While musically similar to the sweaty strains of Southern soul, deep soul added a frenzied gospel vocal influence to its already percolating stew of guttural guitar, sucker-punch horn arrangements, and airtight rhythms. Otis Redding raised the genre's bar exponentially during his 1960s hit-making period, while soul testifiers such as Aretha Franklin, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, and Garnett Mimms upheld the deep soul tradition following Redding's premature passing in 1967. In fact, thanks to such electrifying tracks as Franklin's "Respect" and Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin'," deep soul enjoyed its most fertile commercial period during the tumultuous late '60s. Although its furious energy and intense vocal / rhythm interplay had largely subsided by the early '70s, deep soul's status as one of the most vibrant niches of the soul universe has never waned.

Notable Artists: Otis Redding; Aretha Franklin; Sam & Dave; Wilson Pickett