Comments on: Please help me find great, unknown "hidden gem" soul and R&B artists.

Question: Please help me find great, unknown "hidden gem" soul and R&B artists.

amanlikeme — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:54:53 -0800

I've recently started devouring 60's and 70's era soul and R&B music. My favorites are Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding, etc. I feel I've mastered the well-knowns, and am now looking for lesser known artists in the vein of Howard Tate: fantastic, but virtually ignored by the masses. Can you help me find other cult favorites / hidden gems?

By: unSane

unSane — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:01:49 -0800

Chuck Jackson, my hero.

Little Anthony and the Imperials

Irma Thomas

Aaron Neville

The O'Jays

The Staples Singers

Man, this is a lifetime journey...

By: unSane

unSane — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:08:43 -0800

some more

Garnet Mimms
The Impressions
The Isley Brothers
Betty Lavette
Lee Dorsey
The Meters
Maxine Brown
Ruth Brown
Ann Peebles
The Tams
Toussaint McCall
Tyrone Davis

By: unSane

unSane — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:11:53 -0800

BTW, Stateside Records in the UK became the dominant re-release vector for fantastic old soul recordings from EMI and Capitol in the 1980s. Pretty much everthing they released was worth buying. Also Kent records, dunno if they're still going. I spent money on stuff from these labels that could have been spent on beer. That's how good they were!

By: jewishbuddha

jewishbuddha — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:17:14 -0800

Solomon Burke. From the wiki bio:

In the 1960s, he signed with Atlantic Records and began moving towards more secular music. His first hit was "Just Out Of Reach Of My Open Arms", a cover of a country song. Though well-received by both peers and critics, and attaining a few moderate pop and several major R&B hits, Burke never could quite break through into the mainstream as did Sam Cooke or Otis Redding.

Sounds like exactly what you're looking for. My introduction to his music was actually one of his more recent albums, Don't Give Up On Me. It's great.

By: munchingzombie

munchingzombie — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:17:21 -0800

Betty Lavette is smokin

Though he is not soul or R&B, check out Tim Buckley. He has some very reminiscent of R&B vocals.

By: unSane

unSane — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:17:38 -0800

I forgot Curtis Mayfield

By: ISeemToBeAVerb

ISeemToBeAVerb — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:19:06 -0800

Here are some links to help you out:

Numero Group
I've enjoyed every release from this label. Check out their Eccentric Soul series.

Soul Strut
Nice soul blog.

Soul Sides
Another great blog.

All Music Guide
Great site for researching music. The similar groups feature is nice.

By: googly

googly — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:19:28 -0800

The Meters aren't "unknown" - more like criminally under-appreciated.

And also, if you haven't already, take some time to look through y2karl's fantastic music posts on the blue. Lots of great R&B and soul goodness in there - be sure to check for his in-thread comments as well.

By: gnutron

gnutron — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:20:26 -0800

don't forget Wilson Pickett - and one of my faves, the vastly underrated Bill Withers

By: cashman

cashman — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:26:59 -0800

Phoebe Snow

By: pedmands

pedmands — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:28:09 -0800

another Betty, Betty Davis (funk, soul, crazy sexy vocals)

By: ibmcginty

ibmcginty — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:28:31 -0800

I too was going to say Bill Withers, who I agree is amazingly underrated. Check out his live album, if you can. It breathes new life into songs you've heard too many times like "Ain't No Sunshine."

By: maudlin

maudlin — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:33:32 -0800

Funky 16 Corners will introduce you to a lot of wonderful and (often) obscure artists, including a lot of Philly Soul. But their blog and their podcasts, stuffed with mp3s of stuff usually hard to find elsewhere, will be life-changing. (OK, slight exaggeration, but it is an absolutely brilliant site).

By: mandymanwasregistered

mandymanwasregistered — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:34:18 -0800

There's always tracking down the Rhino Records comp Beg, Scream and Shout: The Big Ol' Box of 60's Soul. Or the Atlantic Records soul comp. Or the Stax Records comp. There's a Philly Sound comp I also dig. They all made me want to search out more recordings by some of the artists on them.

By: grabbingsand

grabbingsand — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:36:13 -0800

James Carr.
"You Got My Mind Messed Up"
"The Dark End Of The Street"

And if you want an almost daily dose of rarely-heard, out-of-print, ripped-from-vinyl funk and soul, I'd recommend the Lost-In-Tyme music blog. But I'd check it out quickly, as many such "sharity"-based music blogs are facing DMCA complaints and may not be long for this world.

By: thivaia

thivaia — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:41:26 -0800

Joe Simon, Eugene McDaniels, Allen Toussaint, Little Milton, Terry Callier, Willie Hightower, James Carr, Eddie Floyd, Eddie Jefferson, James Carr, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, The Delfonics, Little Willie John, James Booker, William Bell, Johnny Taylor, Don Covay, Bobby Womack, Shuggie Otis, Fontella Bass, and on and on

You also might check out the Numero Group's Eccentric Soul Series (Capsoul Label, Twilight, & Big Mac label are really good) . Really outstanding. Also various soul comps in the Soul Jazz records catalog. (Miami Sound, both New Orleans comps, Chicago Soul and the Soul Gospel comps are my favorites. If you can find it, a comp called "California Soul' has a lot of really great rare tracks.

I made an informal 5 CD " Rare Soul Box' for some friends a few Xmases ago. I'd be happy to send you the tracklist. MeFi Mail me if you're interested

By: jonmc

jonmc — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:49:00 -0800

Don Covay
OV Wright
Betty Wright
Linda Lyndell
Ann Peebles
Johnny Copeland
I also highly recommend this compilation from Trikont. Good obscure raw southern soul.

By: oneirodynia

oneirodynia — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 18:03:23 -0800

Arthur Alexander.

By: Bookhouse

Bookhouse — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 18:04:53 -0800

The Dells
Marlena Shaw
Bobby Womack

By: blast

blast — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 18:17:18 -0800

Free Form Radio Station 91.1 WFMU-FM (New Jersey,USA) Has a program on Friday Nights from 7pm-8pm called "Downtown Soulville" with Mr. Finewine

You can listen Live over the internet or anytime from the Program Archives.
www.wfmu.org

The show has very rare artists and is lots of fun.

By: jewishbuddha

jewishbuddha — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 18:56:10 -0800

Another vote for Bill Withers. I knew there was someone else I wanted to recommend, but the name totally slipped my mind. And I definitely agree with ibmcginty's recommendation of the live album

By: keith0718

keith0718 — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:05:03 -0800

I second Stax Records. They have a great box set of all their singles...it's full of lesser known, but great stuff.

I third The Meters and I agree with Googly that they are criminally under-appreciated. For my money Look-Ka Py Py is the funkiest album of all time.

By: unSane

unSane — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:06:55 -0800

Also, searching for "Northern Soul .torrent" on Google will bring much joy.

(if you don't know what Northern Soul is, Google it without the .torrent bit or do a Metafilter search).

By: scody

scody — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:07:11 -0800

Tons of great suggestions here -- I especially love Curtis Mayfield/the Impressions, Eddie Floyd, Garnett Mimms, Don Covay, Solomon Burke, and Chuck Jackson.

Nthing mandymanwasregistered's suggestion of tracking down the Beg, Scream, and Shout box set -- it is spectacular, and worth every penny. (Or heck, I'll burn you the set if you want to do an exchange of some sort).

You should also keep an eye out for the Kent compilations on Ace Records-- great, great soul rarities. This is one of my favorites, especially "Easy as Saying 1-2-3" by Timmy Willis (amazing, Redding-esque heartbreaker of a song).

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:13:34 -0800

The Complete Stax Volt record company Singles 1959-1968 box set is amazing, if you can get a copy of it. (this page also has it for sale, and has the track list.)

By: SuperSquirrel

SuperSquirrel — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:16:14 -0800

Hank Ballard

Otis Clay

By: dog food sugar

dog food sugar — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:21:21 -0800

This thread makes me think of early Candi Staton songs:
I'm Just a Prisoner (I love love LOVE this song)
He called Me Baby
If you like those two you'll like the rest of the album.

She has an interesting history and musical progression into disco in the 70's, then gospel and christian pop which she still does now. That early album is one of my favorites of all time.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:23:08 -0800

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings (Wikipedia), a contemporary revivalist soul band.

In addition to Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974 and The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968 that mandymanwasregistered mentioned, get Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971.

Northern Soul is obscure '60s soul that was popular in northern England. Gloria Jones' "Tainted Love" is a Northern Soul classic.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:28:21 -0800

The Great Aretha Franklin: The First 12 Sides is a great lesser-known album from Aretha's transition from gospel to pop.

By: cinemafiend

cinemafiend — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:33:56 -0800

Check out Stones Throw's boutique label Soul Cal. Their releases are soul (with an edge of funk) records from bands that never quite made the big time. Good stuff.

My favorite recent soul finds are:

Candi Staton

Pimps of Joytime
I found these artists and many more via Captains Crate (which is Soul Side's fraternal twin/partner).

By: wemayfreeze

wemayfreeze — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:55:38 -0800

My favorite of all time soul collection is The Heart and Soul of Bert Berns. It's an incredible group of songs all written or produced by Bert Berns. Get it.

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:59:13 -0800

Here you go... one stop shopping. Seriously, stax was awesome and if you actually wanted to spend money on this the box sets are really great. I got them used and they rock my world.

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:00:04 -0800

And seconding Solomon Burke.

By: dirtdirt

dirtdirt — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:07:23 -0800

Brenton Wood

By: unSane

unSane — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:19:07 -0800

I thought I'd add why Chuck Jackson is my hero.

This video of Any Day Now pretty much says it all. My favourite song of all time. Only Toussaint McCall's Nothing Takes the Place of You comes close.

By: unSane

unSane — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:27:51 -0800

(also this rendition of I Don't Want to Cry is just sensational, especially the little striptease).

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:35:37 -0800

Nthing James Carr and Chuck Jackson and adding Doris Duke and Spencer Wiggins.

And, for powerful contemporary voice, I recommend both The Detroit Cobras and The Bellrays, though their music is much harder than the stuff above.

By: doppleradar

doppleradar — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:35:52 -0800

James Carr.

Listen to "You Got My Mind Messed Up" and you'll know how under appreciated he was.

By: doppleradar

doppleradar — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:38:42 -0800

Cool. Found a link for James Carr

By: sully75

sully75 — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:51:15 -0800

2nding O.V. Wright (amazing track: Let's Straighten It Out)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY4HycGdfrc

Also Benny Latimore - he wrote "Let's Straighten It Out" and is totally amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvvllYWAqig

Dixie Nightengales are r&b tinged gospel. I'd just get one track "All I Need Is Some Sunshine in My Life".

I don't know much about Willie Hutch but this is awesome:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=v83G5Wa3LGc

also check out The International Player's Anthem for a sampled version of that with an awesome Andre 3000 rap in the begining.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:52:57 -0800

Oh, and I'll 2nd Candi Staton and add Mary Wells.

By: heeeraldo

heeeraldo — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 21:13:40 -0800

CiTR, UBC's college and community radio station (where I hang out, myopicman has a show, and radiocontrolled is the station manager) has a show on Friday nights from 10-midnight (PST) that sounds like it's right up your alley.

It's also got a podcast, here: http://playlist.citr.ca/podcasting/xml/shakeatailfeather.xml

By: p3t3

p3t3 — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 21:32:56 -0800

People have already mentioned most of what I had to offer. But also wanted to throw in a mention for Aretha Franklin's sisters, Erma Franklin and Carolyn Franklin. Started listening to them recently and have been digging them quite a bit - both are almost up to Aretha's level. Erma's "Soul Sister" album had a small CD reissue a couple years ago.. not too sure about the other recordings, but i'm sure the internetz has them somewhere.

By: hilatron

hilatron — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 22:47:05 -0800

I cannot recommend Twinight's Lunar Rotation enough. (And now I'm off to check out all the other recs here...)

By: lovejones

lovejones — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 01:53:57 -0800

The fact that Ann Pebbles hasn't been mentioned yet seems to qualify her as a "hidden gem".

By: poppo

poppo — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 03:13:48 -0800

Toots and the Maytals

He is associated closely with Reggae because he comes out of Jamaica, and the music is indeed in the Reggae style, but do not let this keep you from exploring Toots. It is not the Reggae you are accustomed to a la Marley and everything after. It is soul and R&B, and Toots is a soul singer ON PAR with the artists you mention. He should be in your list.

Go to their myspace page and sample a song or two. 54-46 and Pressure Drop are both good ones. After that grab an anthology or greatest hits thingie, or if you album collect, Funky Kingston.

By: unSane

unSane — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 04:47:04 -0800

That's a great point about Toots. The man is a soul singer par excellence. He used to live close to me and play one of the local dives now and then. There would be maybe 100 people in the audience. It was like watching Elvis.

By: Brian B.

Brian B. — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 09:34:55 -0800

Shuggie Otis

By: AJaffe

AJaffe — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 10:06:05 -0800

Ted Taylor

By: scody

scody — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 13:01:16 -0800

Thirding poppo -- Toots & the Maytals got soul!

By: timsteil

timsteil — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 13:05:21 -0800

Presenting Boscoe.

Total pressing, 500 copies.

By: Dr.Pill

Dr.Pill — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 14:34:40 -0800

Smokey Robinson / The Miracles
Curtis Mayfield / The Impressions
There are shed loads of brilliant obscure tracks on Tamla Motown
that are finally getting a decent reissue program.
Thom Bell produced much first class soul music
but remains AFAIK un-anthologised,
check out The Delfonics and The Stylistics.
Also Barry White with Love Unlimited etc.
The Kent label is nonpareil. The first three volumes (at least)
of Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures are peerless compilations
of some of the best music ever recorded.
I'll 3rd. Candi Staton and 2nd. Mary Wells and add Doris Duke.
Have fun...and remember it is possible to live on soul music alone. You don't have to waste your money on food.

By: polyester.lumberjack

polyester.lumberjack — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 16:38:30 -0800

You should absolutely check out Darondo.

From his label's website: "A mystery to most, Darondo records are high on the wants-lists of many collectors. He is spoken about in hushed-tones by other Bay Area musicians... Take a listen to these tracks, released for the first time together on an album, and you may agree that he could have been the next Al Green or Sly Stone. But about 25 years ago Darondo disappeared."

His songs give me chills.

By: mediareport

mediareport — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 22:13:15 -0800

Wow, if you already know Howard Tate, you're doing fine. I'd add Chicago 60s soulster Major Lance, who went to the same high school as Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler, and had a big hit with the Curtis Mayfield-written "The Monkey Time," a fantastic little tune. Mayfield wrote a bunch of other stuff for Lance, including some of the best unknown soul of the 60s, imho, but none of it went anywhere.

By: ericost

ericost — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:16:31 -0800

Bobby "Blue" Bland. You can hear some clips here