The two pillars of black popular music in the ’60s and ’70s are the Stax and Motown record labels. There’s no denying Stax, with its raw Southern soul and Motown with its slick, pop soul sound, were ...

It may seem counter-intuitive, but the history of world music proves that unfamiliar instruments and rhythms cross borders much more readily than vocal styles. There's no question that, starting in ...