soul music

noun

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of soul music¹

An Americanism dating back to 1960–65

Example Sentences

D’Angelo, who died Tuesday at 51, made soul music for three decades in that tender and attentive spirit.

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The underlying factor is soul music.

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When you hear soul music, you think of Teddy Pendergrass and things like that.

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"When the world's gone crazy, soul music is a good escape."

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“Soul music is releasing a demon that turns into a beautiful, cathartic exercise,” Questlove told the Times in 2025.

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