Comparing Bridges And Redding's Song

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I choose to compare these two artist because I grew up listening to Otis Redding with my grandparents and I really enjoy the soulful side of rhythm and blues rather than the pop side. As mentioned above after hearing several songs from Coming Home by Leon Bridges I was shocked at how his music resembled songs from the mid 1900s. Bridges and Redding both use song phrasing in order to tell a story through their music. From listening to their songs you are able to hear the gospel influence in their music. In the song “Twistin’ and Groovin” Bridges is attempting to share the story of how is grandparents meet. The lyrics are simple in that fact Bridges is telling a story rather than using many metaphor to convey his message. The first song I heard by Leon Bridges was “River” which is a song about salvation and turning to the Lord. …show more content…

In this song you can hear his gospel background just by the way he is testifying, the use of the tambourine and the lyrics. The tambourine in the Black church I believe is an identifying feature which is present in most black churches. Similarly Redding also has this type of testifying style in “My Lover’s Prayer” as well as “Try A Little Tenderness.” In these songs that have this type of testifying style you can really feel the emotion and the passion the artist has. Although in the “River” by Bridges the lyrics are essential gospel and in the Redding songs he is singing about relationships but the style is still noticeable. This fusion of blue and gospel is the building blocks of the soul genre that developed in the late 20th

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