Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel.
Many soul artists gained popularity due to the domination of soul music in the R&B charts. Among these artists were Ray Charles, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and the soul group the Temptations.
 Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential added modern production elements and influence from hip-hop.