Issue No.1–1955-1966 ©FEBRUARY 2020 #312Soul // Tom Washington (piano), Jimmy Ellis (alto sax), Earl Crossley (tenor sax), Willie Woods (trombone) George Hunter (band leader)
From roughly 1940 through 1960, the Black population in Chicago tripled. Hundreds of thousands of Blacks fled the segregated South and traveled north in search of jobs, prosperity, and better lives. Many of them landed in Chicago. They brought the blues with them, sparking a Chicago blues renaissance with legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Koko Taylor. From there, a trailblazing group of independent record labels popped up in Chicago. The most notable one, on 1449 S. Michigan Avenue, was Vee-Jay Records.
Vee-Jay was one of the first black—owned and female—owned labels in America.
It featured an amazing roster of artists, including Jerry Butler and The Dells; Betty Everett, who brought us “The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)”; and singer-songwriter Gene Chandler, who went by the nickname of his early hit, “The Duke of Earl.” Vee-Jay was also the first U.S. label to release music from a British band called The Beatles.
More record labels like One-derful, Brunswick, and Chess—hotbeds of talent in their own right—were helping to bridge the gap between the blues and emerging new sounds. No single person epitomizes this exciting time more than Gene “Daddy G” Barge, whose tenor saxophone tears through some of the most famous recordings of all time.
Vivian Carter (right) James C Bracken (far right) of Vee-Jay Records
Watch Gene Chandler talk about his world-famous hit “Duke of Earl.”
In the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, Chicago blues was blending with gospel and jazz; a fusion that featured sweet harmonies, horn and string arrangements, and hard-charging rhythm tracks. It was something entirely different than what was going on in Detroit or Memphis.
It was Chicago soul.
And gave the world a whole new generation of music, like “For Your Precious Love” in 1958—widely considered Chicago’s first soul hit—by Jerry Butler and the Impressions. There were also amazing female artists on the scene as well, including Fontella Bass, who lit up the charts with her early duets with Bobby McClure, like their recording of the infectious "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing.”
Learn about Gene Barge’s work with Fontella Bass.
But there was one female singer who stood out. It was said she had a voice that could “melt like sugar or rub like salt in a wound,” and she poured her heart out in classics like “All I Could Do Was Cry” and “At Last.”
Her name was Etta James.
Etta James at Chess Records
“The Jazz Interpreters” left to right: Cleo Griffin, “Paco” Patterson, Tom Washington, Sonny Rollins, Charles Kinnard, Donnie Clark.
Ben Branch
As the nation moved through the racially divisive ‘60s, The Breadbasket Orchestra and Choir, led by Ben Branch and Gene Barge, performed fundraising benefits for Martin Luther King Jr. to inspire the improvement of economic conditions in Black communities across the country.
Gene Barge explains his connection to the civil rights movement with “Operation Breadbasket.”
These Chicago roots would go on to influence generations of music makers.
The foundation of the Chicago soul sound was heavily influenced by the unsung female artists who helped create this iconic genre. We’d like to introduce the “Soulstresses” whose contributions to Chicago soul were immeasurable, and whose talent helped propel the movement to the heights it would eventually climb.
Soulstress Spotlight
The Opals
The Opals were a girl group out of East Chicago, discovered by The Dells and promptly signed to Okeh Records. With their soprano sound, Curtis Mayfield’s iconic songwriting, and Carl Davis’ production, they scored several local hits in the mid-‘60s. They also sang harmonies for the who’s who of the Chicago sound, like Major Lance, Walter Jackson, and Jerry Butler.
The Opals "Does It Matter" (Okeh 7188 A-Side) 1964
#312Samples
Chicagoans like Curtis Mayfield, The Chi-Lites, Minnie Riperton, Quincy Jones, and many more have their music sampled into songs that most people probably aren’t aware of. Here’s a small portion of the original songs, arrangements, and hooks from Chicago’s black artists and the new songs that sampled their work:
1955-1966 Playlist
Enough reading. It’s time for listening. Click to hear some of the tracks that made history!