Soul Deep: The Story of Black Popular Music

Soul Deep: The Story of Black Popular Music

2005 1 Seasons 6 Episodes ⭐ 8.0 Documentary

Soul music has conquered the world in the last 50 years - growing from the raw, electric rhythms of the black underclass, it is now a billion dollar industry with R&B and hip hop dominating the world's charts. It's been the soundtrack to some of the most extraordinary social, political and cultural shifts. Together with the civil rights movement, it has challenged white hegemony, helped break down segregation and encouraged the fight for racial equality. This new six-part series, made by the BBC team who produced the critically-acclaimed Lost Highway, Walk On By and Dancing In The Street series, charts the evolution of soul music - with a fascinating combination of rare archive footage and over 100 contemporary interviews. The movers and shakers from the world of soul – such as James Brown, Mary J Blige, Beyoncé and Martha Reeves, - plus some often overlooked talent, track the music that shaped our lives.

Soul music has conquered the world in the last 50 years - growing from the raw, electric rhythms of the black underclass, it is now a billion dollar industry with R&B and hip hop dominating the world's charts. It's been the soundtrack to some of the most extraordinary social, political and cultural shifts. Together with the civil rights movement, it has challenged white hegemony, helped break down segregation and encouraged the fight for racial equality. This new six-part series, made by the BBC team who produced the critically-acclaimed Lost Highway, Walk On By and Dancing In The Street series, charts the evolution of soul music - with a fascinating combination of rare archive footage and over 100 contemporary interviews. The movers and shakers from the world of soul – such as James Brown, Mary J Blige, Beyoncé and Martha Reeves, - plus some often overlooked talent, track the music that shaped our lives.

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Seasons & Episodes

EP 1

The Birth Of Soul: Ray Charles

The term rhythm and blues was coined by Billboard Magazine journalist Jerry Wexler after he was asked by his editor to f

EP 2

The Gospel Highway: Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke was gospel music's crown prince, the man who inspired a generation of singers when he took on the pop world an

EP 3

The Sound Of Young America: Diana Ross

This episode is about Motown's golden age from 1959 - 1967. It traces the Detroit label's extraordinary rise from cottag

EP 4

Southern Soul: Otis Redding

In the summer of 1967, Otis Redding performed in front of a 200,000 capacity crowd at the Monterey Pop Festival, the big

EP 5

Ain't It Funky Now: James Brown

Funk was a brand new Soul bag. It was the soundtrack to riots and revolution, the heady Black Power era in the second ha

EP 6

From Ghetto To Fabulous: Mary J. Blige

Today, contemporary R&B is the music that the world spins to. R&B is one of the biggest selling music genres, worldwide

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