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soul music

American

noun

a fervent type of popular music developed in the late 1950s by Black Americans as a secularized form of gospel music, with rhythm-and-blues influences, and distinctive for its earthy expressiveness, variously plaintive or raucous vocals, and often passionate romanticism or sensuality.

Etymology

Origin of soul music

An Americanism dating back to 1960–65

Example Sentences

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soul music

In September, the AI singer Xania Monet, whose genre is R&B and soul music, became the first virtual artist to enter the bestselling charts in the United States.

From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2025

“Against the grain of bland modern R&B, D’Angelo preserved the Gospel essence of early soul music, mixing it with every other genre of Black music without ever leaving the church,” Leeds said in an Oct.

From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2025

The account owner is also a fan of soul music, with an entire playlist dedicated to the likes of Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, and Aretha Franklin.

From Slate ● Jul. 19, 2024

When I heard Ray Charles for the first time I understood what soul music was.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2024

Are we going to a soul music concert?

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023