Northern Soul

I keep telling myself it's not a music genre, but yet I enjoy so many of those cult favorites.

 

Sigh. It's a damned shame that a form of entertainment which one would hope would bring folks together actually has the opposite effect. I don't get the need to denigrate someone's musical preferences or opinions. It's fine to disagree but to keep harping on it is oft-putting to say the least. I hoped to hear some examples of this genre but not if it means dealing with so much contentious behavior. I like reading other's opinions and takes on any given subject but if this thread manages to continue, I guess I'm gonna have to just focus on the posts that actually present a song. Oh, the humanity!

 

Another nomination from my wife, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - The Night

 

Not necessary.

 

I'm from near Warrington and Wigan was 25 minutes up the road. I remember many people going on about Wigan Casino and the incredible nights, incredible, acrobatic dancers. At school, the youth club and other gatherings, Motown was very popular, cult-like and there were those who were totally Motown, others who were totally rock and others like me, who liked both. Motown was part of the Northern Soul experience/playlists but I never got wise to anything else that the Wigan hipsters were dancing to and I never visited the place because I was more into rock. I remember being at the odd dance night or disco in the mid 70s and there would be some show-off doing all the fancy spins, jumps and drops.
Since then, I have never gone back and explored enough all the records that were Northern Soul hits. I keep meaning to pick up a definitive 2CD collection but the choice is quite bewildering. Recommendations?

 

The four volumes in this series are good and do a nice job of showcasing the different sounds in the various clubs

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Northern-S...41BZM8ZP0EY&psc=1&refRID=8K4ZJ1R2Q41BZM8ZP0EY

 

Yeah I think it’s the Verve’s best album

 

My wife points out that many came to Northern Soul via the Skinhead Ska period,Laurel Aitken - Skinhead, it's interesting to note that at the beginning we had White Working Class identifying with others who were sh£t on, you'd find the same vibe at the Casino.

 

Yeah but some of those cities you mention are southern as you probably know. Kind of interesting I must admit and while some of these NS artists might have been obscure there were some that weren't though some of their songs weren't.

 

I first heard that Gem via an imported Ace or Kent LP. Great song.

 

Geographically, Northern Soul songs in Britain might come from Scotland. Or from Norway, which is considerably more northerly. Didn't the Beatles do one on their Soul album. ?

 

How about this one?

 

I think this one is considered both a Beach Music and Northern Soul example.

 

One of the ones that grabbed me back in the day when I was buying thise LPs was Damelo.

 

Fat Harold's is a Beach Music club in North Myrtle Beach SC and it's been around for more that half a century. He is an example of Shag dancing.

 

A lot of excellent records were made in England. My favorite is "But It's Alright" by J.J. Jackson. It is believed to be the first soul record recorded there with English musicians.

 

Uh, yeah. I'm American. I'm not one of these high schoolers who don't know geography.

 

I'm glad you mentioned Bob Abrahamian!
What a great guy!

His radio programs and interviews can still be found at Sitting In The Park WHPK on the internet.

As a person not part of the scene, I thank all the crate diggers and completists who pretty much catalogued all of the 1960s soul music from super obscure to number 1 hits.

 

You can't overlook the importance of a good shag in my experience.

 

I don't see why not. It's more likely that most Americans just don't know what the term actually means. You see it all the time on eBay with bazillion-selling Motown 45s called "Northern Soul" (hey, Detroit is in the North, isn't it?). But that's hardly the only such mistake you'll see there (another is Columbia albums from the '80s with "six-eye" labels - you know, the label that was discontinued in 1962!). But what's unrelateable about a particular style of music - that happens to be foreign - being popular in a particular part of the country?

True, and as I noted above, a common error. But I don't recall ever hearing any American refer to soul from the Northern USA as "northern soul". Mostly we refer to the cities you mentioned for their distinctive styles (i.e. "Memphis Soul", "the Philly sound", etc.). Even within the North, Philadelphia and Detroit (for example) had very different styles of soul.

We're not just "starting to develop" it. Ask anyone from the Midwest what they think of people from the East Coast, no matter what their politics are. And one hardly needs to mention North vs. South!

Not to this American's ears. But then, I know what the term means. (I do see your point - I'm reminded of how in the US in the '60s all the British Invasion bands were described as having "the Liverpool sound" when most of them were from Manchester or London - but I don't think it fits here.)

As I understand it, this was a rare example - possibly the very first - of a song being recorded specifically to appeal to the Northern Soul crowd.

 

Oh, I do. The northern stuff has always been characterized as being slick or polished. That's why a lot of people call the "down-home" music from the south the real deal.

Again, I hear it, and it's always from southerners. The carpetbagger resentment never died.

 

The Shag (is totally cool)

 

...There ain't nothing like shagging!

Be young, be foolish, be happy...drink a Coke with asprin in it, get pregnsnt, as I once heard a college radio DJ say!

 

Yeah, he was. Only crossed paths with him once, but we had a lot of common friends. Gone too soon. Columbia College just locked down his archives and record collection, so it's staying in Chicago. His family was intent that his work not be broken up. A civic treasure.

 

Definitely! Even in the '60s, which was full of great songs from almost everyone, rubbish like Hanky Panky and Wild Thing hit the top of the charts while some far superior material went almost unheard.