<P> According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, secular testifying". Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps and extemporaneous body moves, are an important feature of soul music . Other characteristics are a call and response between the lead vocalist and the chorus and an especially tense vocal sound . The style also occasionally uses improvisational additions, twirls and auxiliary sounds . Soul music reflected the African - American identity and it stressed the importance of an African - American culture . The new - found African - American consciousness led to new styles of music, which boasted pride in being black . </P> <P> Soul music dominated the U.S. R&B chart in the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into the pop charts in the U.S., Britain and elsewhere . By 1968, the soul music genre had begun to splinter . Some soul artists developed funk music, while other singers and groups developed slicker, more sophisticated, and in some cases more politically conscious varieties . By the early 1970s, soul music had been influenced by psychedelic rock and other genres, leading to psychedelic soul . The United States saw the development of neo soul around 1994 . There are also several other subgenres and offshoots of soul music . </P> <P> The key subgenres of soul include the Detroit (Motown) style, a rhythmic music influenced by gospel; deep soul and southern soul, driving, energetic soul styles combining R&B with southern gospel music sounds; Memphis soul, a shimmering, sultry style; New Orleans soul, which came out of the rhythm and blues style; Chicago soul, a lighter gospel - influenced sound; Philadelphia soul, a lush orchestral sound with doo - wop - inspired vocals; Psychedelic soul, a blend of psychedelic rock and soul music; as well as categories such as Blue - eyed soul, which is soul music performed by white artists; British soul; and Northern soul, rare soul music played by DJs at nightclubs in Northern England . </P> <P> Soul music has its roots in traditional African - American gospel music and rhythm and blues, and the hybridization of their respective religious and secular styles, in both lyrical content and instrumentation, that began to occur in the 1950s . The term soul had been used among African - American musicians to emphasize the feeling of being an African - American in the United States . According to musicologist Barry Hansen: </P>

Southern soul was considered the sound of what independent record label