UNSUNG HEROES OF SOUL #1960s

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.”

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.

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

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.

Maxine Brown's “uptown soul” sound produced four top ten Rhythm & Blues hits in the early to mid 1960s.

“Clarence Carter is both an artist steeped in the most traditional aspects of Southern music and one of the most modern of all deep bluesmen.” - Dave Marsh

Otis Clay was a Grammy Award nominee and a Blues Hall of Fame inductee who became massively popular in Japan.

Arthur Conley was a protégé of Otis Redding, with whom he co-wrote one of the biggest hits of 1967.

The Contours gave Motown one of its earliest hits, a recording that charted in both 1962 and 1988.

Lee Dorsey was an early New Orleans funkateer who worked with the veteran songwriter-producer, Allen Toussaint.

Shirley Ellis had three top ten hits, the biggest of which included the phrase, "Banana fana fo."