Chicago soul
Encyclopedia
Chicago soul is a style of soul music
that arose during the 1960s in Chicago
. Along with Detroit, the home of Motown, and Memphis
, with its hard-edged, gritty performers (see Memphis soul
), Chicago and the Chicago soul style helped spur the album-oriented soul revolution of the early 1970s.
The sound of Chicago soul, like southern soul
with its rich influence of black gospel music
, also exhibited an unmistakable gospel sound, but was somewhat lighter and more delicate in its approach. Chicago vocal groups tended to feature laid-back sweet harmonies, while solo artists exhibited a highly melodic and somewhat pop
approach to their songs. Accompaniment usually featured highly orchestra
ted arrangements, with horns and strings, by such notable arrangers as Johnny Pate
(who largely worked with horns) and Riley Hampton (who specialized in strings). This kind of soul music is sometimes called “soft soul”, to distinguish it from the more harsh and gospelly “hard soul” style.
, Chess Records
, Mercury Records
, OKeh, ABC-Paramount, One-derful, Brunswick
and its Dakar Records
subsidiary, and Curtis Mayfield's Curtom label.
was Chicago’s pioneer soul label. In 1958 it produced the first recognized soul hit in Chicago, Jerry Butler
and the Impressions’ “For Your Precious Love”. The company, before it went bankrupt
in 1966, produced under A&R
director Calvin Carter
, many notable soul acts in the Chicago soft soul idiom, notably Butler (best known for “He Will Break Your Heart”), Betty Everett
“(“It’s In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)”), Dee Clark (“Rain Drops”), and Gene Chandler
(“Duke of Earl
”). Vee Jay was also the first American record label to sign and record The Beatles in the U.S in 1962. The label released several singles but were unsuccessful in scoring a major hit. In 1964 Vee-Jay released The Beatles
' first U.S. album titled Introducing... The Beatles
. After having management issues at the label and a shortage of funds, the label could not promote the record and give it the big push that was needed. So the label was forced to release the group and the rest is history.
, under A&R director and producer Roquel Billy Davis
, featured such Chicago soul style acts as the vocal harmony groups The Dells
(“Stay In My Corner”) and the Radiants (“Voice Your Choice”), female singers Jan Bradley
(“Mama Didn’t Lie”), Fontella Bass
(“Rescue Me”), and Jackie Ross
(“Selfish One”), and male vocalists such as Bo Diddley
's protege Billy Stewart
(“I Do Love You”). Chess’ biggest female soul artist, Etta James
, performed both in the soft style (“At Last”) and the hard style (“Tell Mama”).
was a subsidiary of Columbia Records
, but it produced a great number of hits by Chicago artists, produced by A&R director Carl Davis in the company’s Chicago office. Most of the songs performed by OKeh artists came from the prolific pen of Curtis Mayfield
, and OKeh recordings best typified the distinctive sound of Chicago soul. Best known Chicago artists on OKeh were Major Lance
(“The Monkey Time”), Walter Jackson (“It’s All Over”), Billy Butler (“Right Track”), and the Artistics (“Get My Hands on Some Lovin’”).
, but it recorded a number of Chicago soul acts through its Chicago offices, most notably The Impressions, led by guitarist and songwriter Curtis Mayfield. The Impressions were best known for such hits as “Gypsy Woman” and “People Get Ready”. Another Chicago soul act that recorded for ABC-Paramount was The Marvelows
(“I Do”).
, Bill "Bunky" Sheppard, and Art Sheridan. Abner was ousted from Vee-Jay, and took with him from Vee-Jay producer Bill "Bunky" Sheppard, and two Vee-Jay artists that were personally under contract to Abner, namely Gene Chandler and Dee Clark. Art Sheridan had run Chance Records
in the early 1950s, and had been an investor in Vee-Jay. Chandler prospered at Constellation, getting huge national hits for the next three years, notably "Just Be True" and "Nothing Can Stop Me," while Dee Clark got only local hits, notably "Warm Summer Breezes" and "Heartbreak." Another Constellation artist was Holly Maxwell.
(“That’s How It Is”), Harold Burrage (“Got to Find A Way”), McKinley Mitchell (“The Town I Live In”), and the Five Dutones ("Shake a Tail Feather”). The company also had huge dance hits with Alvin Cash
and the Crawlers (“Twine Time”).
was a New York-based label, but under the aegis of producer and A&R man Carl Davis in Chicago, the company produced a large body of Chicago style soul, beginning in 1966, when the great R&B
singer Jackie Wilson
started recording in Chicago. Wilson’s biggest hit with Davis was “Your Love Keeps Lifting Me (Higher and Higher)”. Other Brunswick artists included The Chi-Lites
(“Oh Girl”), The Artistics
(“I’m Gonna Miss You”), Barbara Acklin
(“Love Makes A Woman”), Tyrone Davis
(“Turn Back the Hands of Time”), and Gene Chandler
(“The Girl Don’t Care”). Brunswick was eventually acquired by Carl Davis, and the offices moved to the famed Record Row (South Michigan Avenue).
was owned by Curtis Mayfield
, and the label began recording Chicago soul talent in 1968. The label better represents the post-soul era in Chicago black music, as it specialized in funk
and disco
recordings, and became a notable producer of soundtracks for black films. Mayfield became a solo artist while at Curtom, and his Super Fly soundtrack (1972), with its funk style, represents the label’s biggest seller. Other Curtom artists were disco singer Linda Clifford (“Runaway Love”), the Natural Four ("Can this Be Real"), and the Staple Singers (“Let’s Do It Again”). Predating Curtom, Mayfield ran the labels Windy C (Five Stairsteps, Holly Maxwell, June Conquest), and Mayfield (Fascinations, The Mayfield Singers) (which featured two future soul stars: Donny Hathaway
and Leroy Hutson
, and Holly Maxwell).
In 1980, Mayfield closed the Curtom office and moved to Atlanta, and not long afterwards Brunswick closed its office, which had by then moved to Chicago, as well. With these closings, and with disco and funk replacing traditional soul in popular appeal, Chicago soul music had effectively come to an end.
subsidiary Dakar in the early '70s), Manchild and the Chi-Sound Orchestra.
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
that arose during the 1960s in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Along with Detroit, the home of Motown, and Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, with its hard-edged, gritty performers (see Memphis soul
Memphis soul
Memphis soul, also known as Memphis Sound, is stylish, funky, uptown soul music that is not as hard-edged as Southern soul. It is a shimmering, sultry style produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring melodic unison horn lines, organ, bass, and a driving...
), Chicago and the Chicago soul style helped spur the album-oriented soul revolution of the early 1970s.
The sound of Chicago soul, like southern soul
Southern soul
Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues , country, early rock and roll, and a strong gospel influence that emanated from the sounds of Southern African-American churches. The focus of the...
with its rich influence of black gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, also exhibited an unmistakable gospel sound, but was somewhat lighter and more delicate in its approach. Chicago vocal groups tended to feature laid-back sweet harmonies, while solo artists exhibited a highly melodic and somewhat pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
approach to their songs. Accompaniment usually featured highly orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
ted arrangements, with horns and strings, by such notable arrangers as Johnny Pate
Johnny Pate
Johnny Pate is a jazz bassist who late became a music arranger/producer, and a leading figure in Chicago soul as well as pop/R&B music....
(who largely worked with horns) and Riley Hampton (who specialized in strings). This kind of soul music is sometimes called “soft soul”, to distinguish it from the more harsh and gospelly “hard soul” style.
Notable Chicago soul labels
A variety of labels in the city during the 1960s and 1970s contributed to the Chicago soul sound, most notably Vee-Jay, Constellation RecordsConstellation Records
Constellation Records is an influential Montreal, Quebec independent record label known for its contributions to experimental genres of music. It is most famous for releasing the albums of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, and Do Make Say...
, Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
, Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, OKeh, ABC-Paramount, One-derful, Brunswick
Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
and its Dakar Records
Dakar Records
Dakar Records was a record label started by Carl Davis in 1967, while employed at Brunswick Records. The label was initially distributed by Atlantic Records subsidiary Cotillion Records, and was based in Chicago. All releases after late 1971 were distributed by Brunswick Records.Notable artists on...
subsidiary, and Curtis Mayfield's Curtom label.
Vee-Jay
Vee-Jay RecordsVee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
was Chicago’s pioneer soul label. In 1958 it produced the first recognized soul hit in Chicago, Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler (singer)
Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
and the Impressions’ “For Your Precious Love”. The company, before it went bankrupt
Insolvency
Insolvency means the inability to pay one's debts as they fall due. Usually used to refer to a business, insolvency refers to the inability of a company to pay off its debts.Business insolvency is defined in two different ways:...
in 1966, produced under A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
director Calvin Carter
Calvin Carter
Calvin Carter is the brother of the founder of Vee-Jay Records Vivian Carter. Born May 27, 1925. He joined the company in 1953 and became the principal producer, in charge of the recording sessions. He is a songwriter and composer of jazz and popsongs....
, many notable soul acts in the Chicago soft soul idiom, notably Butler (best known for “He Will Break Your Heart”), Betty Everett
Betty Everett
Betty Everett was an African-American soul singer and pianist, best known for her biggest hit single, the million-selling "The Shoop Shoop Song ".-Early career:...
“(“It’s In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)”), Dee Clark (“Rain Drops”), and Gene Chandler
Gene Chandler
Gene Chandler also known as "The Duke of Earl" or simply "The Duke", is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, producer and record executive. He is one of the leading exponents of the 1960s Chicago soul scene...
(“Duke of Earl
Duke of Earl
"Duke of Earl" is a 1962 number-one song, originally by Gene Chandler. It is the best known of Chandler's songs, and he subsequently dubbed himself 'The Duke of Earl'. The song was penned by Bernice Williams, Eugene Dixon, and Earl Edwards....
”). Vee Jay was also the first American record label to sign and record The Beatles in the U.S in 1962. The label released several singles but were unsuccessful in scoring a major hit. In 1964 Vee-Jay released The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' first U.S. album titled Introducing... The Beatles
Introducing... The Beatles
Introducing... The Beatles is the first Beatles album released in the United States. Originally scheduled for a July 1963 release, the LP came out on 10 January 1964, on Vee-Jay Records, ten days before Capitol's Meet The Beatles!...
. After having management issues at the label and a shortage of funds, the label could not promote the record and give it the big push that was needed. So the label was forced to release the group and the rest is history.
Chess Records
Chess RecordsChess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
, under A&R director and producer Roquel Billy Davis
Roquel Billy Davis
Roquel "Billy" Davis of Detroit was an American songwriter, record producer, and singer. Davis is best known as a songwriter for a number of soul musicians label, and as a writer/producer of commercial jingles, mostly for Coca-Cola...
, featured such Chicago soul style acts as the vocal harmony groups The Dells
The Dells
The Dells are an R&B and crossover musical group. Their successful recordings spanned more than four decades. Formed in 1952 after attending high school together, the Dells' repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul, disco and contemporary rhythm and blues...
(“Stay In My Corner”) and the Radiants (“Voice Your Choice”), female singers Jan Bradley
Jan Bradley
Jan Bradley is an American soul singer.Bradley grew up in Robbins, Illinois. She was noticed by manager Don Talty at a high school talent show. After graduating, she auditioned for Curtis Mayfield, and soon recorded the Mayfield-penned "We Girls", which became a hit regionally in the Midwest...
(“Mama Didn’t Lie”), Fontella Bass
Fontella Bass
Fontella Bass is an American soul singer, who is best known for the 1965 R&B hit "Rescue Me", which she also co-wrote.-Early life:...
(“Rescue Me”), and Jackie Ross
Jackie Ross
Jackie Ross is an American soul singer.Ross sang gospel music as a child, and performed on a radio show run by her parents, both preachers. After her father died in 1954 she moved to Chicago and was signed to SAR Records by Sam Cooke...
(“Selfish One”), and male vocalists such as Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
's protege Billy Stewart
Billy Stewart
Billy Stewart was an American musical artist, with a highly distinctive scat-singing style, who enjoyed popularity in the 1960s.-Biography:...
(“I Do Love You”). Chess’ biggest female soul artist, Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
, performed both in the soft style (“At Last”) and the hard style (“Tell Mama”).
OKeh
OKeh RecordsOkeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
was a subsidiary of Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, but it produced a great number of hits by Chicago artists, produced by A&R director Carl Davis in the company’s Chicago office. Most of the songs performed by OKeh artists came from the prolific pen of Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
, and OKeh recordings best typified the distinctive sound of Chicago soul. Best known Chicago artists on OKeh were Major Lance
Major Lance
Major Lance was an American R&B singer. After a number of US hits in the 1960s, including "The Monkey Time" and "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um", he became an iconic figure in Britain in the 1970s among followers of Northern soul.-Life:Major Lance was born in Winterville, Mississippi...
(“The Monkey Time”), Walter Jackson (“It’s All Over”), Billy Butler (“Right Track”), and the Artistics (“Get My Hands on Some Lovin’”).
ABC-Paramount
ABC-Paramount was based in New YorkNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but it recorded a number of Chicago soul acts through its Chicago offices, most notably The Impressions, led by guitarist and songwriter Curtis Mayfield. The Impressions were best known for such hits as “Gypsy Woman” and “People Get Ready”. Another Chicago soul act that recorded for ABC-Paramount was The Marvelows
The Marvelows
The Marvelows were an American soul group from Chicago. After contacting Johnny Pate, the group signed with ABC Records and recorded four sides: "A Friend", "My Heart", "Hey Hey Baby", and "I Do". The last of the four was released as a single and became a U.S. hit, peaking at #7 on the Black...
(“I Do”).
Constellation Records
Constellation Records was formed in August 1963 by Ewart AbnerEwart Abner
Ewart Abner was an American record company executive.-Career:...
, Bill "Bunky" Sheppard, and Art Sheridan. Abner was ousted from Vee-Jay, and took with him from Vee-Jay producer Bill "Bunky" Sheppard, and two Vee-Jay artists that were personally under contract to Abner, namely Gene Chandler and Dee Clark. Art Sheridan had run Chance Records
Chance Records
Chance Records was a Chicago-based label founded in 1950 by Art Sheridan. It specialized in blues, jazz, doo-wop, and gospel.Among the acts who recorded for Chance were The Flamingos, The Moonglows, Homesick James, J. B. Hutto, Brother John Sellers, and Schoolboy Porter...
in the early 1950s, and had been an investor in Vee-Jay. Chandler prospered at Constellation, getting huge national hits for the next three years, notably "Just Be True" and "Nothing Can Stop Me," while Dee Clark got only local hits, notably "Warm Summer Breezes" and "Heartbreak." Another Constellation artist was Holly Maxwell.
One-derful
The One-derful label complex (One-derful, M-Pac, Mar-V-lus, Midas) represented mostly the harder gospelly style of Chicago soul music. Its most notable artists were Otis ClayOtis Clay
Otis Clay is an American R&B and soul singer, who started in gospel music.-Life and career:...
(“That’s How It Is”), Harold Burrage (“Got to Find A Way”), McKinley Mitchell (“The Town I Live In”), and the Five Dutones ("Shake a Tail Feather”). The company also had huge dance hits with Alvin Cash
Alvin Cash
Alvin Cash was an American pop singer and actor.-Biography:Born Alvin Welch in St. Louis, Missouri, and a graduate of St. Louis's Sumner High School , he and three brothers moved to Chicago, where they sang and danced while in search of a recording contract...
and the Crawlers (“Twine Time”).
Brunswick
BrunswickBrunswick Records
Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
was a New York-based label, but under the aegis of producer and A&R man Carl Davis in Chicago, the company produced a large body of Chicago style soul, beginning in 1966, when the great R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
started recording in Chicago. Wilson’s biggest hit with Davis was “Your Love Keeps Lifting Me (Higher and Higher)”. Other Brunswick artists included The Chi-Lites
The Chi-Lites
The Chi-Lites are a Chicago-based smooth soul vocal quartet from the early 1970s, one of the few from the period not to come from Memphis or Philadelphia...
(“Oh Girl”), The Artistics
The Artistics
The Artistics were an American R&B vocal group in the 1960s and early 1970s. Their biggest hit was "I'm Gonna Miss You", recorded in 1966.-Career:...
(“I’m Gonna Miss You”), Barbara Acklin
Barbara Acklin
Barbara Jean Acklin was an American soul singer and songwriter who was most successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her biggest hit as a singer was "Love Makes a Woman" in 1968...
(“Love Makes A Woman”), Tyrone Davis
Tyrone Davis
Tyrone Davis , born Tyrone Fettson, was a leading American soul singer with a distinctive style, recording a long list of hit records over a period of more than 20 years. He had three no...
(“Turn Back the Hands of Time”), and Gene Chandler
Gene Chandler
Gene Chandler also known as "The Duke of Earl" or simply "The Duke", is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, producer and record executive. He is one of the leading exponents of the 1960s Chicago soul scene...
(“The Girl Don’t Care”). Brunswick was eventually acquired by Carl Davis, and the offices moved to the famed Record Row (South Michigan Avenue).
Curtom
CurtomCurtom Records
Curtom Records was a record label started by Curtis Mayfield of The Impressions along with Impressions associate Eddie Thomas in 1968 although the name was used as early as 1963. The labels name was a combination of Mayfields first name and Thomas' surname...
was owned by Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
, and the label began recording Chicago soul talent in 1968. The label better represents the post-soul era in Chicago black music, as it specialized in funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
recordings, and became a notable producer of soundtracks for black films. Mayfield became a solo artist while at Curtom, and his Super Fly soundtrack (1972), with its funk style, represents the label’s biggest seller. Other Curtom artists were disco singer Linda Clifford (“Runaway Love”), the Natural Four ("Can this Be Real"), and the Staple Singers (“Let’s Do It Again”). Predating Curtom, Mayfield ran the labels Windy C (Five Stairsteps, Holly Maxwell, June Conquest), and Mayfield (Fascinations, The Mayfield Singers) (which featured two future soul stars: Donny Hathaway
Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."His collaborations...
and Leroy Hutson
Leroy Hutson
Leroy Hutson is an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and instrumentalist, best known as former lead singer of the R&B band, which came to fame vocal group, The Impressions....
, and Holly Maxwell).
In 1980, Mayfield closed the Curtom office and moved to Atlanta, and not long afterwards Brunswick closed its office, which had by then moved to Chicago, as well. With these closings, and with disco and funk replacing traditional soul in popular appeal, Chicago soul music had effectively come to an end.
Chi-Sound
Another label active in Chicago in the mid-to-late '70s was Chi-Sound Records, under the production aegis of Carl Davis. Chi-Sound, besides recording the Chi-Lites, Dells, and Gene Chandler, had a number of excellent disco-soul acts between 1976 and 1982, including Windy City Orchestra, Ebony Rhythm Funk Campaign, Magnum Force, Sidney Joe Qualls (previously signed to Brunswick RecordsBrunswick Records
Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
subsidiary Dakar in the early '70s), Manchild and the Chi-Sound Orchestra.
Chicago soul figures
- Ewart AbnerEwart AbnerEwart Abner was an American record company executive.-Career:...
- record company executive - Barbara AcklinBarbara AcklinBarbara Jean Acklin was an American soul singer and songwriter who was most successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her biggest hit as a singer was "Love Makes a Woman" in 1968...
- singer - The ArtisticsThe ArtisticsThe Artistics were an American R&B vocal group in the 1960s and early 1970s. Their biggest hit was "I'm Gonna Miss You", recorded in 1966.-Career:...
- vocal group - Fontella BassFontella BassFontella Bass is an American soul singer, who is best known for the 1965 R&B hit "Rescue Me", which she also co-wrote.-Early life:...
- singer - Cicero Blake - singer
- Jan BradleyJan BradleyJan Bradley is an American soul singer.Bradley grew up in Robbins, Illinois. She was noticed by manager Don Talty at a high school talent show. After graduating, she auditioned for Curtis Mayfield, and soon recorded the Mayfield-penned "We Girls", which became a hit regionally in the Midwest...
- singer - Harold Burrage - singer
- Billy ButlerBilly Butler (singer)Billy Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter active principally in the 1960s and early 1970s.Butler is Jerry Butler's younger brother. He formed the vocal group The Enchanters while at high school. He first recorded for Okeh Records in 1963, and was produced initially by Curtis Mayfield...
- singer - Jerry ButlerJerry Butler (singer)Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
- singer, and songwriter - Vivian CarterVivian CarterVivian Carter was an African American record company executive and radio disc jockey, and one of the co-founders of Vee-Jay Records.-Life:She was born in Tunica, Mississippi and moved to Gary, Indiana as a child...
- record company executive - Alvin CashAlvin CashAlvin Cash was an American pop singer and actor.-Biography:Born Alvin Welch in St. Louis, Missouri, and a graduate of St. Louis's Sumner High School , he and three brothers moved to Chicago, where they sang and danced while in search of a recording contract...
- singer - Gene ChandlerGene ChandlerGene Chandler also known as "The Duke of Earl" or simply "The Duke", is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, producer and record executive. He is one of the leading exponents of the 1960s Chicago soul scene...
- singer,songwriter, producer, and record company executive - The Chi-LitesThe Chi-LitesThe Chi-Lites are a Chicago-based smooth soul vocal quartet from the early 1970s, one of the few from the period not to come from Memphis or Philadelphia...
- vocal group - Dee ClarkDee ClarkDee Clark was an African-American soul singer best known for a string of R&B and pop hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the ballad "Raindrops," which became a million-seller in the United States in 1961....
- singer - Otis ClayOtis ClayOtis Clay is an American R&B and soul singer, who started in gospel music.-Life and career:...
- singer - Mitty CollierMitty CollierMitty Lene Collier is an American church pastor, gospel singer and former rhythm and blues singer. She had a number of successful records in the 1960s, of which probably the best known is "I Had A Talk With My Man".-Early life and career:...
- singer - Carl H. DavisCarl Davis (record producer)Carl H. Davis is an American record producer and music executive, who was particularly active in Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s when he was responsible for hit R&B records by Gene Chandler, Major Lance, Jackie Wilson, The Chi-Lites, Barbara Acklin, Tyrone Davis and others.-Life and career:He was...
- producer and record company executive - Tyrone DavisTyrone DavisTyrone Davis , born Tyrone Fettson, was a leading American soul singer with a distinctive style, recording a long list of hit records over a period of more than 20 years. He had three no...
- singer - The DellsThe DellsThe Dells are an R&B and crossover musical group. Their successful recordings spanned more than four decades. Formed in 1952 after attending high school together, the Dells' repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul, disco and contemporary rhythm and blues...
- vocal group - The EsquiresThe EsquiresThe Esquires were an American R&B group from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, principally active from 1957 to 1976.- History :The Esquires first formed in 1957 around the Moorer family, whose Gilbert , Alvis, and Betty all became members. They went through many lineup changes over their first decade, which...
- vocal group - Betty EverettBetty EverettBetty Everett was an African-American soul singer and pianist, best known for her biggest hit single, the million-selling "The Shoop Shoop Song ".-Early career:...
- singer - The FascinationsThe FascinationsThe Fascinations were an American pop vocal group most active in the mid-1960s. They are best remembered for the Curtis Mayfield-penned hit "Girls Are Out To Get You", a minor pop hit in the US in 1967 that was re-released in the UK in 1971, where it reached the top 40.-Early years :The group was...
- girl vocal group - The Five Du-TonesThe Five Du-TonesThe Five Du-Tones Were Robert Hopkins , Willie Guest, Frank McCurrey, LeRoy Joyce, James West, and Andrew Butler. They formed at Patrick Henry High School in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1957....
- vocal group - Five Stairsteps - vocal group
- Darrow Fletcher - singer
- Garland Green - singer
- The Impressions - vocal group
- Walter JacksonWalter Jackson (singer)Walter Jackson was an American soul ballad singer who had a string of hits on the US R&B chart between the mid 1960s and early 1980s...
- singer - Etta JamesEtta JamesEtta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
- singer - Syl JohnsonSyl JohnsonSyl Johnson is an American blues and soul singer and record producer.-Biography:Born Sylvester Thompson in Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States, Johnson sang and played with blues artists Magic Sam, Billy Boy Arnold, Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf in the 1950s, before recording with Jimmy Reed...
- singer, producer, and record company executive - Major LanceMajor LanceMajor Lance was an American R&B singer. After a number of US hits in the 1960s, including "The Monkey Time" and "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um", he became an iconic figure in Britain in the 1970s among followers of Northern soul.-Life:Major Lance was born in Winterville, Mississippi...
- singer - Ernie Leaner - record company executive
- George W. Leaner - record company executive
- Laura LeeLaura LeeLaura Lee is an American soul and gospel singer and songwriter, most successful in the 1960s and 1970s and influential for her records which discussed and celebrated women’s experience.-Career:...
- singer - Otis LeavillOtis LeavillOtis Leavill was an American R&B singer, songwriter and record company executive.-Life and career:Otis Leavill Cobb was born in Dewey Rose, Elbert County, Georgia, and moved with his family to the West Side of Chicago at the age of two...
- singer - Magnum ForceMagnum ForceMagnum Force is a 1973 American police thriller film and the second to feature Clint Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan after the 1971 film Dirty Harry. Ted Post, who also directed Eastwood in TV's Rawhide and the feature film Hang 'Em High, directed the second film in the Dirty Harry series...
- band - The MarvelowsThe MarvelowsThe Marvelows were an American soul group from Chicago. After contacting Johnny Pate, the group signed with ABC Records and recorded four sides: "A Friend", "My Heart", "Hey Hey Baby", and "I Do". The last of the four was released as a single and became a U.S. hit, peaking at #7 on the Black...
- vocal group - Holly Maxwell - singer
- Curtis MayfieldCurtis MayfieldCurtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
- singer, songwriter, producer, and record company executive - McKinley MitchellMcKinley MitchellMcKinley Mitchell was an American Chicago-based soul-blues and rhythm and blues singer, who started out performing gospel music. He recorded singles for Boxer Records, Chess Records , and a variety of other record labels. Most of his releases are still only available on records...
- singer - John Zachary - producer, arranger, songwriter, and musician
- Johnny PateJohnny PateJohnny Pate is a jazz bassist who late became a music arranger/producer, and a leading figure in Chicago soul as well as pop/R&B music....
- producer, arranger, and musician - The RadiantsThe RadiantsThe Radiants were an American doo-wop and R&B group popular in the 1960s.The group formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1960, where its members met singing in the youth choir of Greater Harvest Baptist Church. They performed both gospel and secular tunes, the latter of which were written by leader...
- vocal group - Jackie RossJackie RossJackie Ross is an American soul singer.Ross sang gospel music as a child, and performed on a radio show run by her parents, both preachers. After her father died in 1954 she moved to Chicago and was signed to SAR Records by Sam Cooke...
- singer - Bill "Bunky" Sheppard - producer and record company executive
- Pauline Shivers - singer
- The Staple SingersThe Staple SingersThe Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples , the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha , Pervis , Yvonne , and Mavis...
- vocal group - Billy StewartBilly StewartBilly Stewart was an American musical artist, with a highly distinctive scat-singing style, who enjoyed popularity in the 1960s.-Biography:...
- singer - The VibrationsThe VibrationsThe Vibrations were an African-American soul vocal group from Los Angeles, California, active from the mid-1950s to 1976. Most notable among the group's hit singles were "My Girl Sloopy" and "Love in Them Thar Hills"...
- recorded for Chess and OKeh - Jackie WilsonJackie WilsonJack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
- singer - B.O.F.(Best Of friends)-Band