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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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Attendees crowded the center of the shop, dancing to live soul music.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

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

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

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2025

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