I have no idea who The Webs are. All I know is that this gut-wrenching soul ballad came out in 1968 and that it’s a real heartbreaker.

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Isaac Hayes is such a natural star: muscular and shaven-headed with a deep and surprisingly sensitive voice, underpinned by funky, lavishly orchestrated jams.

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What a voice! That’s the first reaction I had when I first heard unsung Southern soul legend James Carr singing this. And I’m sure I’m not alone.

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The Three Degrees teamed up with Philly’s house band MFSB for the joyous soul anthem T.S.O.P. aka The Sound Of Philadephia.

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The Spinners – aka The Detroit Spinners – enjoyed their only UK number one in 1980, a quarter of a century after they first formed.

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Retro soul duo Charles & Eddie followed up their chart-topping hit Would I Lie To You with this story of how they first met on the New York subway.

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The thing about soul – soul in the musical sense – is that you’ve either got it or you haven’t. You only have to listen for a moment to know that Jerry Butler, who died this week, had soul.

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Here is a sultry slice of funk, driven by a killer bassline, with the sweet sibling vocals of The Pointer Sisters from their third album Steppin’ back in 1975.

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The Jones Girls may have come from Detroit but their sweet harmonies made them synonymous with the Philly Sound. And their big breakthrough came after almost a decade when they teamed up with Philly Soul titans Gamble and Huff.

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I’ve never been a jazz-funk fan and the vibraphone would be very low on my list of favourite instruments, ranking alongside the flute and just above the ukelele. But I’d have to make an exception for Roy Ayers.

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