411 Music Ten Deep 8.28.09: Top Ten Classic Soul Songs

Posted by Andrew Moll on 08.28.2009

Ten Deep goes back in time this week to look at the Top Ten Classic Soul Songs. From "Respect" to "Stand By Me" to "A Change is Gonna Come," the best that soul has to offer is on the list, but which song made it to number one? The answer to that and more is inside this week's edition of 411 Music Ten Deep.


(Disclaimer: All opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of 411 Music and its staff.)


Welcome to the sixth edition of 411 Music Ten Deep, my name is Andrew Moll and I'll be leading you through this column each and every week. It's been a crazy last couple days, with the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy plus we all found out just how much of a scumbag Chris Brown really is. Enough of the bad news, though let's focus on the good stuff; we have another stellar list for you this week that I'm pretty pleased with, and we also have to go over some of the comments you guys left last week in the wake of the list of the Top Ten Guitar Solos. But first I have a programming note for you all; this column has moved from its original Thursday spot and has permanently moved to Fridays, so this is the day you'll find Ten Deep each week from now on. And with that out of the way, let's get on with the show.





Not bad if you wanna go with mainstream stuff. Here are a few that could make the list if you want to go into album cuts:

Rush--La Villa Straingato: An amazing building solo:

Savatage--Ghost in the Ruins: Jon Oliva is one of the most overlooked guitarists ever, and this solo is easily one of the best.

Iron Maiden--Stranger in a Strange Land: Adrian Smith is a guitar god, and this is one of the reasons why.
Posted By: Michael L (Guest) on August 20, 2009 at 12:59 AM

no owner of a lonely heart by trevor rabin or aqualung by Jethro Tull, how heat of the moment by Asia?
Posted By: noprize (Guest) on August 20, 2009 at 05:43 AM

This list looks like a borderline compilation of the most over-rated bands/solos of all time.

Greatest guitar solo ever?
King Diamond: "The 7the Day of July 1777."
If you've never heard, I recommend that you do.
Say what you want about the King, but he always surrounds himself with top-notch musicians.
Posted By: anti-messiah (Guest) on August 20, 2009 at 11:41 AM

"Don't Fear the Reaper" solo from Blue Oyster Cult is also a stand out for me.
Posted By: Guest#3977 (Guest) on August 20, 2009 at 01:10 PM

Hmmm...list is missing such luminaries as Blackmore, Schenker, anyone from Judas Priest or Iron Maiden...dunno, some key players not represented
Posted By: McCheezy (Guest) on August 20, 2009 at 01:40 PM

No Hotel California? No Crazy Train? No Crossroads? No, Stevie fucking Ray Vaughan? You've definitely got the bones of a great list here, but it needs some meat.
Posted By: Blode (Guest) on August 21, 2009 at 01:23 AM

I...I don't seem to be mentioned in even the most passing of thoughts here...
Posted By: Synyster Gates (Guest) on August 23, 2009 at 02:00 PM

You kept some damn good guitarists, such as Clapton, Hendrix, Page, Slash, Gilmour, etc. and I give you props for maggot brain but I just feel like you made non-contemporary picks to make up for picking the obligatory ones such as Stairway and Freebird and in turn left off some ass kicking solos.
Posted By: JT (Guest) on August 20, 2009 at 11:43 AM

You've unlocked the code to my process of selection, congratulations.

Nothing by Eddie Van Halen?? Really?? Arguably the best guitarist living not on this list?
Eruption anybody?? No??
Hot for Teacher?? No??

Wow, blows my mind
Posted By: Guest#3992 (Guest) on August 20, 2009 at 09:07 PM

Eddie Van Halen is not the best living guitarist. He's good, but he's not that good. Besides, not every great guitar player gets a spot on the list. There's only ten, not some infinite amount.

Nobody ever remembers me
Posted By: Jeff Beck (Guest) on August 21, 2009 at 01:01 PM

First of all Jeff, thanks for reading. Secondly, you're in a though position. You're a great guitarist, yet still only the third best guitarist the Yardbirds ever had. Sometimes you'll get overlooked. I'm sorry.

It's official. Rock n' Roll is dead. If Mike McCready get's a slot and Stevie Ray Vaughn, Joe Satriani or Steve Vai didn't even get mentioned. At least someone had the courtesy to mention Alex Lifeson on "La Villa Strangiato". Most under rated guitarist in the world. And seriously? Candlebox? I've heard cats fuck with more harmony.
Posted By: really?? (Guest) on August 21, 2009 at 06:17 PM

Yeah, this is the end of rock and roll. Although I agree with you about the guy that mentioned Candlebox, not sure what that was all about.

But now we move from the world of rock to the world of soul for this week's brand spakning new list.



Top Ten Classic Soul Songs



I've been a fan of soul music for as long as I can remember, probably since I first listened to my mom's copy of Wilson Pickett's greatest hits CD. In soul music, I've always been drawn to the smooth voices and the wonderful melodies. I have my favorites of course (I count Otis Blue as one of my favorite albums of all-time), and I'm sure you do too, so this week we'll look at some of classic soul's best work. There's no real official criteria for classic soul music, but I mainly focused on the late 1950s to the early 1970s for the list, so if there are any soul songs not from that time period that are as good as the ones I mention, then I apologize. Before we get to the main list, though, let's go over this week's songs that didn't quite make the cut.


Some Honorable Mentions: Booker T. and The M.G.s - "Green Onions"; James Brown - "I Got You (I Feel Good)"; Solomon Burke - "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love"; Gladys Knight and the Pips - "I Heard it Through the Grapevine"; The Miracles - "The Tracks of My Tears"; Sam and Dave - "Soul Man"; The Temptations - "My Girl"; Stevie Wonder - "Uptight (Everything's Alright)"




10. Dusty Springfield - "Son of a Preacher Man"


Dusty Springfield was the embodiment of "white soul," an Englishwoman who belted out the voice of American soul music. Starting out as a pop singer, Springfield found her soul side and no song better showed off that talent than "Son of a Preacher Man," one of the highlights of her classic 1969 album Dusty in Memphis. Springfield's voice always had a definite sensual quality to it which shines through on lines like, "When he started sweet talking to me/He'd come tell me everything is alright/He'd kiss and tell me everything is alright/Can I get away again tonight?" The song was written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins but Springfield makes the tale of a forbidden love all her own, skillfully displaying all the motions of the song while managing a little sex into a gospel-inspired soul song that remains sincere and never ironic or controversial.





Springfield never gets overly emotive either, instead letting the music, lyrics and feeling speak for themselves. Hurley and Wilkins composed such a great song that it just needed the singer best suited to capture the sensuality of the song, and Springfield was that woman. Though she was British, her voice was completely American, full of the fire that made up so many classic soul songs. You can absolutely feel the seduction in the iconic chorus as Springfield sings, "The only one who could ever reach me/Was the son of a preacher man/The only boy who could ever teach me/Was the son of a preacher man,/Yes he was, he was, oh yes he was," while the chilled out horns and backing gospel choir add just a bit more of that American quality. This is an all-around great song from a great singer.





9. Ray Charles - "What'd I Say"


Ray Charles knew that most great music ultimately is about one thing and one thing only: sex. And rarely has that been better illustrated in "What'd I Say" and it's opening lines of "Hey mama, don't you treat me wrong/Come and love your daddy all night long." Charles had been an R&B singer up to this point, but this song was probably the first to combine that style with gospel to create early soul music. The song is incredibly sexually charged for even modern times, let alone when it was released in 1959 during the early days of rock and roll. Charles enjoys a call-and-response with his backup singers that contains nothing more than guttural moans that leave little to the imagination. It was extremely suggestive for its time and the use of gospel bothered some black audiences, but the raw energy of the song couldn't be denied and it ended being a hug hit for Charles, reaching #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.





Amazingly the song started out as an improvisation at a live show in Pennsylvania. Charles and his band ran out of material near the end, so he began playing a gospel-inspired piano riff that built and built with energy. He told his backup singers then to simply repeat what he did and that's where the infamous "unnhhh's" came from. Charles knew immediately he had something here, and he was right. Few songs from this period are this deliberately sexual and the effect is immediate and simple. There were no clever attempts at hiding the song's meaning, and people immediately reacted to the lyrics of the song. Regarding the lyrics, "See the girl with the diamond ring/She knows how to shake that thing," Charles himself once said, "It wasn't the diamond ring that got ‘em." In addition to creating a sexual anthem of sorts, the song also provided the template for a lot of soul music that took the best of gospel, blues, and R&B to create a new form of music that owes a lot to the genius of Ray Charles.





8. Al Green - "Let's Stay Together"


Few soul singers had their roots as deeply embedded in gospel music as Al Green did, and that comes through in his best song, the tender "Let's Stay Together." His silky smooth voice is perfect for this ode to a lover that might be contemplating leaving. Opening with some beautiful horns, it becomes apparent once Green begins singing that this is, despite the lyrical content, a spiritual song that makes Green's plea for reconciliation so emotional. It's a testament to the production as well that this also is one of the most romantic songs ever recorded, with Green's sincere voice melting hearts all around the world. There are no threats, no bitterness and not even a sense of overwhelming sadness in Green's voice; instead Green is earnest and direct, singing, "I, I'm so in love with you/Whatever you want to do/Is alright with me/'Cause you make me feel/So brand-new." If that doesn't make you feel all tingly inside, then I don't know what will.





One of the reasons why "Let's Stay Together" works so well is its simplicity. The production is lush but never overbearing, instead letting Green's voice own the song as it should. That simplicity works for the lyrics, since there's no room or need for metaphors or larger themes. The only concern for the song's characters are themselves and not any outside forces or distractions; the lyrics "Loving you whether/Whether times are good or bad/Happy or sad," are enough, they don't need any additional flourishes to make an impact on the listener. But much of the credit for the song's success belongs to Green and his performance that is purely spiritual along the way. It's not a coincidence that later in his career he became Reverend Green and focused solely on gospel music for a time. At this point in his career though, he was still interested in love and all its joys. If I may paraphrase a quote I once heard, if you put this song on with your woman and you don't get any, it ain't Al Green's fault.





7. Ben E. King - "Stand By Me"


Everybody knows that bass line, and everybody knows all the words; this perhaps the ultimate sing-along song for any group. King started off as a member of the Drifters and had written "Stand By Me" for that band to record, but they had no interest in it so King saved it for his solo career. Few songs have ever had such a perfect arrangement as this one has, from that unmistakable bass line to the beautiful strings that sneak their way into the song. Based just on the production and arrangement the song would be memorable with just about anyone singing it, but King's performance turns the song into a classic. He cuts right to the heart of the song's theme, that of unending friendship in the face of adversity. The idea of "stand by me" is so simple and universal that it's not surprising that so many people have latched onto the song over the years.





In fact, the song has such a power that it was a major hit not only when it was originally released in 1961, but also more than two decades later upon the release of the movie of the same name. "Stand By Me" has proven to be one of the most endearing songs in modern music with its straight forward message, compelling melody and majestic arrangement that lift it above a simple ballad. This is one of the most beautiful compositions that soul music ever created and King delivers the perfect vocals with the right amount of tenderness and sincerity. He's also surrounded by an amazing arrangement, and the whole thing comes together for a memorable song that is just as good now as it was forty eight years ago.





6. Percy Sledge - "When a Man Loves a Woman"


Heartbreak never sounded as beautiful as it did on Percy Sledge's classic of the blindness some men suffer when they've fallen head over heels. When his girlfriend left him, Sledge penned a ballad entitled "Why Would You Leave Me, Baby" that he performed at a show in Alabama. Producer Quin Ivy heard the song and suggested some lyrical changes to the song, and it ended up becoming "When a Man Loves a Woman." The final version was recorded in February 1966 and it featured one of the finest vocal performances ever put to record, courtesy of Sledge's cries about love. On its surface the track is a love song for many about what a man goes through when smitten with a lady, but the lyrics reveal the heartbreak Sledge was going through when writing the song. His delivery is to tender and emotive that lines like "If she is bad, he can't see it/She can do no wrong/Turn his back on his best friend if he put her down," end up sounding hopelessly romantic.





If you're looking for a song that can introduce somebody to the world of soul music, you can't really do much better than "When a Man Loves a Woman." Maybe I'm just a sucker for songs like this one, but every time I hear this song I'm moved by it, especially once the horns come in near the end. Sledge's voice is dripping with sadness, but at the same time there's an appreciation for the state of mind we men sometimes enter when the right woman is around. In fact, that may be why Sledge's performance is so lasting and moving, since he finds the perfect balance between heartbreak and romance. Whatever the motivation, whenever that drum fill leads to Sledge's almost pleading that "When a man loves a woman," while the horns blast in the background I would imagine it's impossible for anyone not to be stirred. It's one of those rare moments in music when all irony and cynicism is lost and you wrap yourself up in the music itself.





5. Sam Cooke - "A Change is Gonna Come"


Sam Cooke's orchestral protest anthem was inspired by Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" but unlike that's song's belief that the answer is somewhere out there, Cooke's song is unafraid to stand and say that yes, change is on the way. Never before had Cooke stepped into a political realm but for this song he reached back to his days as a gospel singer for one of the most moving and inspirational protest songs of all-time. I say protest song, but I'm not sure if that's completely accurate; there's no anger, no bitterness, and no condemnations. It instead features a man evaluating his life, where he's been and most importantly what's to come. The pomp and circumstance of the arrangement might seem to be too over-the-top for such a song, but Cooke keeps the song grounded in reality while also allowing the orchestra to add to what he was singing with some dramatics. You wouldn't expect to find lines like "It's been too hard living/But I'm afraid to die/I don't know what's up there beyond the sky," in a song about social change, but they're just as important to the song as the title line is.





The personal touch of the lyrics is amazing as they touch on the tragedy and hardships in Cooke's life, from being arrested for disturbing the peace after trying to register at an all-white hotel, to the death of Cooke's eighteen-month old son. You can absolutely feel all of Cooke's emotions when he sings, "There's been times that I thought/I wouldn't last for long/But now I think I'm able to carry on." And for every feeling of sadness and despair, there is always the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel when Cooke reaches the chorus of, "It's been a long, long time coming/But I know a change is gonna come/Oh yes it will." There is no maybe, no hope that something might happen; Cooke produced a declarative statement that things were going to change for the better. Unfortunately for Cooke he wouldn't live to see that change as he would be killed two weeks before the song's release as a single. But his song lives on as an inspiration and an example of the type of music that soul music was capable of producing.





4. Wilson Pickett - "In the Midnight Hour"


It doesn't seem to me that any soul singer got as much pure enjoyment out of performing than Wilson Pickett did, and that energy always came through on his songs, and especially on "In the Midnight Hour." Opening with a pounding burst of drums and horns, Pickett comes with a definite swagger that lets you know exactly where he comes from. Much like Ray Charles, Pickett understands that sex is the name of the game, although he doesn't get quite as explicit as Charles did on "What'd I Say." Although, lines like "I'm gonna take you girl and hold you/Do all things I told you in the midnight hour," don't really hide anything, either. The stomp and groove on this song are undeniable and part of why the song is so great and memorable, along with Pickett's cocksure delivery which made him a star in the mid-s1960s.





Not surprisingly the song was recorded in Memphis, the home of soul music and the city's penchant for dirty grooves is clear throughout the song. Pickett also gives off a bit of mystery, because while we know what he plans on doing, we're not sure what or why it needs to wait until midnight to happen. Whatever the reason there's no questioning that we're interested in finding out one way or another. A lot of Pickett's hits, like "Land of 1000 Dances" and "Mustang Sally" were gritty soul/dance songs and while many of them were great, I don't think any of them could match up to Pickett's first hit, the one where he yells at the end, "Nobody around baby" and you know exactly what he's referring to.





3. Marvin Gaye - "What's Going On"


Marvin Gaye's plea for peace and understanding is all too relevant in these times, and was even more so at the height of American fervor over Vietnam when it was released. Like with Sam Cooke, this Gaye's first real foray into political anthems and like Cooke, Gaye used the personal to make a political point. Dealing with a rock marriage and the death of his duet partner Tammi Terrell, Gaye attempted to deal with these problems through his music, and the result was stunning. The opening verse of, "Mother, mother/There's too many of you crying/Brother, brother, brother/There's far too many of you dying/You know we've got to find a way/To bring some lovin' here today," has so many possible meanings but ultimately boils down to the idea that the way things are right now, both in Gaye's personal life and in the world, are not what they should be. Or as Gaye perfectly put it himself in the next verse, "Only love can conquer hate."





The music itself is vastly different than anything Motown had put out before, with a decidedly jazz feel to it to go along with Gaye's voice, which is so convincing in its role as peacemaker trying to make sense of everything that it's shocking in some ways that Gaye never went in this direction before. And much like with Cooke, Gaye never displays any sense of anger or bitterness; instead he is calm and thoughtful when asking, "What's going on?" The personal side of Marvin Gaye is at its most apparent when he sings, "Father, father/We don't need to escalate." Unfortunately that line would become too real when Gaye's father would shoot him to death in 1984. Gaye would leave behind a legacy of great and amazing music, none more important or powerful than "What's Going On." He broke free of the Motown changes and created his most personal and transcendent document, one whose message lives on still today.





2. Aretha Franklin - "Respect"



Otis Redding's original version of "Respect" was a good song and a modest hit when it was released in 1965, but in the hands of Aretha Franklin a couple years later it became a classic and the definitive song the feminist movement. The original had Redding asking for respect in the traditional sense, but Franklin wasn't asking for anything; no doubt about it, you were going to show her respect. In the process Franklin not only takes ownership of the song, but also of the entire concept of the word "respect." In fact, whenever you hear that word you immediately think of her iconic spelling out of it towards the end of the song. The lines, "R-E-S-P-E-C-T/Find out what it means to me/R-E-S-P-E-C-T/Take care, TCB," make up one of the most famous sections ever in popular music, with it being Franklin's declaration of equality in the world. I doubt it's a coincidence that at the time Franklin delivered such a searing vocal performance she was going through a tumultuous marriage, and it seems quite likely she infused her personal problems into this song about a quest for respect, all the while turning into a demand for respect.





That this became a feminist classic is no surprise considering that Redding's lyrics had much more power coming from a woman, especially lines like "I'm about to give you all of my money/And all I'm askin' in return, honey/Is to give me my propers." And there wasn't a better woman to turn the song into an anthem than Aretha Franklin, considering her ability to own both the stage and a studio. You immediately get the impression that she is prepared to take absolutely no crap from anybody, highlighted by her powerful and charismatic performance throughout and also at the end when her backup singers, who happened to be her sisters, add in a continued refrain of "sock it to me," effectively challenging all comers. "Respect" is Franklin's signature song, the one that she will forever be identified with, and the reason that she is known as the Queen of Soul.





1. Otis Redding - "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"


Not only do I consider this song to be the best soul song ever written and recorded, but it may be the best song of the rock and roll era. Never has a singer better displayed his emotions than Otis Redding does here, making you feel exactly what it's like to be him sitting on that dock and watching the tide. It helps that Redding was blessed with a voice like few others, and he makes the most of his talent here. His smooth voice gets all the motion out of melancholy lyrics like "Sittin' in the morning sun/I'll be sittin' when the evening comes/Watching the ships roll in/And then I watch them roll away again, yeah." That reserved feeling of melancholy was different from what a lot of soul was doing, especially at Redding's label Stax, but that's why the song stands out as a soul classic. It's like nothing else heard before in popular soul music, the defeated man resigned to his loneliness and solitude. Some of this might make it seem Redding was some sort of tortured artist, but that's not the case. The idea of sitting in San Francisco watching the water is an enjoyable one and it's only when the loneliness and lack of change come in that we begin to wonder where Redding's head is at. But his vocal assures that there is nothing really to worry about, he was just a man frustrated with the music industry at that point, but he was still capable of producing amazing music.





I should also note the stellar work going on behind Redding, from the opening sounds of waves, to the light yet important guitar work to the rising and falling saxophones. It all comes together to make an absolute classic. When Redding sings, "I'm just gonna sit at the dock of the bay/Watchin' the tide roll away/I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay/Wasting time," you want to be on that dock with him, not worrying about anything else. Sure, everything remains the same, but there's something to be said for wasting one's time at the dock of the bay, and it's a testament to Redding's abilities as a singer that he's able to make you feel both sadness for him yet you also can sense some contentment in his voice. The whistling and sound of waves to fade out the end of the song make for the perfect ending, an ambiguous, easy-going finish to a song that manages to hit on a number of emotions in just two and a half minutes. Fittingly and tragically, "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" was the last song Redding would record as he died in a plane crash just a couple weeks after the song's recording. It's tragic because he never got to see the song's success, but fitting because it was also his greatest achievement, a song that has stood the test of time and leaves its mark whenever its played today. "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" is the best of the classic soul songs because it encapsulates everything that made soul music great, captured by the best voice the genre ever had.



That'll do it for this week folks, thanks for reading. If you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to let me know, and make sure to leave your own lists in the comments. I'll see you all next week. And if you're out on your bike tonight, do wear white.