Wishing Well

The Temptations

My Girl1965

Released December 21, 1964, "My Girl" bridges the smooth soul foundation that Al Green would perfect in "Let's Stay Together" with the romantic orchestral arrangements Marvin Gaye would adopt on "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." Written by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, the track features David Ruffin's lead vocals supported by tight harmonies from Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams, and Paul Williams. The Funk Brothers—with James Jamerson on bass, Robert White on guitar, and Benny Benjamin on drums—created the song's signature groove at Hitsville USA Studio A. Paul Riser's lush string arrangement elevated the track from simple pop-soul to something instantly timeless. "My Girl" became one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, cementing Motown's formula of tight vocal groups backed by world-class session musicians.

Sam & Dave

Soul Man1967

"Soul Man" built on the raw emotional power that Otis Redding perfected, proving that Stax Records' Memphis sound could dominate both R&B and pop charts. Released in August 1967, the track reached #1 on the R&B charts and #2 on the pop side, earning Sam & Dave a Grammy that same year. Dave Porter and Isaac Hayes wrote and produced the song with Booker T. & The MGs providing the tight, funky backbone—the same house band that powered Stax's golden era. The title drew inspiration from soul pride emerging after the 1967 race riots, capturing a moment when Black identity became central to the music itself. This success set the stage for the deeper, more introspective soul ballads that artists like Etta James would refine in the years ahead.

Marvin Gaye

Ain't No Mountain High Enough1967

Where "My Girl" showed the Temptations' smooth group harmony, Marvin Gaye took Motown's sound in a new direction with "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." Released on April 20, 1967, this was the first single from his debut album with Tammi Terrell, recorded at Hitsville U.S.A. in Detroit. Writers Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson crafted a love duet that let Gaye's voice shine as a solo artist while keeping that Motown polish. His chemistry with Terrell on the track proved soul music didn't need just group vocals—it could thrive on intimate two-voice conversation. This led directly to what Stevie Wonder would explore three years later: the power of a single artist's voice to carry an entire song's emotional weight.

Otis Redding

(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay1968

Recorded at Stax Studios in Memphis with co-writer Steve Cropper, "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay" arrived on January 8, 1968—just weeks after Otis Redding's fatal plane crash on December 10, 1967. The song became the first posthumous number one hit in U.S. chart history when it topped the Billboard charts in March 1968, earning two Grammy Awards. Where Sam & Dave's "Soul Man" (1967) captured raw, urgent energy, Redding's reflective ballad showed soul music could be intimate and philosophical. The track's laid-back groove, built on Booker T. Jones's piano and the tight Stax house band, proved that soul didn't need shouting—just honest feeling. This unexpected final statement cemented Redding's legacy and opened doors for soul ballads that followed.

Etta James

I'd Rather Go Blind1968

Where "Soul Man" brought energetic Memphis funk to radio in 1967, Etta James answered with raw, aching vulnerability. Recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama in 1967 and released in 1968, "I'd Rather Go Blind" strips soul down to its emotional core—James's voice breaking over organ and horn arrangements by producer Rick Hall's session band. Written by Ellington Jordan and Billy Foster, the song became one of her signature hits, joining "At Last" and "Tell Mama" in her catalog. James, who started her career in 1954 and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, proved soul music could hurt as much as it could move. Bill Withers would build on this intimate approach with "Ain't No Sunshine" three years later.

Stevie Wonder

Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)1970

Building on Marvin Gaye's smooth romantic approach, Stevie Wonder released "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" on August 7, 1970, proving he could command the charts with pure swagger. The track hit #3 on the US charts and spent six weeks at #1 on the R&B side, with arranger Paul Riser crafting a horns-and-strings arrangement that balanced soul polish with street-level confidence. Wonder's delivery—direct and assured—showed Motown artists could own their sound without losing the label's signature sophistication. The song's success positioned Wonder as more than a child prodigy: he was a hitmaker. From here, funk became less a flavor in soul and more its own engine, setting the stage for Parliament's explosive genre-flipping moves five years later.

Bill Withers

Ain't No Sunshine1971

Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" arrived in 1971 as the spiritual answer to Etta James's raw heartbreak—where she demanded recognition of her pain, Withers offered quiet devastation. Written while he worked at Douglas Aircraft Corporation building airplane parts, the song paired his sparse, conversational vocal delivery with Booker T. Jones's restrained production. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy for Best R&B Song in 1972, proof that minimal arrangements could hit harder than orchestral sweeps. The track's economy of emotion—three chords, one devastating hook—became the template Al Green would follow a year later with "Let's Stay Together," showing soul music didn't need complexity to break hearts.

Funkadelic

Can You Get To That1971

Released July 12, 1971, "Can You Get To That" from Funkadelic's *Maggot Brain* album plants the seed that Parliament would harvest four years later with "Give Up The Funk." Both tracks sit at the heart of P-funk—the psychedelic funk sound that George Clinton pioneered, combining Eddie Hazel's guitar work with Bernie Worrell's keyboard arrangements. This track's fusion of funk rhythms and rock-psychedelia directly influenced the slicker, horn-driven sound the Ohio Players would refine on "Love Rollercoaster" that same year. Funkadelic's raw, guitar-heavy approach gave younger bands like Ohio Players a template for turning funk into mainstream radio gold while keeping the groove intact.

Al Green

Let's Stay Together1972

Where Bill Withers brought sparse, intimate soul in "Ain't No Sunshine," Al Green answered with lush orchestration and pure vocal warmth on "Let's Stay Together." Recorded at Royal Recording Studios in Memphis under producer Willie Mitchell's direction, Green's 1971 single layered strings, horns, and a tight rhythm section behind his effortless delivery—proving soul music could be both elegant and deeply emotional. The song hit #60 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs list, cementing Green's place as a major force in 1970s soul. His combination of impeccable phrasing and romantic directness made this track a template for smooth soul that influenced generations of R&B singers. Green's approach—disciplined, soulful, never overwrought—showed how restraint and craft could outpower raw emotion alone.

Parliament

Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)1975

Where Stevie Wonder's 1970 soul precision met raw funk energy, Parliament took the next step in 1975. Building on the groove foundation that Funkadelic had already started exploring, George Clinton's Parliament transformed funk into something heavier and more electronic. "Give Up The Funk" arrived as part of *Mothership Connection*, Parliament's breakthrough concept album that finally brought their Plainfield, New Jersey sound to mainstream radio. Clinton's signing to Casablanca Records in 1974 gave him the resources to expand his vision—adding synthesizers and layered vocals that Funkadelic was simultaneously developing. With Bootsy Collins' bass lines driving the rhythm, the song became a blueprint for how funk could dominate the rest of the decade. Parliament's success here directly enabled their #1 R&B hits that followed, proving Clinton's p-funk empire had staying power.

Ohio Players

Love Rollercoaster1975

Building on Funkadelic's loose, improvisational groove from "Can You Get To That," Ohio Players tightened the funk formula into pure chart dominance. Recorded at Paragon Studios in Chicago and released August 16, 1975, "Love Rollercoaster" hit #1 on both R&B and pop charts in January 1976—the band's breakthrough moment after years of building a following. The track's origin story is distinctly mid-70s: a turbulent flight inspired the title when a band member heard someone joke they must love their job on such a rough ride. With Sugarfoot's searing vocals, Clarence Satchell's tenor sax, and Billy Beck's keyboards driving the rhythm, the song strips funk down to its essentials. This direct, radio-friendly approach set the stage for Earth, Wind & Fire's polished soul-funk crossover on "Shining Star" that same year.

Earth, Wind & Fire

Shining Star1975

Where Ohio Players kept funk grounded in raw swagger, Earth, Wind & Fire lifted it skyward. "Shining Star" topped both the Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts in May 1975, becoming the Chicago band's first major hit and winning the Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1976. Maurice White's lead vocal floats over Charles Stepney's horn arrangements—punchy brass that became the band's signature sound. The track blends funk's tight grooves with disco's upward lift and soul's emotional warmth, creating a blueprint that would echo through decades of pop and R&B. By 2003, when Red Hot Chili Peppers sampled this energy on "Soul to Squeeze," Earth, Wind & Fire had already sold over 90 million records worldwide, proving funk could reach the mainstream without losing its soul.

★ Sananda Maitreya

Wishing Well1987

This is where the lineage begins. "Wishing Well" launched what would become a chain of songs connected by that loose-limbed, sun-warmed feeling of soul music made for wide-open spaces — the same feeling Otis Redding bottled nineteen years earlier sitting on a dock in Sausalito. Released on Columbia in 1987, the track was co-written and co-produced by Sananda Maitreya alongside bassist Sean Oliver, with Martyn Ware — one half of Heaven 17 — handling the mix. That combination of British studio precision and American R&B instinct gave "Wishing Well" a texture that felt simultaneously polished and effortless. It hit number one in the US, proving that classic soul vocabulary still had commercial pull deep into the pop landscape of the late '80s, setting the table for everything that follows in this lineage.

Boyz II Men

Motownphilly1991

"Motownphilly" picks up where Paula Abdul's pop-soul crossover left off, but Boyz II Men ground the sound in pure vocal harmony. The Philadelphia quartet, formed in 1985, brought new jack swing into the mainstream with producer Dallas Austin's crisp arrangements and their own layered harmonies. Released in 1991, the track showcases the group's signature blend of R&B and quiet storm—tight beatboxing paired with smooth, multi-part vocals that felt fresh against the drum-machine-heavy production of the era. Their Motown deal gave them institutional backing, but it was the interplay between the members (Shawn Stockman, Nathan Morris, and Michael Bivins) that made the song stick. This became their breakthrough, proving that vocal precision and melodic complexity could command radio play in hip-hop's ascendant decade.

Paula Abdul

Rush Rush2000

"Rush Rush" arrives as Paula Abdul's pivot from dance-pop hits to ballad territory, arriving just before Boyz II Men's "Motownphilly" would define new jack swing's emotional core. Released May 2, 1991, this track topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks and became Abdul's first ballad single, proving her range beyond choreography and uptempo grooves. The arrangement by Peter Lord and V. Jeffrey Smith layers strings and keyboards into something lush but controlled, letting Abdul's voice carry the weight. The iconic music video paired her with actor Keanu Reeves, turning a simple love song into a cultural moment. By bridging Masego's contemporary R&B sensibilities with the smoother, orchestral approach that influenced '90s slow jams, "Rush Rush" showed pop could be both chart-dominant and emotionally grounded.

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Soul to Squeeze2003

Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star" showed funk could shine on the radio; the Red Hot Chili Peppers built on that openness by blending funk grooves with rock energy. "Soul to Squeeze" was recorded at The Mansion in LA during the Blood Sugar Sex Magik sessions in 1991, but didn't see release until 1993, when it hit number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song proved the band's funk-rock formula worked beyond their albums—Flea's bass and Chad Smith's drums anchor Anthony Kiedis's vocals over John Frusciante's guitar work. The track bridges the gap between 1970s funk sophistication and modern alternative rock's raw edge, setting the stage for later artists like Masego who would push funk fusion even further into experimental territory.

Masego

Prone2018

Where the Red Hot Chili Peppers layered funk and rock into '90s R&B ("Soul to Squeeze," 2003), Masego pushes the genre forward by fusing jazz instrumentation with modern hip-hop production. Released on his debut album *Lady Lady* in September 2018, "Prone" showcases his self-described "TrapHouse Jazz" style—a blend that gained him widespread attention after his 2017 collaboration "Tadow" with FKJ. The Jamaican-American saxophonist (born Micah Davis) weaves his horn into trap-influenced beats, creating a sound that bridges the soul-driven grooves of the 2000s with contemporary alternative R&B. His work points toward how modern artists are reviving instrumental jazz within electronic and hip-hop contexts, earning him a 2022 Grammy nomination for *Best Progressive R&B Album*.