Soul Deep: The Story of Black Popular Music poster

Basic Info

First Air: May 07, 2005

Rating: ⭐ 7.0/10 (1 votes)

Status: Ended

Seasons & Episodes

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 6

Last Episode

Name: From Ghetto To Fabulous: Mary J. Blige

Season: 1, Episode: 6

Air Date: 2005-06-11

Runtime: 60 min

Today, contemporary R&B is the music that the world spins to. R&B is one of the biggest selling music genres, worldwide its performers are among the most conspicuous celebrities on the planet with mighty corporations queuing up to recruit them to promote their products. This episode investigates how R&B arrived at its lofty heights. An extraordinary story unfolds, tracing the diamond-dripping, premiere-attending world of today's R&B stars, right back to the crack streets of Harlem in the mid 80s. It's also the story of how Mary J Blige's troubled journey revolutionised the sound of modern pop and in doing so took black music from the ghetto to fabulous.

Soul Deep: The Story of Black Popular Music

2005 1 seasons 6 episodes ⭐ 7.0/10 1 votes

Overview

Soul music has conquered the world in the last 50 years - growing from the raw, electric rhythms of the black underclass, it is now a billion dollar industry with R&B and hip hop dominating the world's charts. It's been the soundtrack to some of the most extraordinary social, political and cultural shifts. Together with the civil rights movement, it has challenged white hegemony, helped break down segregation and encouraged the fight for racial equality. This new six-part series, made by the BBC team who produced the critically-acclaimed Lost Highway, Walk On By and Dancing In The Street series, charts the evolution of soul music - with a fascinating combination of rare archive footage and over 100 contemporary interviews. The movers and shakers from the world of soul – such as James Brown, Mary J Blige, Beyoncé and Martha Reeves, - plus some often overlooked talent, track the music that shaped our lives.