This rare track – made famous after being covered by Dexys Midnight Runners – ticks all the boxes for a Northern Soul classic. This serene slice of soulful psychedelia pays homage to late ’50s doo-wop classics, Andre 3000’s chiffon-soft vocals are heavenly and laid delicately over a squelchy funk beat and twanging, overwrought guitar. Wilson destroyed most of the demos, unaware the track would be become a massive hit at Northern Soul clubs in the ’70s. It’s also great for singers because it allows for more freedom in your musicianship: you can play more with tempo, try some scat, and so on. Here is yet another opera diva and jazz singer, Eileen Farrell, really selling it. Wright’s liquid-gold tones and pressing rasp coaxes resentment away and steers any pent-up frustration into the bedroom. and somehow we are transported on this rich journey, carried by the power and vulnerability of Sam Cooke’s majestic voice and the sensitivity of the musical arrangement, in just over three minutes. Wonderful Post! Flanked by Mark Ronson's sumptuous Motown-influenced production, her vocals are loaded with heartbroken emotion as she mourns the end of a messy relationship. In the video above, the versatile vocalist Linda Ronstadt sings it soulfully and beautifully. If one of these recordings is outside of your range, don’t hesitate to change the key! Amy Smith. Amy Smith, ‘One of my favourite recordings ever. Amy Smith, Quite possibly the sweetest four minutes ever recorded. You’re having a party, you say? Martha and her Vandellas make it look all too easy, with vocals that tip perfectly between sassy and sensual. Flirtatious without being over the top, this is a wonderful jazz song for females that’s hardly overdone! Would you believe twinkling, crooner Bing Crosby recorded this song back in 1933? He’s met someone, he’s doolally for them and if they don’t want something more than to hit and quit it, he’d rather cut them loose. The lyrics are the antithesis of stereotypical ‘male’ sexuality. Do you want a jazz ballad with some serious pain in it? Amy Smith, Rarely did Sly Stone's great psychedelic project do anything you could exactly classify as straight. It’s propelled by steam-engine percussion, impassioned vocals, jostling horns that just won’t quit plus its limited original pressing make it an extremely covetable vinyl find. and somehow we are transported on this rich journey, carried by the power and vulnerability of Sam Cooke’s majestic voice and the sensitivity of the musical arrangement, in just over three minutes. Oliver Keens, Thank you, 1997. Save for a powerful drum kick and solid backing singers, it’s all about his plaintive, yearning voice – begging for just one chance. ‘This must surely be one of the most bittersweet moments in the history of recorded sound. You’ve heard it a thousand times, but King Curtis’s greatest song never loses its glow. Chosen by rare groove titan and Good Times icon, Norman Jay MBE. Rarely did Sly Stone's great psychedelic project do anything you could exactly classify as. Like with all jazz songs, it’s all a matter of what you choose to do with the tempo and the words. It’s jazz, but with really blues-y lyrics! Oliver Keens, Can anything be smoother than Bobby Smith singing ‘Now it’s up to me, to bow out gracefully’? And as if further proof was required: the song has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and preserved by the United States Library of Congress for its cultural significance. It was originally intended for The Supremes but the brothers scored with this slice of pure Motown magic. As well as boasting the best intro to any song ever, this classic unleashes the honeyed falsetto tones of Eddie Kendricks, jockeyed along by a fantastic shuffling beat and the greatest use of ‘fiddly dee, fiddly dum’ to date. It's the way the defiance in Franklin's voice illuminates the down-but-not-out lyrics that makes it truly special. The stunning lyrics are as simple and effective as its bass line and drum beat. Amy Smith, Four swirling organ notes and a snare tap – that's all it takes for one of the sexiest soul songs ever to get juiced up and ready to roll. Here’s one the best scat singers of all time, Ella Fitzgerald, thrilling us with one of her best jazz standard vocal performances. ‘Soul Man’ was written in 1967 in response to a phenomenon where civil rights protesters wrote ‘soul’ on black-owned businesses to prevent them being looted during riots. Redding’s version now dominates the public consciousness; his soulful arrangement is led by Booker T Jones’s deeply mournful licks of the organ. ‘Soul music is about profound expression of human emotion, it’s about yearning, hope and transformation. Listen carefully and you can hear Michael Jackson on backing vocals. Happy listening, soul mates! A teacher can help you develop proper posture and vocal technique, while revealing the secrets of the great singers that we listened to today. We already have this email. Burt Bacharach originally wrote the song for Dionne Warwick, but Luther’s velvety tenor took it to a whole other level when it was released in 1981 – and to this day, it’s still considered one of his best songs.