Video: Country Soul Playlist by Charles L. Hughes

Charles Hughes, author of Country Soul: Making Music and Making Race in the American South crafted a YouTube playlist to accompany his book. The playlist features country and soul music discussed in his book, as well as modern songs made possible through the birth of country soul music. We’ve selected a sampling from Hughes’s list to feature here. Be sure to check out the full Country Soul playlist on YouTube.

Want to know more? Read our interview with Hughes, where he shares some of the history behind these songs.

Now, grab another cup of coffee, sit back, and explore the sounds of well-known and hidden gems that shaped the trajectory of American music.

“I Was Born Blue” by Jerry “Swamp Dogg” Williams

“Color Him Father” by Linda Martell

“Hold On” by the Alabama Shakes

“I’ll Take You There” by The Staple Singers

“Country Music, That’s My Thing” by O. B. McClinton

“I Ain’t Easy to Love” by Candi Staton, Jason Isbell, John Paul White, and the Swampers

Charles L. Hughes is director of the Memphis Center at Rhodes College. His book, Country Soul: Making Music and Making Race in the American South, is now available. Follow him on Twitter @CharlesLHughes2, and check out his Country Soul playlist on Spotify, too.