The Soulful Strings were an American

soul-jazz Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including ten ...

instrumental group formed in

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in 1966. Predominantly a studio band, the project was created and led by Richard Evans, a staff producer and musical arranger with the Chess Records subsidiary

Cadet Records Cadet Records was an American record label that began as Argo Records in 1955 as the jazz subsidiary of Chess Records. Argo changed its name in 1965 to Cadet to avoid confusion with the similarly named label in the UK. Cadet stopped releasing r ...

. The group comprised various members of Cadet's house band – such as

Phil Upchurch Philip Upchurch (born July 19, 1941) is an American jazz and blues guitarist and bassist. Career Upchurch started his career working with the Kool Gents, the Dells, and the Spaniels, before going on to work with Curtis Mayfield, Otis Rush, and ...

(on guitar),

Charles Stepney Charles Stepney (March 26, 1931– May 17, 1976) was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and musician. Stepney is noted for his work with artists such as The Dells, Ramsey Lewis, Rotary Connection and Earth, Wind & Fire. Career He ...

(organ,

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

), Lenny Druss (flute),

Cleveland Eaton Cleveland Josephus Eaton II (August 31, 1939July 5, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist, producer, arranger, composer, publisher, and head of his own record company in Fairfield, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. His most famous accomplish ...

(bass, cello),

Morris Jennings Morris Jennings was an American drummer and musician from Chicago. He recorded as Moe Jennings, M. Jennings, Maurice Jennings, Morris "Gator" Jennings, and Morris Jennings Jr. Jennings is best known for having played drums on the ''Electric Mud' ...

(drums), Bobby Christian (vibraphone, percussion) and, later, Billy Wooten, in place of Stepney. Sol Bobrov and Bruce Hayden were among the eponymous string players. Other contributors included Johnny Griffith and Donny Hathaway, both on keyboards, and jazz harpist

Dorothy Ashby Dorothy Jeanne Thompson (August 6, 1932 – April 13, 1986), better known as Dorothy Ashby, was an American jazz harpist, singer and composer. Hailed as one of the most "unjustly under loved jazz greats of the 1950s" and the "most accomplished ...

. Between 1966 and 1971, the Soulful Strings released six studio albums, all recorded at Chess's Ter Mar Studios, and one live album. This period coincided with the peak of Cadet Records' influence, during which Green continued to produce other acts, including Ashby,

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

and

Marlena Shaw Marlena Shaw (born Marlina Burgess, September 22, 1942) is an American jazz, blues and soul singer. Shaw began her singing career in the 1960s and is still singing today. Her music has often been sampled in hip hop music, and used in television ...

. Simultaneously, Stepney – often assisted by Upchurch, Christian and Jennings – also worked with the group

Rotary Connection Rotary Connection was an American psychedelic soul band, formed in Chicago in 1966. In addition to their own recordings, including their 1967 debut album '' Rotary Connection'', the band is notable as the backing band for Muddy Waters on his 196 ...

, recording for Chess's Cadet Concept label. As of October 2014, the Strings' catalog remained out of print, although their biggest US hit, "Burning Spear", was included on the 2004 Chess compilation ''Chicago Soul''.

Concept

The Soulful Strings' repertoire consisted mainly of

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s, often given a musical interpretation that combined soul, jazz,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and

psychedelia Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...

. Speaking to an interviewer from

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

, where he later worked as a professor teaching jazz arrangements, Evans attributed the ensemble's distinctive sound to his use of

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

s (rather than any violins) as lead string instruments, beside the cellos. He described the combination of two violas and four cellos as "a very dark sound". In a 2009 interview with ''

Wax Poetics ''Wax Poetics'' is a quarterly American music magazine dedicated to vintage and contemporary jazz, funk, soul, Latin, hip-hop, reggae, blues, and R&B in the crate-digger tradition; the name of the magazine is itself an allusion to vinyl rec ...

'' magazine, Evans credited Chess co-founder

Leonard Chess Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as Leonard Sam Chess, was a Polish-American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues, Chicago bl ...

with initiating the strings-based concept; however, he added that the flute and guitar parts became a "driving force" as much as the string section. Larry Grogan, founding editor of the soul music website Funky16Corners, writes that although superficially the project might appear to be in the "easy listening/kitsch" category, their music reveals " ota Montovani-esque vibe, but rather an energetic soul/funk/jazz rhythm section augmented (not overpowered) by strings".

Career

The Soulful Strings' debut album, ''Paint It Black'' (1966), included covers of contemporary rock and pop songs such as

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

' "

Paint It Black "Paint It Black" is a song recorded in 1966 by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European in ...

the Mamas & the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...

' "

California Dreamin' "California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in 1 ...

" and

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

' "

Eight Miles High "Eight Miles High" is a song by the American Rock music, rock Musical ensemble, band the Byrds, written by Gene Clark, Roger McGuinn, Jim McGuinn (a.k.a. Roger McGuinn), and David Crosby. It was first released as a Single (music), single on Ma ...

". While commenting on the prominence of viola and flute in the arrangements, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine's reviewer wrote: "The result is a surprise. Instead of harming the feel of the music, a new dimension is added." The ensemble made its concert debut, as a thirteen-piece, with a series of shows at Chicago's London House nightclub in mid 1968. By the time the concerts were announced, the group's second album, ''

Groovin' with the Soulful Strings ''Groovin' with the Soulful Strings'' is the second album by the American soul-jazz instrumental group the Soulful Strings. It was released in October 1967 on the Cadet record label, a subsidiary of Chess Records. The album includes the hit sing ...

'' (1967), had been on the US ''Billboard'' Top LP's chart for 33 weeks. It included the Evans-composed "Burning Spear", which was a top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' R&B Singles listings. Among the other songs on the LP were covers of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' Indian-styled "

Within You Without You "Within You Without You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Written by lead guitarist George Harrison, it was his second composition in the Indian classical style, aft ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

's " All Blues" and

the Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

' " (I Know) I'm Losing You". Their most successful album, ''Groovin peaked at number 59 on the Top LP's chart and at number 6 and number 2, respectively, on ''Billboard''s best-selling R&B and Jazz LPs. Released in June 1968, ''Another Exposure'' featured interpretations of

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and

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

's "

It Ain't Necessarily So "It Ain't Necessarily So" is a popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by his brother Ira Gershwin. The song comes from the Gershwins' opera ''Porgy and Bess'' ( 1935) where it is sung by the character Sportin' Life, a drug dealer, ...

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

's " (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", and three recent songs by the Beatles: "

Hello, Goodbye "Hello, Goodbye" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Backed by John Lennon's "I Am the Walrus", it was issued as a non-album single in November 1967, the group's first r ...

", "

Lady Madonna "Lady Madonna" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. In March 1968, it was released as a mono single, backed with "The Inner Light". The song was recorded on 3 a ...

" and " The Inner Light". The album also included three Evans compositions, among them "The Stepper" and "Soul Message". Evans later said that the decision to issue "The Stepper" as a single, rather than the Stepney-arranged cover of

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

's " Since You've Been Gone", led to difficulties in their working relationship. In November that year, the Strings released ''The Magic of Christmas'', a collection of traditional holiday-season songs. ''Back by Demand: The Soulful Strings in Concert'' (1969) was recorded live at London House over two nights in November 1968. Composed solely of cover versions, it included the Temptations' hit "

I Wish It Would Rain "I Wish It Would Rain" is a 1967 song recorded by the Temptations for the Motown label (under the "Gordy" imprint) and produced by Norman Whitfield. Release Issued with the Melvin Franklin-led "I Truly, Truly Believe" as its B-side, "I Wish ...

", a reworking of

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

's " Clair de Lune", as well as songs by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

and

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

. Breaking the pattern of their two previous releases, the group's 1969 studio LP, ''String Fever'' (often mis-titled as ''Spring Fever''), focused on original material, producing tracks such as "Zambezi" and "Chocolate Candy". Aside from Evans' compositions, the album featured songs written by or with Hathaway and Upchurch. Grogan describes ''String Fever'' as, variously, "by far the best of the Soulful Strings albums" and "the group's masterpiece". Producer and DJ

Kirk Degiorgio Kirk Degiorgio, better known as As One, is a British techno producer and DJ. Born in the late 1960s in Stepney, East London, and raised in Suffolk, he started producing music in the early 1990s. He founded the labels A.R.T. Records and Op-Art ...

, in his role as an educator with the

Red Bull Music Academy The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals that was founded in 1998 by Red Bull GmbH. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festiv ...

, similarly included "Zambezi" and "Chocolate Candy" on his playlist reflecting the best music from Evans' career. The group's final LP, ''Play Gamble-Huff'', consisted of cover versions of songs by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff. The album appeared in early 1971, by which point the Chess brothers had sold Chess Records and its subsidiaries to

General Recorded Tape General Recorded Tape was an American manufacturer of reel to reel, 8-track and cassette tapes that existed between 1965 and 1979. The company grew to become the owner of several prominent U.S. record labels, including Chess Records and Janus R ...

(GRT). In 1972, the GRT-owned Cadet label issued a compilation album by the group, a two-disc set titled ''The Best of the Soulful Strings''.

Discography

Release information per Both Sides Now Publications' Cadet Records discography (albums) and Funky16Corners (singles); all chart peaks from US charts compiled by ''Billboard'' magazine. ;Albums *''Paint It Black'' – Cadet LPS-776 (1966); US #166, US R&B #25 *''

'' – Cadet LPS-796 (1967); US #59, US R&B #6, US Jazz #2 *''Another Exposure'' – Cadet LPS-805 (1968); US #189, US R&B #43 *''The Magic of Christmas'' – Cadet LPS-814 (1968); US Christmas #35 *''Back by Demand: The Soulful Strings in Concert'' – Cadet LPS-820 (1969); US #125, US R&B #47 *''String Fever'' – Cadet LPS-834 (1969); US #183, US Jazz #19 *''Play Gamble-Huff'' – Cadet LPS-846 (1971) ;Singles * "

The Sidewinder ''The Sidewinder'' is a 1964 album by the jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, U.S. It was released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4157 (mono) and BST 84157 ( stereo). The title track ...

" / "

Message to Michael "Message to Michael" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, that has been a hit for several different artists under several different titles. The song was first recorded as "Message to Martha" by Jerry Butler in 1962. In 1964, singer ...

" – Cadet 5540 (1966) * "

" / " Love Is a Hurtin' Thing" – Cadet 5559 (1967) * "Burning Spear" / "

" – Cadet 5576 (1967); US #64, US R&B #36 * "The Stepper" / " The Dock of the Bay" – Cadet 5607 (1968) * "Jericho" / "The Who Who Song" – Cadet 5617 (1968) * "

" / "Listen Here" – Cadet 5633 (1969) * "Zambezi" / "A Love Song" – Cadet 5654 (1969)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soulful Strings American soul musical groups Cadet Records artists Musical groups from Illinois