenced by the Philly sound.

Motown

  • Baby Love , The Supremes (1964)
  • Reach Out, I'll Be There, Four Tops (1966)
  • Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (1967)
  • What's Going On, Marvin Gaye (1971)
  • I'll Be There, Jackson 5 (1970)
  • I Heard Through the Grapevine, Gladys Knight & the Pips (1967)
  • Tracks of My Tears, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (1965)
  • My Girl, Temptations (1965)
  • Uptight, Everything Alright, Stevie Wonder (1966)
  • My Guy, Mary Wells (1964)
  • Shotgun, Junior Walker & the All-stars (1965)

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Early Disco

  • Do It In the Name of Love, Candi Staton (1973)
  • Can't Get Enough, Barry White (1974)
  • Fire, Ohio Players (1974)
  • Never Can Say Goodbye, Gloria Gaynor (1974)
  • Rock the Boat, Hues Corporation (1974)
  • Where is the Love?, Betty Wright (1974)
  • Soul Train '75, Soul Train Gang (1975)
  • That's the Way I Like, K.C. & the Sunshine Band (1975)

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Great Soul Singers

  • What'd I Say, Ray Charles (1959)
  • At Last, Etta James (1960)
  • What a) Wonderful World, Sam Cooke (1960)
  • I Put a Spell On You, Nina Simone (1965)
  • In the Midnight Hour, Wilson Pickett (1965)
  • It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World, James Brown (1966)
  • Try a Little Tenderness, Otis Redding (1966)
  • Chain of Fools, Aretha Franklin (1967)
  • (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher, Jackie Wilson (1967)
  • Let's Stay Together, Al Green (1971)
  • Respect Yourself, The Staples Singers (1972)

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Funk

  1. Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, James Brown (1966)
  2. Tighten Up, Archie Bell and the Drells (1968)
  3. It's Your Thing, Isley Brother (1969)
  4. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), Sly and the Family Stone (1970)
  5. Theme from "Shaft", Isaac Hayes (1971)
  6. Superfly, Curtis Mayfield (1972)
  7. Superstition, Stevie Wonder (1972)
  8. Cisco Kid, War (1973)
  9. Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker), P-Funk (1975)
  10. Shining Star, Earth, Wind & Fire (1975)

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Phillie Soul

  • La-La Means I Love You, The Delfonics (1968)
  • Back Stabbers, The Ojays (1972)
  • Betcha by Golly Wow, The Sylistics (1972)
  • If You Don't Know Me By Now, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes (1972)
  • I'll Be Around, The Spinners (1972)
  • Me and Mrs. Jones, Billy Paul (1972)
  • TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia), (MFSB (Mother Father Sister Brother)1974)
  • When Will I See You Again, Three Degrees (1974)

Songs found on Spotify
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Additional References

Dahl, B. (2001). Motown: The golden years: The stars and music that shaped a generation. Iola, WI: Krause.