Bill Withers Sam Cooke Marvin Gaye Those are the pinnacle to me. Post favorite songs or others I may have missed... Also Favorite albums would be great
All good answers so far, I'd add: Ray Charles Curtis Mayfield Al Green Smokey Robinson James Brown If you want a good new old-school guy, check out Leon Bridges.
Idk but I sure do miss the 'Original D.S.' Don Sam and the mo-better radio players to gets my fix o'soul...
Al Green is my guy, not that any of those other artists listed aren't awesome also. Love me some Otis, too.
Sam Cooke is my guy. Like others have mentioned, there are some newer artists that seem to be modern vessels for soul artists. Leon Bridges and Mayor Hawthorne are good ones. I recently stumbled upon an artist called Yellow Days. Only 16, but he’s got a throwback voice. My favorite performance is by St. Paul and the Broken Bones on Tiny Desk Concert. Leon Bridges performed a set, too. Here’s the performance of “Broken Bones and Pocket Change” that I appreciate every time. Please watch the song all the way through. Soulful. Hopefully I time stamped it correctly
he is a terrible human being who should be in prison, but you have to give it up for the music of robert sylvester kelly.
If you've got about an hour, watch this. Stax Volt tour if Norway in 1967 right before Otis Redding died. Booker T & The Mgs, Otis, Sam & Dave... essentially the whole lineup for Stax. In B&W, but high quality film.
Frankie Beverly and Maze VS Earth Wind & Fire Aretha Franklin VS Edda James Michael Jackson VS Lil' Stevie Wonder James Brown VS Otis Redding Smokey Robinson VS Curtis Mayfield The Temps VS The Four Tops IT'S the Friday throw-down-show-down..w/the original DS!!
I forgot Wilson Pickett. According to my dad, Mustang Sally was the theme song of Fort Polk, Louisiana, "Tigerland", in 1966-7, didn't matter if you were black or white or whatever, everyone loved that guy.
Early-mid 60's stuff is really the best. It's pure. But there is some really good stuff from the 70's, too. This is as good a song as ever was made: I have I think 3 Al Green albums? Each of them feel like about half a full album, and only half of the songs are not throwaways or filler... but that half of a half is freaking amazing. For a greatest hits album, Al Green is as good as exists. I love the hell out of Sly and the Family Stone, too. Unfortunately, Sly liked the drugs just a little too much. Every live clip I've ever seen of them is total s**t. As a child of the 80's, it blows my mind to say that Stevie Wonder was cool as f**k in the 70's. By the 80's he was an elevator music embarrassment. This isn't bad, either. By the time the 80's roll around, I check out on the whole "rhythm and soul" thing.