Darrell Banks had one of the greatest voices in soul music – and plagiarised his biggest hit from the equally great Donnie Elbert in their hometown of Buffalo, New York.

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Donnie Elbert displays his remarkable falsetto on this slow-burning jazz-inflected soul number from 1960 – a far cry from his string of hits a decade later.

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Is it heresy to suggest that this is not only one of the best Velvets covers but arguably a better version than the original? Especially when you learn that it was recorded in a tent. By a bunch of GIs. In the middle of the jungle in Vietnam.

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This slow-burner, with its smouldering brass decorated by guitar licks, is a classic example of the steamy New Orleans hybrid of blues, soul and jazz. A bittersweet ballad of betrayed love written by Al Reed, Danny White’s emotive vocals perfectly articulate the emotion in the lyrics.

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The deeper I delve into the vaults of old soul, the more buried treasure I find. Like this 1965 gem by The Brilliants.

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This tune was released on Syd Nathan’s legendary King label in Cincinnatti four years after they put out James Brown’s landmark first hit Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag in 1965.

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This has to be one of the most impassioned vocals of all time, Nelson Sanders’s sobbing, heartfelt interpretation of the song title – I’m Lonely.

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I don’t think I ever heard the name Levi Stubbs until Billy Bragg wrote and sang a song in the mid-Eighties called Levi Stubbs’ Tears. Even then I doubt I realised who he was.

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Not just a deep cut – this psych-garage gem is positively subterranean. And I’m only posting it for the title. It’s rubbish, of course, but I’m intrigued by what little I know of the perpetrators, The Driving Stupid.

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How great is this soul ballad?! That organ! Those vocals! You can just picture a disco at the end of the night in the late Sixties with young men awkwardly trying to smooch embarrassed girls on the dance floor as the DJ drops this tune.

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