Rhino Hi Five: Aretha Franklin

Southern soul is a regional style of 1960s soul music rooted in the U.S. South, centered on Memphis, Tennessee, and Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It blends the sanctified fervor of Black gospel with the grit of Southern rhythm & blues, blues, and the storytelling sensibility of country. Compared with the smoother, pop-oriented Motown sound, Southern soul is rawer and more church-inflected: impassioned lead vocals, call-and-response backing, handclaps, Hammond organ swells, tight horn stabs, and a deep pocket rhythm section. Classic recordings were cut largely live in the studio by house bands like Booker T. & the M.G.'s and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, capturing a warm, unvarnished groove.