News — soul

Music historians will argue over the exact origins of the music industry in Nashville, although any stance depends on the genre under discussion, and how far back one is willing to go. The predominance of country music is undeniable, with its roots planted in Celtic and European folk songs and associated instrumentation brought to the US by early immigrants. In the 1920s, Nashville’s first radio station WSM cemented the city’s country music status with Grand Ole Opry broadcasts of mountain songs and hillbilly music. These styles would later contribute to what is now known as the ‘third’ generation of country...

Always one to support projects and initiatives involving the preservation of southern soul music history, A Nickel And A Nail spreads the word of a very worthy first vinyl release from Diggin’ Deep Records. The latest in soul labels from the UK will be making available a series of soul recordings from the 1960s and 1970s, most of which will be released as limited edition 45s for the very first time, and also some carefully selected reissues. To kick off, this month Diggin' Deep will be giving us two previously unissued releases from the Sounds of Memphis label. Willie Walker's...

Located on 17th Avenue, North and Jo Johnston, Pearl High School (now Martin Luther King High) was a rich source of black sports and musical talent. In the early 1960s the Bard sisters Francesca (“Fran”, b. unknown d. 1991) and Beverly (now Bard-Smith, b. unknown) formed their group, The Avons, along with schoolmate Paula Hester. Their recordings should not be confused with at least two other groups with same name who recorded around the same time outside of Tennessee. The Avons first taste of the studio was an initial one-off hire for budget label Hit, providing uncredited backing vocals to...

“There were three of us, eighteen months apart” says Brenda Kippa, sister of Dan Folger. “My first brother was born in 1941, then came Dan (b. 1943 d. 2006) and finally me. We lived in La Honda, a suburb of San Francisco. We were comfortable financially and lived in a lovely home. However, there was great trouble in the marriage between our parents, and finally my mother called her father who came to California and brought us all (except my father) back to Texas. My mother couldn't find work, so she initially left us with her parents and found work...

The Delacardos were an all black vocal and instrumental group from Charlotte NC, and formed at high school. They made at least nine records between 1959 and 1967, some of which received national release on major labels. Vocalists included Vernon Hill, Chris Harris, Harold Ford and Robert Gates and later George Morris. Publicity shots generally featured the vocalists only, but regular musicians included Luther Maxwell (tenor saxophone and band leader), Amos Williams (guitar), Ronnie Grier (bass), Dallas Steele (drums), Timothy Donald (baritone saxophone), and on piano and guitar, Jeremiah Shepherd and James Knight. Ronnie Grier wrote most of their sides...