Attracting passionate fans primarily among African American listeners in the South, southern soul draws on such diverse influences as the blues, 1960s-era deep soul, contemporary R & B, neosoul, rap, hip-hop, and gospel. Aggressively danceable, lyrically evocative, and fervidly emotional, southern soul songs often portray unabashedly carnal themes, and audiences delight in the performer-audience interaction and communal solidarity at live performances.

Examining the history and development of southern soul from its modern roots in the 1960s and 1970s, David Whiteis highlights some of southern soul's most popular and important entertainers and provides first-hand accounts from the clubs, show lounges, festivals, and other local venues where these performers work. Profiles of veteran artists such as Denise LaSalle, the late J. Blackfoot, Latimore, and Bobby Rush—as well as contemporary artists T. K. Soul, Ms. Jody, Sweet Angel, Willie Clayton, and Sir Charles Jones—touch on issues of faith and sensuality, artistic identity and stereotyping, trickster antics, and future directions of the genre. These revealing discussions, drawing on extensive new interviews, also acknowledge the challenges of striving for mainstream popularity while still retaining the cultural and regional identity of the music and maintaining artistic ownership and control in the age of digital dissemination.

| Cover Title Page Copyright Page Contents Foreword (by Denise LaSalle): "America's Prodigal Son" Acknowledgments Introduction: "It's a Southern Soul Party" Part I. Deep Blues, Deep Soul, and Beyond: The Roots and Development of Southern Soul-Blues Part II. "Party Like Back in the Day": Soul Survivors 1. Latimore: "I Capture the Feeling" 2. Denise LaSalle: Still the Queen 3. J. Blackfoot: "Don't Give Up—Tighten Up!" 4. Bobby Rush: Behind the Trickster's Mask Part III. "Now Playing Love Games": Voices from the New Generation 5. Willie Clayton: Last Man Standing 6. Sweet Angel: Lessons in Life 7. Sir Charles Johes: "Is There Anybody Lonely?" 8. Ms. Jody: "Just a Little Bit Won't Get It" Postscript: The "Raunch" Debate: Hoochification or Sexual Healing? Part IV. The Crossroad and Further On: Where Do We Go from Here? Introduction: Too Late to Stop Now 9. Blues with a Feeling: Writing Songs for the Market and the Heart 10. Music and the Marketplace: Getting Heard, Getting Known, and Staying on Top of the Game 11. Evolution: A Look toward the Future Part V. Soul Stew Revisited 12. Leading Lights 13. Soul Serenade Notes References Index | Best History for Best Research in Recorded Blues, Hip-Hop, Rhythm & Blues, Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), 2014. Blues Book of the Year, Critics' Poll, Living Blues magazine, 2014. — Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC)
Best History for Best Research in Recorded Blues, Hip-Hop, Rhythm & Blues, Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), 2014. Blues Book of the Year, Critics' Poll, Living Blues magazine, 2014. — Critics' Poll, Living Blues magazine
|David Whiteis is an author, freelance writer, and educator living in Chicago. He is the author of Chicago Blues: Portraits and Stories, and his articles and reviews have appeared in Living Blues, The Chicago Reader, Down Beat, Juke Blues, Jazz Times, and elsewhere. Southern Soul Blues won the Best Blues Book of 2013 in Living Blues magazine's critics poll.