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There was a time in the US, not all that long ago, when few blacks played to white audiences. In the 50s artists like Pat Boone and Elvis Presley began covering rhythm & blues music and performing it for mainstream audiences. In those days, that meant white audiences. Cross-over recordings like Ain't That A Shame (Fats Domino) and That's All Right Mama (Arthur Crudup) made Boone and Presley very well known.
In 1965 The Righteous Brothers had a huge hit with You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling which was neither an R&B cover or a Motown production, but yet it sounded very much like soul. The song was written by Phil Spector, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. It soon became popular for white artists to have a similar soulful sound. Bands like The Box Tops and The Young Rascals were quite good at it.
I'm not a historian and I'm sure that I have oversimplified the beginnings of this type of music, but...
1. Who comes to mind for you when you hear the term "Blue Eyed Soul"?
2. Does the term still apply?
3. Is it / was it a stand alone music genre, or not?
The first Brits that come to mind for me would be Steve Marriott,,Van Morrison,,Rod Stewart,,Steve Winwood,,Dusty Springfield,, Eric Burdon etc. In fact most Mod bands I`d think of as Blue Eyed Soul, although the term got lost a little under the heading of Mod...
Moving on a little I`d have to consider Annie Lennox and George Michael..
Today I`d go for Amy Winehouse,,Duffy,, and Sharleen Spiteri..
From the US I`d say Doobie Bros, Hall and Oates,,Boz Scaggs and Righteous Bros..But the first for me would have to be R. Dean Taylor, although he`s Canadian. Wasn`t he the first white artist signed to Motown as a writer/performer??? That`s a good tip in itself..
Just a sample of some favs..
I think the term is more relevant in the UK these days than it was in the 60s..All the old mods, the ones I know anyway, consider bands today like Oasis, Charlatans, Stone Roses and Seahorses to be Mod bands..To me they`re the psych side of Mod..Blue Eyed Soul doesn`t get lost within the Mod tag anymore...
Oh yes! Michael McDonald is the first person that comes to mind. He and the Doobie Bros, Leon Russell too...even though he cover's so many generes, my man -Van Morrison and someone I just adore is Travis Tritt. Travis is the more recent of the lot if you can call 1989 recent. One of the most unique voices in "new traditional" country music and a bonafide country star until Nashville turned into an even bigger pimp and introduced us to a whole 'nother lot of *hores and started *horing out *its and a$$, every other "new discovery" from reality talent shows, and chubby boys who don't stand a chance in cutting it in rock or pop, that have no resemblence to country music. And they still keep 'em comin' .
I've always been blown by his voice and style, but after hearing him singing duet with Patti Labelle - "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby.” (thanks to a post on this forum) I knew he was bonafide blue eyed soul.
Hall & Oates was the first band that came to mind when I saw the title of this thread. H&O has consistently been under rated for years as just another pop duo, but their music transcends that label.
Here is an L.A. Times article that says it a lot better than I could:
Thought of as New Wave [the Brit definition] initially,but to myself were always Mod revival, three artists who have really shown their Soul credentials since...
Like others here, I automatically think of Hall & Oates, probably because "Blue Eyed Soul" is always mentioned if their name pops up anywhere. The other one I think of is Van Morrison.
I don't consider it a stand-alone genre, but I'm not sure I can explain why!
Average White Band
Saw them live back in the 70's--they were the real deal.
Another one I left out I also forgot to mention Michael Bolton or was he too cringe worthy for some?
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H&O has consistently been under rated for years as just another pop duo, but their music transcends that label. 
