colin:
My dictionary defines "soul" in the context we're discussing it as: "a
strong positive feeling (as of intense sensitivity and emotional fervor)
conveyed esp. by African-American music and performance." But I hasten to
point out that other ethnicities are not precluded at all from soul, and
several examples have been posed in this thread of non-Black performers who
have this quality.
Here's a very incomplete list of some musicians/performers who have soul, in
my humble opinion: Carly Simon, James Taylor, Handel, Patsy Cline, Marcia
Ball, Susan Tedeschi, Toni Childs, Diana Krall, Ravi Shankar, Eva Cassidy,
Dave Wakeling, Alison Einerson, Ricki Lee Jones, Victor Johnson, Tuck
Andress, David Bowie, Neil Young, Marcel Marceau, Madonna, Cat Stevens, Lyle
Lovett, Cass Elliott, Claudia San Soucie, Janis Joplin, Jim Croce, Patti
Smith, Paul Simon, Bonni Raitt, J.S. Bach, Eddie Vedder, Roger Waters,
Ashara Stansfield, Annie Lennox, Joan Baez, John Lennon, Kate Bennett, Jerry
Garcia, Leslie Mixon, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Peter Gabriel, Jaco Pastorius,
Tracy Thorn and Ben Watt (Everything But the Girl), Cher, Meryl Streep,
Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton....and there are many, many more.
Get the picture? In my mind it's not an "either have it or you don't"
thing. It can be learned or acquired, but be prepared to bleed.
-Julius
