What is Blue-Eyed Soul?

Many famous singers carry the brand name of blue-eyed soul. Michael McDonald, Tom Jones, Van Morrison and Dusty Springfield are among the most celebrated from the early days.

What do these performers have in common that make them members of this elite class? No, it's not blue eyes, although that seems an obvious answer. Actually, there's no eye color prerequisite. Nor is it simply the ability to belt out a tune, although all the above-mentioned singers can do that. Nationality doesn't qualify anyone either.
Blue-Eyed Soul singers are international.

So how do we know if someone is a Blue-Eyed Soul singer?
There are some mandatory conditions: In this case, race matters. A Blue-Eyed Soul singer must be white. Additionally, they must possess the vocal prowess to rock the house when performing Rhythm& Blues or Soul songs. Finally, the talent they have must be comparable to that of the black singers who created R&B and Soul. Icon performers like Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding who are responsible for launching Rhythm and Blues and Soul into the hemisphere. For white performers with icon qualifications, Blue-Eyed Soul knighthood awaits.

Where did Blue-Eyed Soul come from?
Blue-eyed soul as a category of R&B and Soul became prevalent in the U.S. in the 1960s. Rhythm and Blues and Soul as a style came to the forefront of popular music early in the same decade.

Two important recording studios, Motown and STAX, are associated with the rise and popularity of R&B and Soul and with the subsequent birth of blue-eyed soul.

Motown
The Motor City of Detroit, Michigan was home to a young African American entrepreneur named Berry Gordy. Glory founded Motown, named for the city of its birth, in 1960. The opportunity to make a homegrown brand of music attracted Detroit's most talented artists. They created music so magical in its appeal that as time passed the only words needed to describe what audiences heard was, the Motown Sound.

STAX
The same collaborative musical mojo transpired in Memphis, Tennessee. There an unassuming musician named Jim Stewart and his sister, Estelle Axton, opened a recording studio located at 926 E. Mclemore Street in South Memphis called STAX. Again, the most talented came in droves. STAX brought a completely different resonance to popular music and much like Motown produced something so unique people simply called it, the STAX sound.

STAX and Motown records were so popular in the crossover market that young white artists began to emulate and cover their favorite songs. Eventually, these white singers' interpretations of R&B and Soul style evolved into an entirely new group of beat makers branded Blue-Eyed Soul artists. The rest is history.

Where is Blue-Eyed Soul today?
Blue-Eyed Soul is alive and well in 2010. Young stars who perpetuate the trademark are singers like Aimee Duffy, Adam Thicke and Amy Winehouse.

Bibliography

Bowman, Rob. Soulsville U.S.A. The Story of STAX. New York: Schirmer Trade Books, 2003.

Contributors, wikipedia. "Blue-eyed Soul. 1 February 2010. 23 February 2010 .

Contributors, Wikipedia. "Motown". 18 February 2010. 23 February 2010 .

Nero, Mark E. ""Essential Blue-eyed Soul Singers."." About.Com. 23 February 2020 .

O'Brien, Lucy. Dusty. London: MacMillian Publishers Ltd., 2000.