Re-tune your heart to what God thinks and wants with these studies in the Psalms

A gripping narrative that captures the tumult and liberating energy of a nation in transition, Sweet Soul Music is an intimate portrait of the legendary performers--Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, James Brown, Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and Al Green among them--who merged gospel and rhythm and blues to create Southern soul music. Through rare interviews and with unique insight, Peter Guralnick tells the definitive story of the songs that inspired a generation and forever changed the sound of American music.

In The Meaning of Soul, Emily J. Lordi proposes a new understanding of this famously elusive concept. In the 1960s, Lordi argues, soul came to signify a cultural belief in black resilience, which was enacted through musical practices—inventive cover versions, falsetto vocals, ad-libs, and false endings. Through these soul techniques, artists such as Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes, and Minnie Riperton performed virtuosic survivorship and thus helped to galvanize black communities in an era of peril and promise. Their soul legacies were later reanimated by such stars as Prince, Solange Knowles, and Flying Lotus. Breaking with prior understandings of soul as a vague masculinist political formation tethered to the Black Power movement, Lordi offers a vision of soul that foregrounds the intricacies of musical craft, the complex personal and social meanings of the music, the dynamic movement of soul across time, and the leading role played by black women in this musical-intellectual tradition.

"Exceptionally illuminating and philosophically sophisticated." ---Ted Cohen, Professor of Philosophy, University of Chicago "In this audacious and long-awaited book, Joel Rudinow takes seriously a range of interrelated issues that most music theorizing is embarrassed to tackle. People often ask me about music and spirituality. With Soul Music, I can finally recommend a book that offers genuine philosophical insight into the topic." ---Theodore Gracyk, Professor of Philosophy, Minnesota State University Moorhead The idea is as strange as it is commonplace---that the "soul" in soul music is more than just a name, that somehow the music truly taps into something essential rooted in the spiritual notion of the soul itself. Or is it strange? From the civil rights movement and beyond, soul music has played a key, indisputable role in moments of national healing. Of course, American popular music has long been embroiled in controversies over its spiritual purity (or lack thereof). But why? However easy it might seem to dismiss these ideas and debates as quaint and merely symbolic, they persist. In Soul Music: Tracking the Spiritual Roots of Pop from Plato to Motown, Joel Rudinow, a philosopher of music, takes these peculiar notions and exposes them to serious scrutiny. How, Rudinow asks, does music truly work upon the soul, individually and collectively? And what does it mean to say that music can be spiritually therapeutic or toxic? This illuminating, meditative exploration leads from the metaphysical idea of the soul to the legend of Robert Johnson to the philosophies of Plato and Leo Strauss to the history of race and racism in American popular culture to current clinical practices of music therapy. Joel Rudinow teaches in the Philosophy and Humanities Departments at Santa Rosa Junior College and is the coauthor of Invitation to Critical Thinking and the coeditor of Ethics and Values in the Information Age.

In this special seasonal edition, bestselling author Robert J. Morgan shares the incredible stories behind traditional holiday hymns of faith, including Christmas, Easter, and more. Is there a festive season of the year that is complete without one of your favorite hymns? Not only do hymns connect you to great memories, but they also reveal the faith of those who lived throughout history. As Robert Morgan explored the stories behind some of the best-loved hymns, he found fascinating accounts of tribulations, triumphs, struggles, and hope—ordinary people who connected with God in amazing ways, sharing their experiences through song. Included inside this special edition are: 150 devotional-style stories with the words and music to each hymn Includes hymns for holidays including Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and more Jagged edged paper, giving it a classic feel Includes a complete hymn index by title, first line, and songwriter Perfect for use as a daily devotional, teaching illustration, or for song leaders and music ministers Discover the inspiration behind your favorite hymns. Find new favorites as you relate to the people whose walk of faith led them to write these classic songs of praise. Share these stories with your family, friends, and church, and find more depth and meaning as you worship God through song.

A Chicago Tribune Book of 2019, Notable Chicago Reads A Booklist Top 10 Arts Book of 2019 A No Depression Top Music Book of 2019 Curtis Mayfield. The Chi-Lites. Chaka Khan. Chicago’s place in the history of soul music is rock solid. But for Chicagoans, soul music in its heyday from the 1960s to the 1980s was more than just a series of hits: it was a marker and a source of black empowerment. In Move On Up, Aaron Cohen tells the remarkable story of the explosion of soul music in Chicago. Together, soul music and black-owned businesses thrived. Record producers and song-writers broadcast optimism for black America’s future through their sophisticated, jazz-inspired productions for the Dells and many others. Curtis Mayfield boldly sang of uplift with unmistakable grooves like “We’re a Winner” and “I Plan to Stay a Believer.” Musicians like Phil Cohran and the Pharaohs used their music to voice Afrocentric philosophies that challenged racism and segregation, while Maurice White of Earth, Wind, and Fire and Chaka Khan created music that inspired black consciousness. Soul music also accompanied the rise of African American advertisers and the campaign of Chicago’s first black mayor, Harold Washington, in 1983. This empowerment was set in stark relief by the social unrest roiling in Chicago and across the nation: as Chicago’s homegrown record labels produced rising stars singing songs of progress and freedom, Chicago’s black middle class faced limited economic opportunities and deep-seated segregation, all against a backdrop of nationwide deindustrialization. Drawing on more than one hundred interviews and a music critic’s passion for the unmistakable Chicago soul sound, Cohen shows us how soul music became the voice of inspiration and change for a city in turmoil.

Divine Soul Songs carry divine frequency and vibration, with divine love, forgiveness, compassion, and light. Millions are searching for soul secrets, wisdom, knowledge, and practices to fulfill their spiritual journeys. They want to know the purpose of life. They want their spiritual journeys to be deeply blessed. They also want to transform their physical lives. They want health. They want happiness. They want to prolong life. They want good relationships. They want financial abundance. The Divine Soul Songs offered in this book can transform every aspect of your life. They are treasures to be used for healing, rejuvenation, and purification of your soul, heart, mind, and body, and the souls, hearts, minds, and bodies of others. Every book in the Soul Power Series offers new teachings to empower readers to do soul selfhealing and more, but this book has more practical exercises than any other. Here Dr. Sha gives you the experience of a live Divine Soul Songs workshop with him. He presents these treasures in such a simple and practical way that you'll soon experience profound results. Enjoy them. Practice them. Benefit from them. Use these divine treasures to serve yourself, your loved ones, and others.

What if I told you that you create reality... Would you believe me or think I was crazy? Each one of us is connected to an unconditionally loving genie. It's science fact, not fiction, and it's a quantum thought experiment away from changing your life. Soul Songs 1 is a channeled collection of poetic reminders that your thoughts, words, and actions define your destiny. The rules of life are spread throughout its pages. Use the word flow to inspire, connect, and live to your highest purpose.

Just like many of us, Dr. Queen Shamala Sykes was once led down the long and winding path of soul exploration as she sought deeper answers to questions like, Who am I? and What is my purpose? Dr. Sykes, an ordained minister and a metaphysical practitioner, relies on the symbolism of the butterfly to share poetic expressions about the soul. In a five part collection, Dr. Sykes examines the meaning of the soul and shares the importance of soul awareness. According to Dr. Sykes, Using ancient wisdom and a daily practice of meditation are sure ways to connect you with your soul, your gifts and your talents. Blackbutterfly Soul Song interlaces symbolism with poetic expressions that will help guide anyone searching for transformation and renewal to find the answers to lifes most complex questions. Breathtaking! This book evokes the spirit of the Self and highlights the purpose of the Soul. The words of the ancestors, combined with the authors words, speak with wisdom and clarity. This book is highly recommended for taking our thoughts to a higher level of understanding. Mercedes Tidmore Brown, author of A Soul Incarcerated

Contains singing, chanting, and meditation exercises designed to improve individual physical and emotional health and transform the surrounding world.