UNSUNG HEROES OF SOUL #Soul Music

Garnet Mimms produced one of soul music's first big hits, "Cry Baby" (1963). His entry at allmusic.com states, "[His] pleading, gospel-derived intensity made him one of the earliest true soul singers. [And] his legacy remains criminally underappreciated.”

The Persuaders were a New York City group, best known for 1971’s “Thin Line Between Love and Hate.”

Esther Phillips was a four-time Grammy nominee whose drug habit frequently interrupted her career.

James & Bobby Purify are remembered as one-hit wonders despite going top forty with four different songs.

Freddie Scott had a top ten pop hit in 1963 and a #1 Rhythm & Blues hit in 1967. As Bill Dahl wrote for the "The Best of Freddie Scott" CD, “[He was] blessed with sleek pipes that grew grittier as the [1960s] progressed.”

A Louisiana native who recorded in Los Angeles, Bettye Swann wrote her own #1 Soul hit in 1967.

Kim Weston was a Motown singer best known for “It Takes Two,” her 1967 duet with Marvin Gaye.

Brenton Wood went from high-school track star to a purveyor of tasteful and laidback West Coast soul. His three biggest hits were all in 1967.