The thing about this American pop style of singing. Whether it be soul, R&B, pop, country and western....there's a common thread in all of these styles. It is very heavy on the ornamentation - that tendency to turn every melody note into 6...doesn't matter whether the singer is black or white, a huge % of popular American singers sing in this style. And it has been argued that British singers "copy" this style.

Isn't it essentially the other way around? To my ears, the style of vocal ornamentation, the phrasing and the melodic shapes heard in American "soul" style singing originate from the Irish and Scottish forms of folk singing, particularly the female forms. I heard an old recording (1930's?) of a sean nos singer a while ago and some of the vocal inflections would not have been out of place on a Whitney Houston record. When you listen to Dick Gaughan (who was most likely influenced a lot by his mother, who was a Gaelic singer) sing tracks like "Jock O'Hazeldean" and "The Green Linnet" and "The Banks of Green Willow," it's clear that there is a strong link between Celtic and American vocal forms. And then you have the theories of the likes of music professor Willie Ruff, who is convinced of a line of influence between Scottish psalm singing and American gospel music.

Of course folk singers from folk cultures all over the world ornament their vocal styles. But just not quite in the same way. I've never heard a Greek folk singer and thought "you know, that kinda sounds a bit like American soul." But I hear this all the time in Irish and Scottish folk singers. The influence has run both ways too - the likes of Andy Irvine started singing behind the beat in the folk revival of the 70's, Dick Gaughan was influenced by Big Bill Broonzy. So they've both shaped each other a bit, but overall I firmly believe that America has the Celtic singing tradition to thank for the vocal style that falls under the umbrella of "American pop."