1960s
If ever the word "genius" applied to any
pop artist, it is surely not misused in reference to Ray
Charles.
In 1960, Sam Cooke signed with
RCA Records where he continued to write and record such Number 1 hits as
"Chain Gang", "Twisting The Night Away", "Bring It On Home To Me", "Having
A Party" and "Cupid".
Brenda Lee sang her way out of
an impoverished childhood and into the hearts of the world. Before
turning twenty, Brenda had recorded a phenomenal 256 sides--a musical odyssey
that even at this early stage included classic million sellers like "I'm
Sorry," "Fool Number 1," "Emotions," "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree,"
and "That's All You Gotta Do."
Having lent his harmonica skills to Bruce Channel's "Hey! Baby," which
topped the pop charts in 1962, Delbert
McClinton toured Europe with Channel. While in England, McClinton
tutored the leader of a then unknown band on mouth harp, the results of
which subsequently were heard around the world on the Beatles hit "Love
Me Do."
In 1965, James Brown,
"The Godfather of Soul," hit No. 1 on the R & B charts with "Papa's
Got A Brand New Bag."
By the mid-sixties, Loretta Lynn
was the most popular female country singer in America.
In 1966, Otis Redding
created
the intense, Gospel-oriented Dictionary Of Soul.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Aretha
Franklin, "Lady Soul," recorded her first Atlantic disk, "I Never Loved
A Man," in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in 1967 at Fame
Recording Studios.
At the Monterey
Pop Festival in June of 1967, Janis
Joplin from Port Arthur, Texas, distinguished herself with her energetic
performance and quickly rose to stardom.
In 1967, Dolly Parton
began singing on the Porter Wagner Show.
On East McLemore Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, stood the old Satellite
Recording Studio, which Jim Stewart, with help from his sister Estelle
Axton, and Jerry Wexler, forged into the legendary powerhouse of soul music,
Stax Recording Studio.
In 1969, Bill
Lowery was Broadcast Music's number one publisher.
