Most people know James Brown as the Godfather of Soul. But Brown has also long had a taste for jazz. Inspired by the music of Frank Sinatra, Brown teamed up with the Dee Felice Trio to record his own unique versions of Sinatra-associated standards like “Strangers in the Night” and “All the Way,” along with jazzed-up renditions of his hits “Cold Sweat” and “There Was a Time.” The intimately swinging results revealed a little-known facet of Brown’s funky self — a brand new bag, indeed!

跟许多灵魂歌手一样，Otis Redding也是在教堂的唱诗班里得到音乐启蒙教育的。他出生于1941年九月，父亲是浸信会的牧师。喜爱音乐的他，高中都没有毕业就辍学了。有一次，他在一家医院里打工，还因为忘情的在大厅里歌唱而遭到开除。
为了能够接近他所喜爱的音乐，他在家乡找了一份工作，替当地一支合唱团担任打杂的小弟，偶尔也客串演唱。1962年，他开车送合唱团的成员到曼斐斯的某家唱片公司去试音，由于主角不是他，在录音的过程中，他只好乖乖的坐在角落里，合唱团录完之后，他忍不住表示自己也很希望能有机会录音。在录音时间还剩余二十分钟的情况下，唱片公司老板同意让他试试看。
他录了两首歌，第一首让老板觉得太像他从小崇拜的老牌黑人摇滚歌手Little Richard，第二首则是一首抒情的歌谣曲「These Arms of Mine」，老板虽然并不是特别的欣赏，还是决定予以发行，结果却意外的成了他的第一首进榜单曲。
其后的几年间，Otis Redding陆续又有了其他几首R&B的畅销曲，包括「Pain in My Heart」、「Security」、「I've Been Loving You Too Long」、「Respect」以及替他赢得更多注意的歌曲，翻唱自滚石合唱团经典的「(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction」等等。其中发表于1965年的「Respect」在1967年由Aretha Franklin成功的翻唱并且夺得冠军，轰动了歌坛。
只是当时他的知名度仅限于黑人，对于绝大多数的白人来说，仍然没有几个人认识他。为了替他宣传，唱片公司安排了巡回演唱的行程，把他的名声传到了欧洲，尤其是英国和法国，接著他们回到美国，参加蒙特利流行音乐节的演出。他是最后上场的，也是那次活动中唯一的灵魂歌手，而在他上台的时候，已经过了午夜，疲累的白人观众很多都在打瞌睡了，根本无心注意这位他们几乎毫不认识的黑人歌手。
Otis Redding以一首充满活力的「Shake」，炒热了现场，使得他在那次演唱会中的表现成了传奇。而由于他也是第一次接触到那种嬉皮听众，他颇有感触，演唱结束之后，他在停靠在旧金山附近的一艘游艇上写下了「(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay」这首歌。1967年十二月七号，他进入录音室，把这首歌曲录制下来，在歌曲的开头，他加上了海浪和海鸥的声音，用柔和的节奏，唱出了一个孤独男人心中的渴望。
三天之后，十二月十号，他结束了威斯康辛的一场演唱之后，登上了他刚刚购买的双引擎小飞机，准备前往康乃狄格去演出。当时的他，可以说是志得意满，因为不但他的「Respect」被灵魂歌后Aretha Franklin唱红，他本人也刚被英国著名的Melody Maker读者票选为全世界最佳的男歌手，取代了过去八年由猫王所霸占的宝座。
那天的气候十分不利于飞行，空中弥漫著浓雾。起飞之后不久，飞机就在离机场四英里的地方失事坠毁，很快的沉没在冰冷的湖水中，Otis Redding就这样结束了他短短的一生，只活了二十六岁。跟他一起丧生的，还包括了飞机的驾驶员、他的仆从和Bar-Keys乐队的四名团员。
四千五百位歌迷和亲友参加了他的丧礼。在他过世之后，唱片公司发行了「(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay」，很快的就直冲榜首，成为他一生之中唯一的冠军曲，可惜他自己却享受不到那些荣誉了。1980年，他的两个儿子跟一个表弟组成了「The Reddings」合唱团，翻唱了「(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay」，并且得到第五十五名，成为有史以来第一首由原唱者的后人重新唱红的冠军曲。

Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) pressing packaged in a paper sleeve. Universal. 2008.

阿爾伯特·「阿爾」·格林尼是一位美國歌手，在1970年代早期有多首靈魂樂歌曲在榜單上取得佳績，包括《Tired of Being Alone》、《I'm Still In Love With You》、《Love and Happiness》和他的代表作《Let's Stay Together》。

Remastered reissue in a digipak. Originally released in 1959. Contains the songs 'Am I Blue', 'Tell Me You'll Wait For Me', 'Indeed I Do' & 'Come Rain Or Come Shine'. Warner. 2005.

The best black female singer of the 20th century. This is a stunning album. the definitive late 60’s Aretha Franklin, bold, beautiful, vulnerable, earthy, sexy, defiant, spiritual and strong.. Full of great songs.
A seminal session that furthered her deep soul agenda with key backings from Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd! The Sweet Inspirations provide sublime backing vocals behind Franklin’s maturing delivery of the lyrics — and the music is by an all-star group of players that includes Spooner Oldham, Bobby Womack, Jimmy Johnson, King Curtis, Tommy Cogbill, Roger Hawkins, and even Eric Clapton!
After all, she is the Queen, the Lady Soul!!
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Ranked #84 in Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” Aretha’s position as soul music’s premier female vocalist was consolidated by Lady Soul. Her strident reading of “Chain of Fools” set the tone on which the singer unveiled several stellar original compositions and reinterpreted a batch of classic songs. Franklin’s gospel roots were clearly displayed on “People Get Ready” while her interpretation of “(You Make Me Fell Like A) Natural Woman” showed both her vulnerable and assertive qualities. The album also features the fine soul ballad “Good to Me as I Am to You” with Eric Clapton on guitar. Lady Soul captures a performer at the peak of her power, restating her ability to take material and make it uniquely her own. This 1968 tour de force is one of the absolute pinnacles of the Queen’s incredible artistic legacy.
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At a 1968 concert in Chicago, Aretha Franklin was publicly and officially crowned the Queen of Soul in front of her fans by a DJ named Purvis Spann. This body of work shows why Aretha continues to reign supreme. The Queen takes on the Kings of Soul/Rhythm & Blues and pulls no punches as she covers Ray Charles’s “Come Back Baby” and “Be as Good to Me as I Am to You,” James Brown’s “Money Won’t Change You,” and Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready”. She’s classical, bluesy, funky, and right-down soulful on every cut. The poet Nikki Giovanni once wrote–”Aretha can sing Money Won’t Change You, but can James Brown sing Respect?” In other words, when the Queen covers a song, it becomes hers and one can easily forget about the original artist. For example, Carol King wrote and recorded “Natural Woman” but that song is and probably will always be associated with Aretha Franklin. Aretha wails and gets right-down funky on cuts like “Chain of Fools” and “Nikki Hokey.” She’s operatically soulful on “Ain’t No Way”–which to this day no female artist, including Whitney Houston, has been able to successfully cover.You have an absolutely classic and indispensable piece of American music history here. The one and only Aretha Franklin: “Lady Soul.”

Japanese only remastered SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) pressing packaged in a paper sleeve. Universal. 2008.

Theodore DeReese“Teddy”Pendergrass（1950年3月26日 - 2010年1月13日）是一位美国歌手。他在宾夕法尼亚州费城出生长大，最初成为Harold Melvin和Blue Notes的主唱。 1976年，Pendergrass在费城国际唱片公司成功完成个人职业生涯，连续发行了四张白金专辑，然后创下非裔美国艺术家R＆B艺术家的纪录.Pendergrass的职业生涯因近乎惨淡的车祸而被暂停。 1982年3月，胸部瘫痪，Pendergrass继续他的成功个人生涯直到2007年宣布退休.Pendergrass于2010年1月死于呼吸衰竭。

Theodore DeReese“Teddy”Pendergrass（1950年3月26日 - 2010年1月13日）是一位美国歌手。他在宾夕法尼亚州费城出生长大，最初成为Harold Melvin和Blue Notes的主唱。 1976年，Pendergrass在费城国际唱片公司成功完成个人职业生涯，连续发行了四张白金专辑，然后创下非裔美国艺术家R＆B艺术家的纪录.Pendergrass的职业生涯因近乎惨淡的车祸而被暂停。 1982年3月，胸部瘫痪，Pendergrass继续他的成功个人生涯直到2007年宣布退休.Pendergrass于2010年1月死于呼吸衰竭。

Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952, Macon, Georgia) is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist.

Pointer Sisters(指针姐妹)是一个乡村组合，向来很少被认为是歌坛的“主流”艺人，但事实上他们往往有着惊人的魅力和巨大的影响力。究其原因，是由于许多演唱乡村歌曲的歌手，巧妙地吸收了某些流行音乐的元素，从而走上“跨界”音乐的道路，在本来不属于乡村音乐的市场上也叱吒风云。美国的“指针姐妹合唱团”就是其中之一，今天，我们将在轻松愉快的游览途中，认识这个杰出的黑人女子组合。

Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, actress, pianist, and civil rights activist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister.