Filling the Holes in Rolling Stone’s List of Greatest Country Soul Albums
As a given rule, criticizing the music lists of others is often a misguided practice. Whether it’s end-of-year lists accumulating the best stuff annually, or all-time lists looking more globally, these lists should be taken more as one individual’s insight, or one outlet’s perspective, and nothing more. Nobody has the omniscience to know about every song or album in a given field, nor the authority to decree what the “best” of anything is beyond their own perspectives, whether it’s Rolling Stone or anyone else.
For the record, when Rolling Stone released their 100 Greatest Country Albums of All Time back in 2022, I actually though it was decent. Sure, I quibbled with quite a few things, and caught hell from a lot of folks for not flamethrowing it wholesale. But again, this was Rolling Stone‘s assessment, not Saving Country Music’s. And I felt they got a lot of important things right.
But this Rolling Stone list of the 25 Best Country Soul Albums has so many holes you could strain your spaghetti with it, while simultaneously including some titles that have no business being there. It’s so misleading, it demands a rebuttal, especially since it was posted to piggy back off the whole “Beyoncé goes country” moment, and has subsequently gone viral.
Furthermore, there is just something unsettling about labeling anything released from Black artists either in or near the country space as “country soul.” It can affect an othering of Black country contributors that feels unfair or even softly racist, similar to how many actual country artists over the last many years have been referred to as “Americana” because they do not fit the mainstream country stereotype.
Just because a performer is Black doesn’t mean their music automatically comes with more inflections of “soul” or “R&B.” Similarly, just because an artist is White, that doesn’t mean their music won’t come with any “soul” at all.
What Should NOT Be Included on the Rolling Stone List:
#4 – Linda Martell – Color Me Country (1970) – What’s so cool about Linda Martell and the moment she’s experiencing through her appearances on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter is that Linda’s album Color Me Country is straight traditional country music through and through. Maybe there is a little bit of pop-style country rock indicative of the era in the mix as well, or just a dash of R&B-influenced delivery in the vocals of the album’s signature song, “Color Him Father.” But Color Me Country in no way sounds like a country soul project.
What is the sound of country? There is a twang to it, meaning biting, sharp notes that bend. What is soul? There is more of a smoothness to it, and a groove. Soul is often rendered more in keys and less in steel guitar or fiddle. Soul is greasy and sweaty. Country is more buttoned up. On Color Me Country, steel guitar is all over the place, and the sound is Countrypolitan. There is no crossover sound or a blending of genres.
#5 – Charley Pride – The Essential Charley Pride – First off, never include a Greatest Hits album on a “Best Of” list unless it’s risen to an iconic status all on it’s own. Think of The Eagles, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), but that’s the very rare exception. Yet Rolling Stone’s list has multiple Greatest Hits albums and multiple compilation albums as well. This is just lazy list making, like “Gee, Charley Pride is Black, but we don’t really know his catalog, so let’s throw a Greatest Hits album in the mix.”
Most importantly though, Charley Pride wasn’t really a country soul artists. This is how you can take Black country stars and do them dirty by stereotyping them. Charley Pride was Countrypolitan, country pop, and a traditional country star during the seasons of his career. What was cool about Charley Pride is he broke down stereotypes of what a country artist could be. He wasn’t a crossover star, and he didn’t come from another genre. Charley Pride was country, period.
#7 – Various Artists – From Where I Stand: The Black Experience In Country Music – This a fine collection of music released in 1998, and one that underscores how black contributions to country were not erased as some love to claim. But Rolling Stone also included this album in their 100 Greatest Country Albums of All Time list, and it didn’t make any sense then either. This compilation has long been out-of-print, barely anyone owns a copy, let alone knows of its existence. It just feels like putting a comp album on the list because the performers are Black.
#23- Sturgill Simpson – Metamodern Sounds in Country Music – Okay, now you’re just insulting our intelligence. For the record, in Saving Country Music’s estimation, Metamodern Sounds is the most important country album of our generation. It opened up independent country to the mainstream. It stoked the modern country music revolution. It is up there with Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger as one of the most important albums in country music of all time, and was #1 on Saving Country Music’s list of Greatest Albums of the Last Decade (2010-2019).
But this isn’t a country soul album at all. Not even a little bit. It’s the titular example of psychedelic country. But I guess we’re going to call it country soul just because Sturgill named it after Ray Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country Music from 1962? Give me a break. Simpson’s Grammy-winning A Sailor’s Guide to Earth probably has more soul due to the Stax horns.
#25- Carolina Chocolate Drops – Genuine Negro Jig – An incredibly important album to the country canon, but one that in no way embodies the idea of “country soul.” Instead, it’s a reclamation of country music’s Black roots born from very traditional and old-time string compositions that tracks country’s origins back to Black minstrel players. Does it simply have “soul” because the performers are Black? Again, this is a stereotype.
– – – – – – – – –
Let’s also give credit where credit is due. Rolling Stone says 1962’s Modern Sounds in Country Music by Ray Charles is the #1 country soul album of all time, and that’s hard to argue with. Their #2 is Tina Turner’s Tina Turns The Country On! from 1974, which is also a solid selection. Arthur Alexander’s self-titled album from 1972 comes in at #3. That may be a little high on the list, but Alexander is recognized as a pioneer of the “country soul” sound.
Charlie Rich at #8 for Behind Closed Doors is a solid pick, as is Valerie June at #12 with Pushin’ Against A Stone. Yola really is the modern definition of country soul, and her album Walk Through The Fire makes it on the list, though #21 seems high for an album that’s so emblematic of modern country soul .
What Should Be Included:
Jerry Reed – Georgia Sunshine (1970), When You’re Hot, You’re Hot (1971), Ko-Ko Joe (1971), or pretty much anything else from his catalog from 1970 to 1980 – When you’re talking about country soul, there is really only one artist after Ray Charles that you absolutely must make sure to include, and that’s Jerry Reed. He is the origination point of the greasy, bell-bottomed, straight-out-of-Georgia smooth pimp country soul sound if there ever was one, and to overlook songs like “Amos Moses” and “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” is to totally disqualify any attempt at populating a list of country soul music.
What is Rolling Stone thinking? It’s Country Music Hall of Famer Jerry Reed and everyone else. On a Top 25 list of country soul albums, he should appear two or three times at the least. This is nothing short of an egregious oversight.
Chris Stapleton – Traveller – (2015) – You can’t have a discussion about country soul without including Chris Stapleton. Chris Stapleton isn’t a country artist. He’s a soul artist with country inflections who rose to popularity in the country space. That’s why he is polarizing to some country fans despite the undeniable talent. The soaring nature of his voice and the style of his stellar guitar playing is all imbued with the true meaning of “soul.”
2015’s Traveller changed the game in country music forevermore. When Stapleton won big at the 2015 CMA Awards, it marked the beginning of the end of Bro-Country, and the rise of non radio-supported artists in the mainstream. “Tennessee Whiskey” is still one of the most popular songs in all of country music nearly 10 years after Stapleton’s version was released, and is the perfect example of country soul.
Ray Charles – Friendship (1984) – One of the most egregious oversights in not just country soul, but the contributions of Black performers in country music continues to be the ’80s output of Ray Charles. No, Ray Charles didn’t just release one country album, which is the constant refrain you hear from folks who love to compliment Modern Sounds in Country Music, but don’t know much afterwards. No, Ray Charles released seven country albums, including four between 1983 and 1986.
Friendship was a #1 album in country music. It produced a #1 song in “Seven Spanish Angels” with Willie Nelson. “It Ain’t Gonna Worry My Mind” with Mickey Gilley went #12. “Rock and Roll Shoes” with B.J. Thomas, and “Two Old Cats Like Us” with Hank Williams Jr. both went #14. Friendship did in the ’80s what Modern Sounds did back in the ’60s for fusing the R&B influences with country.
J.J. Cale – Naturally (1971), Troubadour (1976) – Perhaps there’s no performer that instilled feel and groove into what otherwise would be considered country music than Tulsa, Oklahoma’s J.J. Cale. His debut album Naturally gave rise to “They Call Me The Breeze” covered by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and “After Midnight” that was made a hit by Eric Clapton, speaking to his sweeping influence. If that ain’t country soul enough for you, check out another one of his masterworks, Troubadour from 1976 that includes the iconic “Cocaine.”
When you look in a textbook under the term “country soul,” you’ll see a picture of the soft spoken and groove-laden J.J. Cale, at least in Oklahoma.
The War & Treaty – Lover’s Game (2023) – For whatever reason, The War & Treaty always get overlooked in critical conversations about Black contributions in country music, even though they’re signed to a major Nashville label, regularly perform at the Grand Ole Opry, and might be on the short list of upcoming Opry inductees. Or maybe it’s the fact that they are accepted in Nashville and country, and they don’t go around grousing about how horrible they’re treated that they are never included in these conversations.
Either way, you absolutely cannot have a conversation about country soul, and keep The War & Treaty out of it. Similar to Yola, Michael and Tanya Trotter define country soul in the modern era, and are great ambassadors for it in the way they’ve converted scores of country fans to the discipline.
Larry Jon Wilson – New Beginnings – (1975) – One of the truly overlooked pioneers of country soul from Augusta, Georgia, his terrible track record for landing hits and selling records seems to always get Larry Jon Wilson left out of these conversations.
The one time Larry Jon Wilson wasn’t overlooked is when he appeared in the iconic Outlaw country documentary Heartworn Highways. He was captured recording his excellent country soul scorcher “Ohoopee River Bottom Land” in a scene that has since become an iconic moment for country soul.
Charley Crockett – When all is said and done, who knows, Charley Crockett might be crowned the King of Country Soul. It’s Crockett’s distinctive mix of traditional country with soul and R&B influences that have made him one of the hottest artists in independent country, and one of the coolest cats country music has ever seen. Which album best embodies Charley Crockett’s country soul? All of them really.
And what makes Crockett especially cool is how he can slide from a traditional country song into a smooth vintage soul tune totally seamlessly. This is because Mr. Crockett is a master of both disciplines, and looks at music more through the lens of era as opposed to genre.
Brent Cobb – Providence Canyon – (2018) – Or really, any of his albums – Georgia is the home of country soul. That’s where Ray Charles is from. That’s where Jerry Reed is from. This is where Larry Jon Wilson is from. That is where Brent Cobb is from, and you can hear it oozing out of all of their music.
Brent Cobb is one of the premier modern purveyors of country soul. And though all of his albums qualify under that heading, Providence Canyon comes with an extra helping of grease and butter to make it slide down easy.
Honorable mention must also be given to Adam Hood and his 2022 album Bad Days Better, as well as Jason Eady’s Mississippi. All three of these top notch songwriters have put that deep groove on their recent albums in a way that best illustrates “country soul.”
A Hastily Thrown Together Potential Top 20 “Best Country Soul Albums of All Time” List:
20. Waylon Jennings – This Time (1974)
19. Valerie June – Pushin’ Against a Stone (2013)
18. Charley Crockett – The Man From Waco (2022)
17. Brent Cobb – Providence Canyon (2018)
16. J.J. Cale – Troubadour (1976)
15. Arthur Alexander – Arthur Alexander (1972)
14. The War & Treaty – Lover’s Game (2023)
13. Larry Jon Wilson – New Beginnings (1975)
12. Jerry Reed – Ko-Ko Joe (1971)
11. Yola – Walk Through The Fire (2019)
10. Ray Charles – Friendship (1984)
9. Charlie Rich – Behind Closed Doors (1973)
8. Jerry Reed – When You’re Hot, You’re Hot (1971)
7. Tony Joe White – Black & White (1969)
6. J.J. Cale – Naturally (1971)
5. Bobbie Gentry – Ode to Billie Joe (1967)
4. Jerry Reed – Georgia Sunshine (1970)
3. Tina Turner – Tina Turns The Country On! (1974)
2. Chris Stapleton – Traveller (2015)
1. Ray Charles – Modern Sounds in Country Music (1962)
Other names that deserve to be in the discussion: Ronnie Milsap, O.B. McClinton, Joe Stampley, Delbert McClinton, Leon Russell, T. Graham Brown, Anita Pointer, and more…
April 4, 2024 @ 10:03 am
The 100 Greatest Country Albums of All Time list was a joke then and has only become a larger joke.
The Rolling Stones is a farce.
Charley Pride isn’t within 100 miles of being a soul artist. He is pure country music. More so than guys like Willie.
April 4, 2024 @ 4:36 pm
You have an extra “S” in a very important part of your statement.
April 5, 2024 @ 6:55 am
the rolling stones magazine? lol.
very funny coming from a guy who thinks that correcting someone else’s grammar is a big ‘gotcha’ during a back and forth.
April 5, 2024 @ 11:04 am
Back for another beating?
No one is perfect. I merely misspelled once. You, on the other hand, can’t even muster rudimentary grammar.
April 5, 2024 @ 12:19 pm
Guys, this has to stop.
April 4, 2024 @ 10:19 am
Hate to disagree with you on this one trigger. You obviously have probably a bigger understanding about where to blur the lines between country, country, soul, and straight up soul than I do, and probably a broader knowledge of some of the less instantly well-known names, than do I.
But the Man from Waco is one of my favorite albums of the modern era, and I had never at any point, considered it as anything less than a straightforward country album with substantial western influences.
That is to say, I always considered Charley Crockett the embodiment of country and Western in the modern sense. More of the country influences than Colter Wall.
We can agree that criticizing other peoples lists is an exercise in futility. And I think we can agree that Charley pride shouldn’t have been on the Rolling Stone list, I might have been willing to debate some of the other parts.
But can someone please explain to me how we come to the conclusion that Charlie Crockett belongs in the country soul category as opposed to the country and western category?
April 4, 2024 @ 10:30 am
Charley Crockett is an interesting test case because like I said in the article, much of his material is straight country & Western. But unquestionably, some of his biggest songs are straight up soul songs. I wouldn’t even call them country soul necessarily. They’re just straight up soul. But the way he so seamlessly moves through his material, you don’t even notice the dramatic shifts in style.
For example, the biggest song from “The Man From Waco” album is “I’m Just a Clown.” It became one of the longest-running #1 songs in Americana radio history, and also did well on AAA. You listen to that song, it’s a straight up soul track, full stop. The guitar, the congos/bongos, the horn blasts, the rhythm. It’s soul.
https://youtu.be/rlxM2kH6370?feature=shared
Maybe “The Man From Waco” album isn’t a perfect example of “country soul.” But I feel like you can’t have a country soul conversation without including Charley Crockett.
April 4, 2024 @ 4:16 pm
“I Need Your Love” is a solid example of Charley Crockett doing country soul. And that song is really damn good.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bpfHmzEoV5M
April 4, 2024 @ 11:04 am
I’m going with “In The Night” as possibly the purest expression of Charley Crockett’s natural predilections. Before he had the Blue Drifters he had some dudes from NOLA and they really light it up on this record. Plus, having seen Charley lay into the title track live really drives it home. This is the CC record I go back to most often.
April 4, 2024 @ 6:03 pm
I’m going to agree with the album
“In the Night” being the Charley Record to label Country Soul. I personally love Charley when he leans into this influence of jazz, blues and soul. I love his country stuff but go back to “In the Night”, “If Not The Fool”, “Good Time Charley’s Got the Blues”, “I’m Just a Clown” and “Foolish Game”.
April 4, 2024 @ 10:21 am
So excited to dig into this list. Thanks for posting.
One thing I want to highlight (not saying it should be on this list), but Yola was the lead singer or a a British band who I saw a couple of times called Phantom Limb. I still think her best tracks are with this group.
Check out their tracks “Run” and “Don’t Say a Word”
April 4, 2024 @ 11:20 am
Links here.
Don’t Say a word
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs8VZJtXfIU
Run
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av5RxXVVtF8
April 4, 2024 @ 10:42 am
For a quickly thrown together list, it looks pretty damn good to me. Except I would have From Elvis in Memphis somewhere in the top five and Delbert McClinton and Jim Ford somewhere on the list.
April 4, 2024 @ 10:49 am
Delbert McClinton is a good name for this discussion.
April 4, 2024 @ 11:40 am
Trigger, you are right that Delbert is one of THE country-soul masters. A greatest hits set of Joe South shouldn’t be in these lists which they include Classic Masters, but rather Introspect and Don’t It Make You Want To Go Home for starters.
April 4, 2024 @ 1:57 pm
Right there with Bradley, Adam and you on Delbert McClinton in this discussion. Listen to his first solo album “Victims Of Life’s Circumstances,” where McClinton wrote all the songs (his only record with that distinction). Clavinet, Hammond B3 and Fender Rhodes alongside fiddle, pedal steel and chicken pickin’ Telecaster playing mostly 3 and 4 chord songs. Delbert always mentions Big Joe Turner and Hank Williams as main influences and cut his musical teeth backing the likes of Jimmy Reed and Sonny Boy Williamson II. Country Soul indeed. We will never see the era of musical cross pollination that nurtured the likes of Delbert, Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson again. Also agree with Adam on Elvis and Bradley on the great Joe South.
April 4, 2024 @ 6:26 pm
I was today years old when I found out that there is a genre called “Country Soul”. Good Lord.
April 5, 2024 @ 1:27 am
Delbert for sure!!!!
April 4, 2024 @ 3:46 pm
FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS definitely ought to be considered in this conversation, because Elvis was just champing at the bit in the wake of the huge success of his 1968 NBC-TV special to get back to basics, which was to mix R&B, country, rock, and sophisticated pop with the American Studios session crew of no-holes-barred producer Chips Moman. Indeed, an argument could be made for that album being Elvis’ most artistically important album of any kind, hands down.
April 4, 2024 @ 10:58 am
Conway Twitty’s 1980 album “Heart and Soul” is worth considering.
I should look back through the catalogs of Sonny James and Ronnie Milsap to see if there are any albums that especially fit.
April 4, 2024 @ 11:09 am
Ronnie Milsap is definitely a good name for this discussion, though I failed to come up with an album that best embodied country soul as opposed to some of his songs. That said, I am not an expert in the Ronnie Milsap catalog.
April 4, 2024 @ 4:28 pm
T. Graham Brown – Brilliant Conversationalist. In my mind, T. was a soul singer with country influences.
April 4, 2024 @ 9:20 pm
I think T. turned up the soul when he was no longer in the major leagues and was not trying to fit into mainstream country. His “Wine Into Water” album with excellent tracks like “Good Days and Bad Days” and the wacky “Memphis Women and Fried Chicken” was soul most of the way.
April 5, 2024 @ 9:16 am
While he is well liked in Nashville, he’s a natural soul singer. That makes him distinctive along with his extroverted personality and affability.
April 4, 2024 @ 4:32 pm
Lost in the Fifties Tonight may be the most overtly soul-influenced album of his. The title track, “Happy, Happy Birthday Baby” and a cover of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” are good examples.
April 4, 2024 @ 11:29 am
This appears to be what happens when a media org decides to jump on a trend and someone is assigned to do a story while the issue is still hot. That person has doesn’t have the time–and probably not the inclination–to properly research the story or truly understand the subject. And in this case clearly doesn’t listen to the music.
In other words it’s just plain lazy.
Anyone with more than a superficial knowledge of any random subject or field of endeavor knows that when the press writes a story about it, the story is so full of holes that it’s mostly fiction. This has always been true, but it’s becoming worse all the time.
Another artist that could be included is Lyle Lovett. If you’ve seen one of his shows with Francine Reed and his Large Band you’d be left with no doubt about that.
April 4, 2024 @ 11:36 am
Also, soulful country-pop needs to include stuff from Joe South, especially the albums Introspect (1968) and Don’t It Make You Want To Go Home (1969) and Billy Joe Royal’s work, especially His 3 Columbia albums plus the The Royal Treatment (1987) and Tell It Like It Is (1989) albums.
April 4, 2024 @ 11:47 am
What did you think of “Rhythm, Country & Blues,” the early-’90s collection on MCA of country/soul artist collaborations along with a few country solo artists covering soul classics? I don’t see it on your list or the RS list. I’ll admit it’s uneven, especially the tracks that don’t include a collaborator from R&B, but there are several tracks — Sam Moore & Conway Twitty’s “Rainy Night in Georgia” come to mind — that sounded really good.
April 4, 2024 @ 12:39 pm
I’m honestly not aware of that compilation. I do recognize that compilations and Greatest Hits albums can be good primers into an artist, or era, or style of music. But many years ago I adopted to practice of avoiding them, just because they don’t really give you the deeper insight into the breadth of an artist’s work.
April 4, 2024 @ 10:05 pm
Trig–I’d bet that you were aware of “Rhythm, Country & Blues,” when it came out, though it may have slipped your mind in the two decades since. That was a major album, produced by Tony Brown and Don Was. It had two brilliant tracks in Marty Stuart and the Staples Singers singing “The Weight” and Conway Twitty duetting with Sam Moore on “Rainy Night In Georgia.” And George Jones singing with B.B. King; and Trisha Yearwood duettin with Aaron Neville. It may have been Conway’s last recording-it was released posthumously for him.
This I didn’t remember, but per Wiki, “Rhythm, Country & Blues,” debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country Album’s chart and was nominated for CMA Album of the Year in 1994. (It lost to “Common Thread”, the songs of the Eagles compilation.)
Here’s the video that was released from the actual recording session on the Conway and Sam cut.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAA_LUCb0QE
April 5, 2024 @ 12:12 am
My mind may have slipped, but the arithmetic says that the “Rhythm, Country & Blues,” album came out three decades ago–not two.
April 5, 2024 @ 3:58 am
Indeed it did, and Trigger must have been just a kid then, so it’s entirely possible he wouldn’t have been aware of its release. And since reviews at the time were mixed, the album has never shown up on must-have lists of either country or soul music.
Not long before “Rhythm, Country & Blues” came out, MCA also issued “Into the Twangy-First Century,” by Run C&W, a group featuring ex-Eagle Bernie Leadon and ex-Amazing Rhythm Ace Russell Smith. This was an odd project — soul standards performed in a bluegrass style, along with several original compositions. The group put out a follow-up, “Row vs. Wade,” but it was clear that they’d run out of ideas and they disbanded. I remember liking the album a lot more when it came out than I do now. The musicianship on it is superb, but the whole record has a jokey “Dueling Tubas” vibe to it.
April 5, 2024 @ 7:15 am
Howard,
You’re right. I was thinking of the album as 20 years old, rather than 30.
April 4, 2024 @ 1:00 pm
I remember seeing the video of that Sam Moore/Conway Twitty collaboration. Sam seemed like quite the Conway fan. I think another one was Patti Labelle and Travis Tritt. Sam and Dave’s When Something Is Wrong with My Baby, I think.
April 4, 2024 @ 3:57 pm
Howard I totally agree, such a great record by Don Was, the pairings were fantastic, if any compilation is to be included, it would be this, BB King doing Patches, and Conway and Sam Moore on Rainy Night in Georgia, Oh my!
How about the Amazing Rhythm Aces!
April 4, 2024 @ 11:48 am
Leon Russell has lots of country-soul in his huge, eclectic repertoire as well.
April 4, 2024 @ 11:59 am
I’ve always thought Barbara Mandrell as a mix of country, blue eyed soul, and rhythm and blues. Some of her music sort of had a Hall & Oates type of vibe to it and I don’t mean that in a derogatory way as I enjoy Hall & Oates. I fully appreciate her country music roots though and she can play the hell out of just about any instrument.
April 4, 2024 @ 12:03 pm
Trigger – Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham come to mind as does Etta James. Probably Tony Joe White is the most country got soul artist. Van Morrison’s country album?
April 4, 2024 @ 12:18 pm
To be contrary, I’ve never been aware of country- soul being an actual genre category. Never heard a country radio DJ use the phrase country- soul, period. Unofficially, as a descriptor, I get what it’s attempting to mean. And truthfully, I’ve always enjoyed the style. Add T Graham Brown and Razzy Bailey to the discussion, though, by all means.
I think I can guess why RS even came up with this article/ list.
April 4, 2024 @ 12:57 pm
I’ve definitely used the term “country soul” before. I thought it was the best way to describe Yola when I first heard her music, and have used it a few times subsequently, specially in reference to The War & Treaty, Brent Cobb, Charley Crockett, and Adam Hood. I wouldn’t call it an official subgenre. I would call it more of a good description for a specific type of sound. I’m not even opposed necessarily to “Rolling Stone” trying to put together a list of top country soul albums. But when you base it off of race as opposed to sound, I think you’re misunderstanding what “country soul” is.
I have seen some Black Americana artists talk about how they’re regularly referred to as “Gospel-inspired” or “soul-inspired” just because they are Black. Sometimes that’s the case. Sometimes it’s not.
I just couldn’t imagine having this conversation without broadening the conversation to some very obvious performers you’d have to include in this conversation, especially ones that purposely were trying to fuse country and soul.
April 4, 2024 @ 12:06 pm
Just a couple shout outs…
Jeannie Seely. Not only is her nickname Miss Country Soul but she cowrote a great soul song, “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is” (most notably recorded by New Orleans queen, Irma Thomas).
Candi Staton. Perhaps my favorite soul singer and has definitely recorded some great country-soul music.
April 4, 2024 @ 12:17 pm
if this thread (re)-introduces readers to artists that may have been a little forgotten, that can only be a good thing, right?
Wondering where Trigger and others would place Patsy Cline. I’ve always thought of her as someone who comfortably blended several genres.
April 4, 2024 @ 12:18 pm
Oops, forgot to mention Clarence Carter. Surely “Patches” has to qualify as great country-soul.
April 4, 2024 @ 12:23 pm
One of my favorite soul singers, who is from the South and did some fantastic country covers, is Bettye Swann. Her voice is the sweetest! https://youtu.be/NXE6ksv_cBI?si=kaf1-PIyegoLMtGy
April 4, 2024 @ 1:02 pm
Another great article that has me burning up Spotify. Well done!
Thanks
April 4, 2024 @ 1:09 pm
Looks like something is brewing in Sturgill land..
Supposed announcement at midnight. Website is locked down.
Sailors Guide had more soul than a lot of these albums.
April 4, 2024 @ 1:19 pm
There MIGHT be a Sturgill Simpson announcement coming. But there was also some April Fools stuff earlier this week that hoodwinked a bunch of folks. I have not seen anything official. He may just be revamping his website.
It does appear that John Moreland has a surprise album coming called “Visitor.” It COULD be a return to more acoustic folk stuff.
It might be an interesting evening full of surprises.
April 4, 2024 @ 1:59 pm
I saw the supposedly Aprils fool post. However that post was a picture of a boat with explosions in the distant. Titled Last Hurrah.. With the 4/5 date. Another interesting note. Mile has left Austin for Nashvilley and has said he is back on drums..
You gonna review the new Sarah Shook?
April 4, 2024 @ 4:15 pm
New Sarah Shook and many more albums are on the list to review. As always, more albums than time to cram them all in my brain and produce reviews worthy of reading.
April 4, 2024 @ 3:45 pm
Moreland’s Visitor dropped over here in Euro South lands.
April 4, 2024 @ 4:19 pm
What’s the production like?
April 4, 2024 @ 4:52 pm
Your prediction is borne out: acoustic, folky, organic, slow tempo. A return to In the Throes sound. I’d say about half of the tracks are pretty countryish too, including the title track and the only up-tempo one, “Ain’t Much I Can Do About It.” I’ve only skimmed on first listen, but it’s pretty promising.
April 4, 2024 @ 5:18 pm
Thanks!
April 4, 2024 @ 5:36 pm
Euro South outpost reporting for service 😉
April 4, 2024 @ 1:14 pm
Who gives a crap what Rolling Stone thinks about any genre of music anymore . At one time it was a great rock music magazine now it’s just a left leaning rag . Also the former editor was the one who made The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a joke .
April 4, 2024 @ 1:50 pm
To be honest, Rolling Stone’s list isn’t at all bad.
But thanks for making some nice additions/removals.
Good music all around!
April 4, 2024 @ 2:14 pm
As far as Waylon, instead of “This Time” I would suggest “Closing In On The Fire.” That is an amazing, soulful album that I never see mentioned.
April 4, 2024 @ 3:07 pm
Glad to see Tony Joe White on your list. Lots of great suggestions in the comments, including “From Elvis in Memphis.” My list would include Marcus King’s “El Dorado” and Shelby Lynne’s breakout album, “I Am Shelby Lynne.”
April 4, 2024 @ 3:25 pm
“Mickey Guyton, ‘Remember Her Name“
This album isn’t soul or country. It’s a pop album that at its most country-ish bits just amounts to bad copies of Miranda Lambert’s and Kacey Musgraves’s poppier songs.
I always found her whole narrative about not being accepted as a black artist in Country baffling because she’s very clearly not making country music or even country pop.
April 4, 2024 @ 4:18 pm
Mickey Guyton started out as more of a country pop artist that leaned traditional, and I thought she showed promise early on. “Better Than You Left Me” is a good song. But when it didn’t stick, she took a hard swing toward pop.
I didn’t include any of her albums here because I wouldn’t consider her country soul. Again, I think Rolling Stone put numerous artists on that list simply because they were Black. I’m not sure that serves anyone’s purposes.
April 5, 2024 @ 5:39 am
It serves the overall narrative’s purpose.
April 4, 2024 @ 4:17 pm
I personally think it’s a stretch to call it country soul except for maybe three of the tracks but since Tony Joe White is getting some love here- JJ Grey and Mofro – Lochloosa. It’s a masterpiece
April 4, 2024 @ 4:20 pm
Yeah, the RS list ain’t no good. But, on the plus side, it got some folks talkin’ some of my all time favorites. And, yeah, when I think country soul I think the deep South and Georgia in particular. Of course, I’m a Georgian, so I’m biased. Your list hit the high points. I might throw in:
– Bobby Charles
– Johnny Adams
– Clarence Carter (as someone else mentioned above)
– Solomon Burke (here and there)
– Charlie Rich
– Conway & Loretta duet albums have a ton o’tracks I’d throw in
– Ronnie Milsap (here and there)
There’s a cool little compilation album called Testifying: The Country Soul Revue, that has some later year’s Dan Penn, Larry Jon, Bonnie Bramlett, etc.
A bunch o’ really great shout outs in the comments and a few I haven’t heard and will definitely check out.
April 4, 2024 @ 5:16 pm
Everybody out here sleeping on Shelby Lynne. Go listen to o am Shelby Lynne right now! One of the great albums of that decade. And top 10 country soul.
April 4, 2024 @ 5:52 pm
You should ignore people who promote looking at anything through the lens of race, not quibble over the clarity of their poisonous world view.
April 9, 2024 @ 10:27 am
Is there not a formalized genre called, “blue-eyed soul”? The assumptions of who catalogs to the “soul” genre is broader than your average racist as clearly indicated by the presumptions in the Rolling Stone list.
Trigger is right, we’re talking about actual sound and not looks, though. Great list. Check out Sam Turner & the Cactus Cats from Houston, Texas. Local country soul leaning act produced by Kevin Skrla.
April 4, 2024 @ 5:58 pm
Charlie Rich I would suggest the album “The Fabulous Charlie Rich” over “Behind Closed Doors” mainly because BCD is just two massive singles and some filler but I would say TFCR has more soul influenced country. But “Pictures & Paintings” is his best album overall imo.
April 4, 2024 @ 6:29 pm
Joe Stampley has a wonderful soulful voice and he has previously tackled many ‘soul’ songs in his career. One of his country chart hits was “All These Things” which certainly has a soulful production and vocal.
from Joe Stampley’s website: “The Country Soul of Joe Stampley” (released 2015)
“This is my new project, featuring some of my all-time favorite, classic songs. I’ve always wanted to put these together on an album, and now, it’s finally here. This collection includes soulful renditions of If You Don’t Know Me By Now, When Something Is Wrong With My Baby, Unchained Melody and more. I hope you enjoy it .” — Joe Stampley
April 5, 2024 @ 12:33 pm
I agree about Joe Stampley and ” All These Things”- that song was written by New Orleans rnb legend Allen Toussaint who also wrote Glen Campbell’s “Southern Nights”
April 4, 2024 @ 7:05 pm
I never thought of Burt’s buddy “Snowman” as a greasy pimp,but rather the quintessential good ol’ boy,but….he certainly was a treasure as he sounded like a Bubba who’d spent time on the “wrong” side of the tracks.
April 4, 2024 @ 7:08 pm
https://youtu.be/2sglrbx6rVo?si=TEF3ifa-5T4s6Mby
Tom Waits & Crystal Gayle
April 4, 2024 @ 8:47 pm
Hell of an article and great comments, disagreements and all.
April 4, 2024 @ 10:33 pm
To be honest, although I’ve heard the term plenty of times, I never really knew exactly what Country Soul was/is.
It could well be that a lot of the Country music I like may actually be Country Soul without me being aware of it.
I think I know what Country Music is (mostly) and I think I know what Soul music is, but Country+Soul?
Having said that, Top 10/20/whatever lists are always interesting to examine and debate.
April 4, 2024 @ 11:34 pm
Dallas Frazier should be in the conversation too. Though some of his songs are straight soul and others straight country.
April 5, 2024 @ 11:21 am
100% with you on this one.
April 5, 2024 @ 3:50 am
There can be no discussion about best country soul albums without mentioning Sammi Smith’s Help me make it through the night.
April 5, 2024 @ 5:41 am
Lists always have lots of holes but this one maybe more than most. I do recall the time when the Rolling Stone was a good quality music publication. Those day shave long gone.
April 5, 2024 @ 6:24 am
Lacy J. Dalton should be recognized for her soul sounding recordings.
April 5, 2024 @ 6:49 am
One of my favorite country soul flavored albums is Kitty Wells’ late album “Forever Young”. Not a lot of people know about this album but Kitty Wells cut it in the southern rock Capricorn studios, accompanied by southern rock players like Toy Caldwell and Chuck Leavell. She covers Dylan’s Forever Young, Otis Redding I’ve Been Loving You Too Long, Aretha’s Do Right Woman.
April 5, 2024 @ 6:51 am
Is anyone actually still reading that irrelevant propagandist rag???
April 5, 2024 @ 6:56 am
…there’s a lot of positive stuff coming from this “cowboy carter” release. this discussion is another example.
one of the – still young, alive and releasing – winners in all this buzz around beyoncé’s it’s-not-a-country-record ought to be ms. maggie rose. probably, one of the most dedicated and finest singers of soul and funk infused southern/country music. unlike the superstar, she doesn’t beat around the bush describing what she’s doing and what her intentions are. perhaps, she’d better start doing so in order to spark more attention onto releases like “no one gets out alive” (2023) or “pull you through” from her album “change the whole thing” (2018) and her other fine albums.
if you wanna hear for yourself and not only read hashed up stuff about about that supposed miracle that happened this easter in the country music realm, you might want to turn to maggie rose for some reassurance that has been going on for more than a decade and counting. if sturgill simpson – like “rolling stone” suggested – was to be considered in this context, she ought to be worshipped.
April 6, 2024 @ 5:54 am
Tom, “Change the Whole Thing” is a great album. Awesome to see Maggie Rose’s name come up on here. Don’t sleep on Grace Potter’s latest album “Mother Road.” It’s funky and bluesy and Stonesy and very much a return to Grace’s early hippy-chick sound.
April 5, 2024 @ 8:12 am
B.J. Thomas had lots of country-soul styled material throughout his catalog as well. For example, his earliest major hits such as I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry, Billy and Sue, etc. were really country-soul-pop, although he would later go straight country-pop.
April 5, 2024 @ 10:35 am
Country and Soul my two favourite genres ever…..the music nerd in me wants to stress out this compilation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV8VNozE1ek&list=PLgOYU0NkbVmmSxOchiDgodj_ncbBTCVaE
there’s also a volume 2 and another name i would like to headline his the mighty Adam Hood!!!
April 5, 2024 @ 11:18 am
Country-soul was actually a thing for awhile in the 1970s. Joe Stampley, may be known now, if at all, as Moe Bandy’s compadre on those wacky Moe & Joe “Good Old Boys” duets in the late ’70s, but his real talents were as a country-soul singer. Stampley had a #1 country hit in 1972 with……”Soul Song” and another #1 a few years later with another country souls song, “All These Things.” And after that, Razzy Bailey had five #1 country hits in 1980-81 with a country-sould vibe.
Travis Tritt revived country soul a bit in the ’90s. Just my opinion, but I believe that in recent years, Tritt made a pretty conscious decision that in the current climate, the way for an aging artist to draw attention is to choose a side in the “culture wars” and he chose to throw in his lot with the John Riches and Aaron Lewises rather than try to make the music where his heart is really at.
April 5, 2024 @ 6:23 pm
Great review of another lame RS list. Loved your put-downs of their “Greatest Hits” pick for Charlie Pride and their absurd inclusion of Sturgill’s “Metamodern Sounds.” Most of all thrilled to see JJ Cale’s “Naturally” on your should-have-been-included list. One of the most soulful albums of all time.
April 5, 2024 @ 6:54 pm
Would Freddy Fender’s, Wasted Days and Wasted Nights, be considered soulful/bluesy, enough?
April 6, 2024 @ 1:50 pm
Someone I’d mention as at least Country Soul adjacent is a local favorite, Leon Bridges. He gets regular airplay on progressive country radio in the Fort Worth area. Check out Texas Sun or If You Were Mine, a duet with Mirand Lambert.
April 6, 2024 @ 9:50 pm
Thanks. I should have gone to sleep so many hours ago. Norway time *******s. I love yr list.
April 6, 2024 @ 9:51 pm
Give a listen to Tina Turner’s 1974 “Tina Turns the Country On”. Covers of country and country adjacent folk tunes from Kristoffersen, Williams and Dolly among others. We’ll done by one of the best stylists of our time. A great effort, no pretense and alot of fun. Though it didn’t sell well, she was nominated for a Grammy. ‘Nuff said…this should be on the list.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kSsJhvsmoBK_auy043oSCEGUNJZ6lZffE&si=CaMzVY9oh2gIG_cW
(Rolling Stone a true accomplice in our “just reinvented” country world…)
April 7, 2024 @ 7:12 am
For the record, the Tina Turner album was #3 on my list, and #2 on the Rolling Stone list. It was one of the few things Rolling Stone got right. I also incorporated the album heavily into my obituary for Turner when she passed last year, and then wrote a dedicated article talking about how the album went “forgotten” when others were claiming it was “erased” by country.
April 7, 2024 @ 9:34 am
I think Trigger makes an important point that Charley Pride is not a soul singer simply because his skin is darker, and Rolling Stone should know better. Tony Joe White is much more of a soul singer than Charley Pride. I will definitely check out the Tina country album. One song I’d like to add is Marty Robbin’s “Don’t Worry About Me,” from 1961. Not only is the fuzz bass soulful, but so is Marty’s singing in what I think is a classic song in every way.
April 8, 2024 @ 11:27 am
Is Randy Howard someone to mention in this conversation? I don’t know a lot of his stuff, and the songs I do know definitely would not strike me as country soul. However, he is from Macon, GA and had that song “Southern Soul”…?
April 9, 2024 @ 1:57 pm
The Linda Martell inclusion here is embarrassing and reeks of racism or just plain ignorance that jumps to the conclusion that Black singer = soul (or R&B). The Sturgill inclusion is plain baffling.
April 22, 2024 @ 12:35 am
I think Joe Tex’s Soul Country (1968) should he included too