UNSUNG HEROES OF SOUL

Along with her own songs, Barbara Acklin wrote hits for the likes of Gene Chandler, Jackie Wilson, Dusty Springfield, Peaches & Herb, and the Chi-Lites.

A native of New Orleans, Johnny Adams had a multi-octave range and swooping vocal mannerisms that earned him the nickname “The Tan Canary.”

Singer-songwriter Arthur Alexander is best known for remakes of his songs by others. Allmusic.com said of Alexander, “His music is the stuff of genius, a poignant and deeply intimate body of work on par with the best of his contemporaries.”

Ruby Andrews makes her home in Chicago and is best known for 1967's "Casanova (Your Playing Days Are Over)."

Decades after his death, a rare British pressing of Darrell Banks' biggest hit became one of the most expensive singles in the history of record collecting.

Unless you're into the British Northern Soul scene, chances are you've never heard of Detroit soul man J.J. Barnes. But his lack of commercial success had nothing to do with the quality of his music.

Born in St. Louis, Fontella Bass recorded in Chicago and is best remembered for the 1965 smash, "Rescue Me."

William Bell was one of the first artists to sign with Stax and remains active in music to this day.

Black Ivory was a Harlem-based trio who made the Soul top forty four times in the early to middle 1970s.

Best known for 1973's "Natural High," Bloodstone was a Kansas City group who recorded their earliest hits in London.

Blue Magic was and is a Philadelphia group known for dreamy ballads like “Sideshow.”

A Philadelphia group, Brenda & The Tabulations were clearly influenced by the doo-wop harmonies of the 1950s. Brenda Payton’s voice was sweet and occasionally rough-edged, making the group sound paradoxically innocent and world-weary.