There seems to be a disconnect in this episode's numbering in the lineup for 'The History of Rock 'n' Roll' series as I write this. I see other reviewers commenting on the 'Plugging In' chapter, even though the title of this one is 'The Sounds of Soul'. I've submitted a correction to the IMDb staff, so we'll see how that works out. In the meantime, I'll offer my comments on 'The Sounds of Soul'.
The emphasis here is primarily on the Motown sound that developed in the early Sixties, emanating from Detroit, and comprising a distinct genre of sound highlighted by a significant merging of gospel with rhythm and blues. An early practitioner was James Brown, characterized as the epitome of funk when it came to his own distinctive sound and the theatrics that he brought to his performances. Besides clips of Brown, other featured performers include Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Ray Charles, Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett.
Vocalist Ruth Brown appears on camera to describe the four venues all successful soul groups and singers needed to play in order to be considered as having 'made it'. They included the Regal Theater in Chicago, The Howard in Washington, The Uptown in Philadelphia, and of course, New York City's Apollo Theater. Collectively, she described them as the 'Litchman Chain', though her explanation of that detail isn't mentioned. A quick search on that name indicates that the term was more generally applied to musical venues, primarily in the South, where it was acceptable for African-Americans to perform during the era of racial segregation. The name derives from the soul food 'chitterlings'.
The home base of Motown was Detroit, Michigan, and more explicitly, Hitsville, USA, the location of Motown Records formed by Berry Gordy. Smokey Robinson provides detail on how Gordy took his venue national at a time when he recorded various groups, but none of them got paid. Gordy took his advice and the rest of course is history, with premier groups of the era finding success, like The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Gladys Knight and The Jackson Five. Under Gordy, these groups were trained to be so good that they inspired each other to produce more and better music, a strategy that worked immensely.
The latter part of this segment ties in the rise of the Soul Sound with the burgeoning Civil Rights movement in this country, with commentary on how the two influenced each other. Contributors to this episode included Smokey Robinson, Daryl Hall, Jerry Butler, Gladys Knight and Gerald Levert of The O'Jays, along with the commentary by series narrator Gary Busey.
The emphasis here is primarily on the Motown sound that developed in the early Sixties, emanating from Detroit, and comprising a distinct genre of sound highlighted by a significant merging of gospel with rhythm and blues. An early practitioner was James Brown, characterized as the epitome of funk when it came to his own distinctive sound and the theatrics that he brought to his performances. Besides clips of Brown, other featured performers include Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Ray Charles, Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett.
Vocalist Ruth Brown appears on camera to describe the four venues all successful soul groups and singers needed to play in order to be considered as having 'made it'. They included the Regal Theater in Chicago, The Howard in Washington, The Uptown in Philadelphia, and of course, New York City's Apollo Theater. Collectively, she described them as the 'Litchman Chain', though her explanation of that detail isn't mentioned. A quick search on that name indicates that the term was more generally applied to musical venues, primarily in the South, where it was acceptable for African-Americans to perform during the era of racial segregation. The name derives from the soul food 'chitterlings'.
The home base of Motown was Detroit, Michigan, and more explicitly, Hitsville, USA, the location of Motown Records formed by Berry Gordy. Smokey Robinson provides detail on how Gordy took his venue national at a time when he recorded various groups, but none of them got paid. Gordy took his advice and the rest of course is history, with premier groups of the era finding success, like The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Gladys Knight and The Jackson Five. Under Gordy, these groups were trained to be so good that they inspired each other to produce more and better music, a strategy that worked immensely.
The latter part of this segment ties in the rise of the Soul Sound with the burgeoning Civil Rights movement in this country, with commentary on how the two influenced each other. Contributors to this episode included Smokey Robinson, Daryl Hall, Jerry Butler, Gladys Knight and Gerald Levert of The O'Jays, along with the commentary by series narrator Gary Busey.