After three years of planning, designing and programming,
Soul Music Legends is ready to go live. What is Soul Music Legends? This
project is a web database of historical and educational information about performers
who produced soul music between 1950 and 2000. The late 1950’s was a
transformative period in the development of the music industry. Radio was the primary media of the time, baby
boomers were starting to go into their teenage phase in large numbers and television
was starting to blossom.
Because of segregation, there was a definitive divide
between Black and White entertainment with very little crossover. Early in the
decade there were many groups and bands performing in music halls and bars to
hone their skills to get to the big time. By the 1955, more and more homes had
TV sets and programs were starting to evolve. Though Black families owned
television sets, very rarely did Blacks appear on TV programs at that time.
