SOUL Publications, Inc. records, 1955-2002
Online content
Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- SOUL Publications, Inc., 1966-1982
- Abstract:
- SOUL Magazine was the principal publication of SOUL Publications, Inc., a Los Angeles-based enterprise founded by Regina and Ken Jones in 1966. Initially established to engender greater visibility for Black artists in the music industry, SOUL ultimately provided a space for critical engagement with Black artistic expression as well as social issues. The collection includes newspaper and magazine issues, research and clipping files on artists and public figures, audio cassettes of interviews and performances, photographs, and administrative files.
- Extent:
- 37.2 linear feet (70 document boxes, 1 oversize box, and 6 shoe boxes) and 3 linear feet (3 unprocessed record cartons)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], SOUL Publications, Inc. Records (Collection PASC-M 342). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection consists of issues of SOUL/SOUL Magazine and SOUL Illustrated, research files, audio cassettes of interviews and performances, photographs, and administrative files. Significant individuals represented in issues, research files, and photographs include: James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Muhammad Ali, Berry Gordy, Jr., Stevie Wonder, Sidney Poitier, Smokey Robinson, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, the Jackson Five, the Fifth Dimension, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Diana Ross, the Supremes, Quincy Jones, Isaac Hayes, and Jesse Jackson.
- Biographical / historical:
-
SOUL Publications was established in 1966 in Los Angeles by Regina and Ken Jones. The impetus for SOUL was the Watts Riots, which inspired local newsman Ken Jones to develop a vehicle for documenting and expressing the African American perspective in a self-representative way. Equipped with his vision and the industrious drive of his wife, Regina Jones, the company initially focused on providing promotion and recognition for Black musicians, who received scant publicity at that time. Its publications grew to include other aspects of Black cultural production, including film, television, literature, and the visual arts.
SOUL, a newspaper later renamed SOUL Magazine, was published from 1966-1982. The Joneses utilized the innovative quarter-fold format so that the newspaper could be conveniently placed on the counter next to cash registers and sold in shops in the African American community. SOUL was first sold only in Los Angeles, in conjunction with local R&B radio station KGFJ. As a result of marketing arrangements with other R&B radio affiliates nationwide, its circulation expanded, and it attained a circulation of 125,000 in approximately 30 major markets. The term "soul radio" is a testament to the legacy of the publication.
By providing visibility for African American artists, SOUL filled a palpable need, and as a result, the publication was granted access to many up-and-coming entertainers who were grateful to receive the exposure offered by the publication. Many of these artists - James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross and the Supremes, and the Jacksons - are now considered legends.
The sister publication of the newspaper was SOUL Illustrated, a glossy magazine ran from 1968-1972. SOUL Illustrated began with an entertainment focus similar to the newspaper but gradually came to tackle social, political, and racial issues to a greater degree. The publication reveals the evolving social consciousness of its time, serving as a forum for critical dialogue on such topics as Black liberation, images of African Americans in the media, and the Vietnam War.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Regina Jones, 2010.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Simone Fujita with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), 2010.
The processing of this collection was generously supported by Arcadia funds.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Problematic Content and Description in UCLA's Library Collections and Archives.
- Arrangement:
-
Arranged in the following series:
- SOUL issues (Boxes 1-16 and 77).
- Research files (Boxes 17-56).
- Audio cassettes (Boxes 57-62).
- Photographs (Boxes 63-76).
- Administrative files (Box 77).
- Physical / technical requirements:
-
CONTAINS AUDIO MATERIALS: This collection contains both processed and unprocessed audio materials. Audio materials are not currently available for access, unless otherwise noted in a Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note at the series and file levels. All requests to access processed digital materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
- Physical location:
- Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], SOUL Publications, Inc. Records (Collection PASC-M 342). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Location of this collection:
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A1713 Charles E. Young Research LibraryBox 951575Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-4988