Ronnie Spector was already a star with The Ronettes when Phil Spector launched his new label with her first solo single under the name ‘Veronica’.

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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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Colosseum were a prog band formed by former members of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and the Graham Bond Organisation. This was their only single.

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Farewell to a musical legend of the early ’60s who grew up in my back yard of Stoke Newington, and found success in the pre-Beatles era with Joe Meek, North London’s own DIY Phil Spector.

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Max Romeo’s career spanned the early days of ska through rocksteady to fiery roots reggae with a political conscience, peaking in the mid-’70s.

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Sandie Shaw scored her last of her eight Top Ten hits with her 21st single, Monsieur Dupont, in 1969.

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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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Albert King had been making records for more than a decade when the blues legend recorded his signature song Born Under A Bad Sign in 1967.

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William Bell was one of the architects of Stax/Volt soul. His debut single in 1961 helped define the classic country-soul sound of Memphis when he struck gold with his debut single.

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He looked like Elvis, he sounded like Elvis, and that was Ral Donner’s golden ticket to pop stardom – for a brief period in 1961.

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