Sam Cooke's influence on music, as the pioneer in cross-over from gospel to rhythm and blues, is described in this encyclopedia entry. His music was important to the African-American identity in the Civil Rights movement.

A brief look at the career Sam and Dave, one of the most influential soul acts of the 1960s. Links to other significant names in soul music, too.

This entry from Encyclopedia Brittanica's Guide to Black History features Berry Gordy, Jr., an American businessman, founder of the Motown Record Corporation (1959), which became the most successful black-owned music company in the...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Lloyd Price, an American singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. Price made his mark in rock music history with his exuberant tenor and his flair for recasting rhythm and blues as...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Solomon Burke, an American singer whose success in the early 1960s in merging the gospel style of the African American church with rhythm and blues helped to usher in the soul music era.

This introduction to the life and writing of Langston Hughes profiles the poet who emerged with the Harlem Renaissance to earn "a place amongst the greatest poets America has ever produced."