Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
SOUL Publications, Inc. records
PASC-M.0342
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: SOUL Publications, Inc. records
Creator:
SOUL Publications, Inc., 1966-1982
Identifier/Call Number: PASC-M.0342
Physical Description:
37.2 linear feet
(70 document boxes, 1 oversize box, and 6 shoe boxes)
Physical Description:
3 linear feet
(3 unprocessed record cartons)
Date (inclusive): 1955-2002
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.
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.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
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.
Physical Characteristics and 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.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Regina Jones, 2010.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
9966514643606533
[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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online:
SOUL Publications, Inc. records (7 items) .
Subjects and Indexing Terms
SOUL Illustrated
SOUL/SOUL Magazine