Soul music is a wholly unique genre that evolved out of many areas of African American cultural heritage and tradition. It may have taken years for white audiences to grow accustom to eventually appreciate it. But soul music also produced some of the most widely-beloved and iconic artists of the 1950s, 60s and beyond, not the least of which was the Mr. Dynamite: James Brown. Yet while Brown may have dubbed himself the "hardest working man in show business," he was not the only performer with drive, style and undeniable talent to come out of the Chitlin Circuit. Joe Tex danced, sang and wrote songs just like James. Though to this day only one of them bears the title of Godfather of Soul. A title that was earned in blood.

Pick up a copy of Dr. Portia Maultsby's book African American Music: An Introduction.

Check out her work on Carnegie Hall's "Timeline of African American Music."

Hosted by Bridget Todd

Written by Benjamin Austin-Docampo

Editing & Sound Design by Pete Musto

Produced by James Levine

Created by Executive Producer Jeremiah Tittle

Find out more about all of Next Chapter Podcasts' incredible content at ncpodcasts.com!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices