New York soul

New York soul refers to the soul music recorded and produced in New York City. New York soul was similar to similar in style to Memphis soul from the southern US, but it was more likely to have string arrangements (played by string sections) added to the recordings.^[1] Unlike most southern soul, New York soul was not typically recorded by "house bands". Instead, New York soul was usually recorded by session musicians who were hired for a single recording.^[2]

Since the musicians were not a regular backup band that played together all the time, the playing was not as loose and spontaneous as a typical southern band's playing.^[3] Nevertheless, since the NYC session players were experienced musicians, they played with a professional style. Another difference between New York soul and southern soul was that New York soul was recorded in a city that boasted what in the 1960s were some of the most state of the art recording studios, which were significantly more advanced than a typical southern studio.^[4] This gave a crisp sound to the recordings.^[5]