It is the story of communities of slaves who, despite suffering, built their music and forged a universal destiny. A music that continues to speak to the most mysterious part of our being, our soul. This soul has become a verb, and the verb music: Soul Music.

But it was not until the end of the Second World War that Soul took its most popular form, with the beginnings of what was called rhythm & blues, flourishing in cities that have become mythical, from Memphis to Detroit via New Orleans, crossed and shaped by the historical and political events of the American 19th century. A music carried by labels and producers who sometimes started with nothing, in the back of a garage, before becoming legendary, like Atlantic or Motown.

Rock my soul retraces the often chaotic path of stars with names that make you dream: James Brown, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson and Prince, immense artists who brought the glory of soul music to its zenith; not forgetting, very recently, Anderson Paak or Leon Bridges, emblems of the new generation…

Patrice Blanc-Francard is a French music journalist and audiovisual producer. He has written several books, including a Dictionnaire amoureux du jazz.