Research Question: Who/What made the Philadelphia Soul music scene come to life and how has the city paid homage to this wonderful aspect of its musical lineage?
Description: For this project I’d like to create an Instagram Account that focuses on the landmarks and markers that the city still has as recognition to the Soul scene. There will be pictures (that I would take) of famous buildings (i.e. Uptown Theater, the sight of PIR’s HQ, various recording “houses”) and describe the significance in the description. Quotes can also be added in the pictures or they can also be their own post if they are significant enough. I’d also like to put popular Soul songs the background of these posts(pictures and quotes) to help build out the aesthetic of the account and give the reader/viewer a more personable feel rather then them feeling detached. These were people and songs that have feeling behind them and not just cold stone buildings and words.
Format: Instagram Infographic Gallery
Secondary Sources:
- Jackson, John A. A House on Fire: the Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2005.
- This source focuses on the broader picture of the Philadelphia Soul music scene. It takes a look into the major labels and bands that helped to popularize the genre and what factors lead to its eventual downfall. The book covers the entirety of the time span of the Soul music scene and will be a valuable insight into how everything worked behind the scene.
- Rosin, James. Philadelphia: City of Music. Philadelphia, PA: Camino Books, 2006.
- This source not only covers the Soul movement, but takes a look at the broader music scene as a whole. It talks about how the major labels that produced Soul helped lead a musical surge in the city, bringing in artists to record like Elton John and David Bowie. This musical foundation set the stage for artists like the Roots, Boys II Men, Hall & Oates, and Will Smith and enabled them to break through into mainstream culture.
- Roberts, Kimberly C., and Kenny Gamble. Joy Ride!: the Stars and Stories of Philly’s Famous Uptown Theater. Philadelphia, PA: Xlibris, 2013.
- This book will help me focus on an often seen, but rarely talked about feature of northern Philly. The Uptown Theater used to be a hub for soul music on north Broad. It would attract stars from across the country to play at the venue and is an important historical landmark in the success of the genre.
Primary Sources:
- Edelstein, Andrew. 1981. “SOUL: SOUL MUSIC NEVER DIED, BUT IT’S STILL COMING BACK BIG.” Chicago Tribune (1963-1996), Sep 20, 1-e12.
- (Other national newspapers)
- This is a newspaper article that talks about the national impact that Soul and Motown had on the national music scene of the 70’s. It talks about the general feeling around the musical genre and its dying off. This particular writer believed that Soul would come back strong nationally (as we know this isn’t the case) and how some people still listened to the music after it had peaked. They talk about rising artists that have a similar style to Soul and I may use it to build a through-line to today’s mainstream music
- Willis, Thomas. “Youth Music on Their Terms.” Music Educators Journal 56, no. 9 (1970): 56-59. Accessed April 14, 2021. doi:10.2307/3392815.
- (Other articles from this journal around this time)
- This is the Music Educators Journal, which talks to music teachers about current topics and revolutions in the music world. The article that I have pulled talks about the lack of ‘youth’ music in this time (May 1970) and how there was no defined gap between the generations in music. More surprisingly (and more relevant to my topic), the article talks about the race divide in music. “The correlation between race and musical preference was high”. It talks about how Blacks knew the newest blues, while being unaware of the Top 40. It briefly talks about a teen Philly ghetto group that played a mix of hard rock and soul that drew in a large crowd. This is how the youth started to make its own music with a lack of clear “teeny-bops” being produced by major labels. The youth of Philadelphia really helped to make Philly Soul unique and mainstream. I would love to highlight these connections and the contrast of Philly’s scene with other youth groups across the country.
- This journal also has reviews that might be useful to see how people first reacted to popular hits of the genre in the educational space.