Chicago soul is a style of soul music that arose during the 1960s in Chicago. Along with Detroit, the home of Motown, and Memphis, with its hard-edged, gritty performers, Chicago and the Chicago soul style helped spur the album-oriented soul revolution of the early 1970s. The sound of Chicago soul, like southern soul with its rich influence of black gospel music, also exhibited an unmistakable gospel sound, but was somewhat lighter and more 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 highly orchestrated arrangements, with horns and strings, by such notable arrangers as Johnny Pate and Riley Hampton. This kind of soul music is sometimes called "soft soul", to distinguish it from the more harsh and gospelly "hard soul" style.
was Chicago's pioneer soul label. In 1958 it produced the first recognized soul hit in Chicago, Jerry Butler and The Impressions' "For Your Precious Love." The company, before it went bankrupt in 1966, produced under A&R director Calvin Carter, many notable soul acts in the Chicago soft soul idiom, notably Butler, Betty Everett, Dee Clark, and Gene Chandler. Vee Jay was also the first American record label to sign and record The Beatles in the U.S in 1962. The label released several singles but were unsuccessful in scoring a major hit. In 1964 Vee-Jay released The Beatles' first U.S. album titled Introducing... The Beatles. After having management issues at the label and a shortage of funds, the label could not promote the record and give it the push that was needed. So the label was forced to release the group.
was a subsidiary of Columbia Records, but it produced a number of hits by Chicago artists, produced by A&R director Carl Davis in the company's Chicago office. Most of the songs performed by OKeh artists came from the pen of Curtis Mayfield, and OKeh recordings best typified the distinctive sound of Chicago soul. Best known Chicago artists on OKeh were Major Lance, Walter Jackson, Billy Butler, and the Artistics.
ABC-Paramount
was based in New York, but it recorded a number of Chicago soul acts through its Chicago offices, most notably The Impressions, led by guitarist and songwriter Curtis Mayfield. The Impressions were best known for such hits as "Gypsy Woman" and "People Get Ready." Another Chicago soul act that recorded for ABC-Paramount was The Marvelows.
Constellation Records
was formed in August 1963 by Ewart Abner, Bill "Bunky" Sheppard, and Art Sheridan. Abner was ousted from Vee-Jay, and took with him from Vee-Jay producer Bill "Bunky" Sheppard, and two Vee-Jay artists that were personally under contract to Abner, namely Gene Chandler and Dee Clark. Art Sheridan had run Chance Records in the early 1950s, and had been an investor in Vee-Jay. Chandler prospered at Constellation, getting huge national hits for the next three years, notably "Just Be True" and "Nothing Can Stop Me," while Dee Clark got only local hits, notably "Warm Summer Breezes" and "Heartbreak." Another Constellation artist was Holly Maxwell who had regional hits such as "Only When You're Lonely", "One Thin Dime", and "Suffer".
One-derful
The One-derful label complex represented mostly the harder gospelly style of Chicago soul music. Its most notable artists were Otis Clay, Harold Burrage, McKinley Mitchell, and The Five Du-Tones. The company also had dance hits with Alvin Cash and the Crawlers. The entire catalog has been purchased by Minneapolis-based Secret Stash Records and a huge portion of the recordings has been reissued in 2015 and 2016.
Brunswick
was a New York-based label, but under the aegis of producer and A&R man Carl Davis in Chicago, the company produced a large body of Chicago style soul, beginning in 1966, when Jackie Wilson started recording in Chicago. Wilson's biggest hit with Davis was " Higher and Higher." Other Brunswick artists included The Chi-Lites, The Artistics, Barbara Acklin, Tyrone Davis, and Gene Chandler. Brunswick was eventually acquired by Carl Davis, and the offices moved to the Record Row.
Curtom
was owned by Curtis Mayfield, and the label began recording Chicago soul talent in 1968. The label better represents the post-soul era in Chicago black music, as it specialized in funk and disco recordings, and became a notable producer of soundtracks for black films. Mayfield became a solo artist while at Curtom, and his Super Fly soundtrack, with its funk style, represents the label's biggest seller. Other Curtom artists were disco singer Linda Clifford, the Natural Four, and the Staple Singers. Predating Curtom, Mayfield ran the labels Windy C, and Mayfield . In 1980, Mayfield closed the Curtom office and moved to Atlanta, and not long afterwards Brunswick closed its office, which had by then moved to Chicago, as well. With these closings, and with disco and funk replacing traditional soul in popular appeal, Chicago soul music had effectively come to an end.
Chi-Sound
Another label active in Chicago in the mid-to-late 1970s was Chi-Sound Records, under the production aegis of Carl Davis. Chi-Sound, besides recording the Chi-Lites, Dells, and Gene Chandler, had a number of disco-soul acts between 1976 and 1982, including Windy City Orchestra, Ebony Rhythm Funk Campaign, Magnum Force, Sidney Joe Qualls, Manchild and the Chi-Sound Orchestra.
