Chicago soul is a style of soul music that arose during the 1960s in Chicago. Along with

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Chicago soul is a style of soul music that arose during the 1960s in Chicago. Along with Motown in Detroit and hard-edged, gritty performers in Memphis (see Memphis soul), Chicago soul helped spur the album-oriented soul revolution of the early 1970s.

The sound of Chicago soul, unlike southern soul with its rich influence black gospel music, also exhibited an unmistakable gospel sound, but somewhat lighter and delicate in its approach. Chicago vocal groups tended to feature laid-back sweet harmonies, while solo artists exhibited a highly melodic and somewhat pop approach to their songs. Accompaniment usually featured high orchestrated arrangements, with horns and strings, by such notable arrangers as Johnny Pate (who largely worked with horns) and Riley Hampton (who specialized in strings). This kind of soul music is sometimes called “soft soul,” to distinguish it from more harsh and gospelly “hard soul” style. A variety of labels in the city during the 1960s and 1970s contributed to the Chicago soul sound, most notably Vee-Jay, Chess Records, OKeh, ABC-Paramount, One-derful, Brunswick, and Curtom.

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