Written by Henry Kraujalis
Bloodstone was a soul band from Kansas City which started making music in the late 1960s. Their music lies along the lines of the “sweet soul” sound. This is soul music which had very positive lyrics about love and was musically more “smooth” like smooth jazz would be a smoother version of jazz. Despite this, Bloodstone and many other sweet soul groups had complex vocal harmonies and chord melodies which were unique to the genre. There are unique fills often found at the beginning and ends of their songs, which are frequently sampled in hip hop and electronic music. A popular example of this is the sampling of “As Long As I Got You” by the Charmels in Wu Tang Clan’s C.R.E.A.M. Bloodstone was also sampled in a number of tracks by artists like Tyler The Creator and Rakim.
Bloodstone is unique for being one of the few “sweet soul” groups which has a noticeable history of releases. The vast majority of sweet soul I could find on the web were available through these compilations called “Lost Soul Oldies.” This is because a significant amount of what was being made in this genre was self released, though there are some notable exceptions, especially through the Stax record label.I think this vein of soul music is often forgotten in today’s discussion of music, but after listening to a few tracks it is very clear that a lot of pop and indie instrumentation is heavily derivative of soul music. I also learned to fall in love with the lyrics of soul music. To understand the lyrics, I think it’s important to understand the historical context of soul music. The socioeconomic climate of the late 60s resulted in the largest Black middle class in history, a Black middle class which was trying to find a way to build community and promote their values in a new environment. Sweet soul’s lyrics, emphasizing mutual respect with partners and valuing others, was a way for those communities to work through the boundaries of generational trauma and institutional racism which remained as barriers after the civil rights movement.
I think it’s also important to realize the diversity of Black American music throughout history. While many Black artists during this era made music that was extremely conscious of social issues (Gil Scot Heron, Aretha Franklin) there were also artists which sought to provide music for those wanting to rebuild not just society but their interpersonal relationships, and I believe soul music was able to fill that niche. At the same time I feel like this message can be universally understood. Even if you aren’t in a romantic relationship you can understand much of these lyrics in a non personal way. “you “ and “us” can be suitable for any relationship in your life, and the concepts of unconditional love still hold true.
You can listen to bloodstone on any music platform. Their most popular song and album “Natural High” is a great starting point.