All people in the US love to listen to soul music that is a form of music that also has universal appeal among all true lovers of music. This genre of music is one that is made up partly of rhythm and blues and is partly made up of gospel music that is combined well to produce music to touch the soul. One of the main characteristics of this particular kind of music is getting the audience to respond to the singer who will improvise and use twirls and other exciting sounds.

Soul music has its roots firmly embedded in gospel music and in rhythm and blues and the exponents of this form of music drew a lot of inspiration from hard gospel from the forties and also from the fifties. Ray Charles is believed to be the father of this kind of music and it was his song, I Got a Woman that really exemplified the best of how gospel and rhythm and blues could be mixed together to stir the soul.

Then, ten years later in the sixties, Solomon Burke took soul music to greater heights and his songs such as Just Out of Reach as well as Cry for Me were classics that helped him earn fame and fortune. The works of Charles and Burke inspired others including modern day legends such as James Brown, Otis Redding and Fats Domino who however called themselves to be rock and roll performers rather than soul singers. Little Richards too was a major figure and one who combined rhythm and blues, gospel and rock and roll in the best manner possible.

They were followed by Aretha Franklin who sang some spectacularly successful songs including Respect (a number borrowed from Otis Redding) and then there was the excellent I Never Loved a Man. Eddie Floyd as well as Johnny Taylor followed her and made significant contributions to the world of music especially that was meant to stir the soul.

Most people believe that soul music first born in the north of America and Chicago in particular is one of the inner cities that come to mind. Other cities that have contributed to the development of music for the soul include Memphis, Detroit, New York and Florence. New artists came up that influenced the development of this music and whose styles were more individualistic and which drew a lot from gospel music from different regions in the US.

Motown Records came out of Detroit and their music was very popular with many of the performers of this music becoming living legends. Names such as Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye as well as Gladys Knights and the Pips as well as the Supremes and Temptations have all helped to make the Motown Sound popular in every part of the US and in the rest of the world as well.

Chicago gave names such as Curtis Mayfield, who is regarded as the Godfather of Soul from North America.

In fact, soul music has many variations including Detroits Motown Sound, Memphis Sound and its deep soul as well as southern soul and then there was Detroit soul that owed a lot to Fats Domino and to Little Richard.