Many of the most
prominent soul artists, such as
Aretha Franklin,
Marvin Gaye,
Wilson Pickett and
Al Green, had roots in the church and
gospel music and brought with them much of
the vocal styles of artists such as Clara
Ward and
Julius Cheeks. During the 70's artist
like
Edwin Hawkins with the 1969 hit "Oh
Happy Day", and
Andre Crouch's hit "Take
me Back" were big inspirations on gospel
music. Secular songwriters often
appropriated gospel songs, such as the
Pilgrim Travelers' song "I've Got A New
Home," or the
Doc Pomus song
Ray Charles turned into a hit "Lonely
Avenue," or "Stand By Me," which
Ben E. King and
Leiber and Stoller adapted from a
well-known gospel song, or
Marvin Gaye's "Can I Get A Witness,"
which reworks traditional gospel
catchphrases. In other cases secular
musicians did the opposite, attaching
phrases and titles from the gospel tradition
to secular songs to create soul hits such as
"Come See About Me" for
the Supremes and "99 1/2 Won't Do" for
Wilson Pickett.