Southern soul

History and character

Southern soul is the soul music of the American South, born in the late 1950s and at its peak in the 1960s and '70s: rawer, earthier and more gospel-driven than the Detroit sound, with influences from blues, early R&B and country. Its capitals are Memphis (Stax, founded by Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton in a former movie theater on McLemore Avenue, with the house band Booker T. & the M.G.'s — Booker T. Jones on organ, Steve Cropper on guitar, Donald “Duck” Dunn on bass, Al Jackson Jr. on drums — and the Memphis Horns; later Willie Mitchell's Hi Records with Al Green, Ann Peebles, O.V. Wright and Otis Clay), Muscle Shoals in Alabama (Rick Hall's FAME Studios and, from 1969, the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio run by the musicians known as “The Swampers”), and other centers such as Jackson (Malaco), Shreveport (Jewel/Murco) and Goldwax in Memphis.

Artists: Otis Redding (Stax's most successful artist of the 1960s), Sam & Dave, Carla and Rufus Thomas, Wilson Pickett (“Land of a Thousand Dances,” “Mustang Sally,” recorded with the FAME musicians), Aretha Franklin (who credits FAME with the turning point of her career in 1967), Percy Sledge (“When a Man Loves a Woman,” 1966), Etta James (Tell Mama), James Carr, Johnnie Taylor, Isaac Hayes, Al Green (“Let's Stay Together,” 1971). The genre is still alive today in the “Southern soul” of the chitlin' circuit and Malaco (Z.Z. Hill, Marvin Sease, Bobby Rush).

The aesthetic: a small, tight band playing “together in the room,” groove behind the beat, organ and horns in unison, a voice that preaches as if in church, simple harmony (often three chords), songs about love, betrayal and faith. Its rhythmic weight is among the roots of funk.

Scales and keys

Major pentatonic with b3 (“gospel blues”)

• Formula: 1 2 b3 3 5 6 — T S S 3S T 3S.
• Example on G: G A Bb B D E.
• Characteristic note: the b3 rising to the 3 (Bb → B): the gospel moan inside the major.
• Use: vocal phrases, guitar fills in the style of Steve Cropper and Jimmy Johnson, horn responses.
• Real example: Otis Redding — These Arms of Mine; Al Green — Let's Stay Together (ad-libs).
• Common mistakes: the b3 is not a “minor note” to sustain: it is an appoggiatura that resolves to the 3.

Ionian (major)

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 — on G: G A B C D E F#. Chords: G (I), Am7, Bm7, C (IV), D7 (V7), Em7, F#ø.
• Characteristic note: major 7 (F#) in sentimental melodies; rarely used in riffs.
• Use: country-soul ballads (Percy Sledge), chorus melodies.

Mixolydian

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 — T T S T T S T. On D: D E F# G A B C.
• Characteristic note: the b7 (C): the bVII chord (C in D) in Stax riffs.
• Chords: D7 (I7), Em7, F#ø7, G (IV), Am7 (v), Bm7, C (bVII).
• Use: up-tempo grooves (Soul Man, Hold On, I'm Comin'), horn and guitar riffs over I7 and bVII–IV–I.

Minor pentatonic and blues

• On E: E G A B D (blues: + Bb). Characteristic note: b3 and b7 over major chords (blues clash).
• Use: organ and guitar riffs (Green Onions in F: riff F Ab Bb on the minor pentatonic), vocal shouts.
• Real example: Booker T. & the M.G.'s — Green Onions (blues in F with a minor pentatonic riff).

Dorian

• On A: A B C D E F# G. Characteristic note: the major 6 (F#). Use: minor vamps of late Stax and Isaac Hayes, i7–IV7 grooves.

How to choose

Harmony

Harmonic function

Simple and powerful harmony: three or four chords (I, IV, V, vi), blues and gospel cadences. Tension comes from dynamics, rhythm and the voice more than from the harmony. The ballads take melodic clarity from country and plagal cadences from gospel.

Typical elements

• I–IV–I–V and I–vi–IV–V progressions in 6/8 ballads.
• I7–IV7 and 12-bar blues in up-tempo songs.
• bVII–IV–I (Mixolydian borrowing) in riffs.
• IV–I plagal and iv–I as a gospel ending.
• Chromatic passing chords in the piano (I–I/3–IV–#iv°–I/5).
• Hi Records (Willie Mitchell) is more refined: maj7, m9, IV/V.

Harmonic rhythm

Slow: 1 chord per bar or per two bars; in 6/8 ballads, one chord per 6/8 bar. Final vamps on 2 chords (I–IV) for the ad-libs.

Voicing

Organ with full, sustained chords (triads in inversion, full drawbars), guitar with double stops and “gospel licks,” piano with inversions and triplets; horns in unison or in thirds (trumpet and sax) with the baritone underneath.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Feel

A behind-the-beat, heavy groove. Al Jackson Jr. plays the snare slightly late; the band breathes together. Mid-tempo with slightly swung eighth notes (55–60%); ballads in 6/8 or 12/8 with piano or guitar playing triplets; up-tempo with straight eighth notes and a strong backbeat.

Accents

Backbeat on 2 and 4 with tambourine; horns on the “&”s and on the stops; horn and rhythm-section “push” on the “&” of 4 before the chorus.

Dynamics

Slow crescendo through the song: soft verse, strong chorus, and a finale with the voice “preaching” and the band answering on the stops.

Microtiming

Snare +10/+20 ms, bass and kick precise, voice free; when programming, avoid rigid quantization of the horns (±5–10 ms).

Drums

Principle

“Less is more”: Stax/Hi/Muscle Shoals drumming keeps time with very few notes, a dry and fat sound, a “flat,” short snare (often muffled with a cloth, a wallet or a towel on the head), and a dull kick.

Kick

1 and the “&” of 3 (pos. 1, 11) or 1 and 3; in up-tempo songs 1, “&” of 2, 3 (pos. 1, 7, 9). In 6/8 ballads: on beats 1 and 4 of each bar.

Snare

Backbeat on 2 and 4, slightly late, high and constant velocity. Ballads: snare on the “4” of each 6/8 bar (or on 2 and 4 of 12/8). Almost no ghost notes.

Hi-hat

Eighth notes (odd positions) with accents on the quarter notes; in ballads, triplets on the hi-hat or ride; openings are very rare.

Percussion

Tambourine on 2 and 4 or in eighth notes, handclaps; sometimes congas in the 1970s (Hi Records).

Dynamics and velocity

Backbeat 115–127, kick 100–115, hat 60–90. The build happens by sections, not by fills.

Interaction

The bass of Duck Dunn or David Hood locks in with the kick on the one and the “&” of 3; the drums leave room for the horn stops; they follow the voice in ritardandos and stops.

Sections

Verse: closed hat and backbeat; chorus: tambourine, ride or cymbals; bridge: stop-time; finale: crescendo, ad-libs, stops and restarts.

Fills

Short, on the snare (2–4 hits), or a single cymbal hit; in ballads, slow triplet fills on the toms.

Sounds

Dry, muffled snare, kick with no resonant head or with a blanket, toms rarely used. Natural room (Stax: a former movie theater with a sloped floor).

Typical mistakes

Drumming that is too clean and modern, rock fills, funk ghost notes, an early backbeat, cymbals that are too present.

Bass

Sound

Fender Precision, flatwound strings, a fat, short, very “woody” sound; recorded DI or through an amp. Duck Dunn (Stax), David Hood and Tommy Cogbill (Muscle Shoals), Leroy Hodges (Hi).

Notes

Root, fifth, octave, sixth, diatonic passing tones; anticipations on the “&” of 4; simple lines that leave room for the voice and the organ.

Relationship with the kick

Locked in on the one; the bass lightly fills the rests. No slap.

Rhythm

Eighth and quarter notes, rests, short notes; in ballads, long notes and triplet passing tones.

Harmonic instruments

• Hammond organ (Booker T. Jones, Spooner Oldham, Charles Hodges): gospel pads, riffs, swells.
• Guitar (Steve Cropper, Jimmy Johnson, Teenie Hodges): double-stop fills, short chords on the backbeat, small riffs; clean Telecaster.
• Piano: triplets in ballads, gospel in the finales.
• Horns (Memphis Horns: Wayne Jackson, Andrew Love): stabs, riffs in unison and in simple harmony; often trumpet, tenor and baritone.
• Strings (Hi Records, 1970s): restrained, under the choruses.

Melody and vocals

Voice

A voice that “preaches”: rough timbre, shouts, emotional crescendos, repeated phrases, spoken passages. Otis Redding (crescendos and repetitions such as “got-ta, got-ta”), Wilson Pickett (the scream), Aretha (power and control), Al Green (falsetto and whispers). Typical range: men A2–B4 with falsetto, women F3–F5.

Backing vocals

Three-part gospel backing vocals (often female: Sweet Inspirations, The Memphis Singers), responses to the hook; in Stax productions sometimes absent or only in the choruses.

Horns as backing vocals

The horns answer like a church choir.

Effects

Dry, close vocal with a short slap or a medium room; very little processing.

Instruments

• Lead vocal, gospel backing vocals
• Drums, tambourine, handclaps
• Electric bass (Precision)
• Electric guitar (Telecaster)
• Hammond organ, piano, Wurlitzer
• Horns: trumpet, tenor sax, baritone sax (Memphis Horns)
• Strings (Hi Records, 1970s)

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• B-3 V — Stax/Muscle Shoals organ: Drawbars 888000000 or 886400000, percussion on the 3rd harmonic in riffs (Green Onions), slow Leslie in ballads and fast in choruses.
• Piano V — Piano: Upright piano for the ballad triplets, with a little room.
• Wurli V — Wurlitzer: An alternative Southern soul color to the piano (Aretha used piano and organ a lot; the Wurlitzer is typical of 1960s–'70s soul).
• Augmented Strings — Hi Records strings: Long, restrained lines under the choruses, with moderate hall.

Song structure

Ballad

Intro 2–4 (organ or arpeggiated guitar) – Verse 1 (8–16) – Chorus (8) – Verse 2 – Chorus – Bridge (8) – Chorus – Vamp/ad-libs with crescendo (8–32) – ending or fade. 2:45–4:30.

Up-tempo

Intro with horn riff (4–8) – Verse (12–16) – Chorus (8) – Verse – Chorus – Stop-time/bridge (8) – Chorus ×2 – Fade with ad-libs. 2:30–3:30.

Arrangement

Verse: rhythm section + organ. Chorus: horns and backing vocals. Bridge: stop or half time. Finale: the band builds, the voice preaches, horns answer, stops and restarts (Try a Little Tenderness is the model).

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

A dry, warm and close sound: everything seems recorded in the same room, with little artificial separation. Vocal up front and “raw,” drums with a fat, short snare, organ and horns as a single block. Many original records are mono; period stereo sometimes puts the drums on one side. Indicative loudness: −14/−11 LUFS (vintage), −10/−9 (modern revival: St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Alabama Shakes, Durand Jones).

Kick

HP 40 Hz; 60–80 Hz +2 dB; 350 Hz −3 dB; 1.5–2 kHz +1 dB; compression 3:1 2–3 dB; center.

Snare

HP 100 Hz; 150–200 Hz +2 dB (fat body); 600–900 Hz −2 dB; 3–4 kHz +1 dB; FET compression 4:1 attack 5 ms 4–6 dB; minimal reverb (room 0.4–0.7 s) or none: the Southern snare is dry.

Hi-hat and tambourine

HP 400 Hz; LP 12–14 kHz; tambourine HP 500 Hz, presence 7 kHz; narrow pan.

Bass

HP 40 Hz; 80–100 Hz +2 dB; 700 Hz +1 dB; LP 4–5 kHz; opto 4–6 dB; tape; center.

Organ, guitar, piano

• Organ: HP 60 Hz; 300–500 Hz −2 dB; moderate stereo Leslie (or mono); light compression; automation to pull it down under the vocal.
• Guitar: HP 120 Hz; 2–3 kHz presence; pan 30–50%; short spring.
• Piano: HP 60 Hz; 300 Hz −2 dB; 3 kHz +1 dB; narrow stereo.

Horns

HP 100 Hz (baritone 50 Hz); 300–500 Hz −2 dB; 1.5–2.5 kHz +2 dB; compression 3:1 3–4 dB as a bus; short plate or room; pan: as a block in the center or on one side (Stax style).

Lead vocal

HP 80 Hz; cut at 300 Hz; presence 2–4 kHz (+2/+3 dB); light de-esser; 1176 (4:1, attack 3, release 7, 4–6 dB) + opto 2–3 dB; tube saturation; slap 100–130 ms mono and room/plate 1–1.3 s at a low level. Volume automation for the shouts (−2/−4 dB on the peaks before the compression).

Backing vocals

HP 150 Hz, compression 5 dB, pan 40–70%, longer plate.

FX

One slap and one plate/room for everything; spring for guitar; nothing else.

Buses and groups

Band bus (everything except the vocal) with 2 dB of compression and tape; horn bus.

Sidechain

None.

Master

Chain: light EQ (HP 30 Hz; optionally +1 dB at 3 kHz for the vocal) – tube/VCA compressor 2:1 1–2 dB – tape – soft limiter. Target −13/−11 LUFS integrated (vintage), −10/−9 (modern), true peak −1 dBTP. Mono check is mandatory.

Common mistakes

Long reverb on drums and horns, a modern snare with crack at 5 kHz and a long tail, wide stereo, a vocal that is too clean and “polished” (audible pitch correction), a bass that is too deep.

Mix reference tracks

Otis Redding — Try a Little Tenderness; Sam & Dave — Hold On, I'm Comin'; Percy Sledge — When a Man Loves a Woman; Al Green — Let's Stay Together; Alabama Shakes — Hold On (modern).

Reference listening

• Booker T. & the M.G.'s — Green Onions (1962)
• Otis Redding — These Arms of Mine (1962)
• Wilson Pickett — In the Midnight Hour (1965)
• Percy Sledge — When a Man Loves a Woman (1966)
• Sam & Dave — Hold On, I'm Comin' (1966)
• Otis Redding — Try a Little Tenderness (1966)
• James Carr — The Dark End of the Street (1967)
• Aretha Franklin — I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) (1967)
• Al Green — Let's Stay Together (1971)
• Ann Peebles — I Can't Stand the Rain (1973)
• Z.Z. Hill — Down Home Blues (1982)