Author: Unknown
•5:52 PM
By Leigh Bean


The popularity of all modern soul singers is determined by a single thing, being an unknown. It is a music genre made popular in England by youth sub-cultures who loved soul music from the United States. English DJs brought the songs of little known American singers to English venues, where they grew into a northern soul movement. The latter is a spin-off of the northern soul movement; it started in the 1970s.

This newer style is lyrically and melodically soulful with an upbeat tempo. It was called modern in contrast to the more traditional roots of its northern counterpart, which has a more frenetic sound. The newer genre has a more contemporary and complex sound than the older northern style. Although the two styles coexist today in English venues, that was not always the case.

The fans began as converts from the northern style. They still appreciated the uniqueness of rare titles mined from little known, independent labels in America. However, they preferred the contemporary sound along with the new releases that never seemed to stop.

The famous venue Blackpool Mecca, was first a northern music club. The responsibility for initiating the shift goes to DJ Ian Levine, who played the rare song It Really Hurts Me Girl, a song by Carstairs.

Eventually, there was a rift between fans of the two styles. The former fans thought their counterparts were sellouts to artists who frequently went on make mainstream music. Latter fans felt their counterparts were musically limiting and missing out. They separated and clubs played one style or the other exclusively. Now, either style will be played in any British club featuring either genre.

Singer Johnny Bristol was an example of the kind of artist followed by the new group of fans. He released songs for independent labels Anna Records and Tri Phi. They were marginal successes in the United States, but became underground favorites. He spent the next several years writing and producing songs for other artists. In the late seventies, he recorded two albums with Atlantic Records. One of the tracks called, Strangers in the Dark Corners, became a hit in the rare songs scene. It is the rarity of a song that gives it appeal to underground audiences.

Older northern style does not produce the number of crossover artists that newer genre does. Newer genre artists sometimes ascend from obscurity to fame and fortune. The irony is that mainstream success would have excluded them from the movement. Occasionally, a singer will attain a great deal of fame. Luther Vandross, The Whispers, and Bobby Womack have all become very successful.

When Cotillion record label released the first albums of Luther Vandross, he was an unknown. He became a well-known solo artist in the eighties, and was nominated for thirty-one Grammys over his career, winning eight times. After a great career, Bobby Womack was a 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. The Whispers had two albums go number one during their long career together. They had two albums go gold and three go platinum. Several modern soul singers earned fame as well, but to a lesser degree. Most artists retained virtual anonymity, but were loved in the movement.




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