If there’s one thing guaranteed to put smiles on faces and rhythm in feet, it’s Soul music!
I make no secret of the fact that soul music, in all its’ forms, is my passion. I grew up listening to classic Motown such as Stevie Wonder, The Commodores, Marvin Gaye and The Temptations. Curiosity then took me onto Stax & Atlantic stuff, spending long hours with James Brown, Otis Redding and Aretha on constant rotation. Delve deeper and you discover Northern Soul, Psychedelic Funk and US Garage. Then of course there’s disco! And my true love of this music continues today, with modern artists like John Legend, Ben L’Oncle Soul and James Morrison.
So here’s a handy list of some of the floor-filling favourites I’ve played over the years. There’s no rarities here, no ‘collectors only’ tracks…just top songs to make you feel great and fill your soul!
- Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours – Stevie Wonder : Incredibly popular, and still as fresh as the day it was made. A work of pure genius from a living legend.
- Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) – Frank Wilson : I still get goosebumps when this song kicks in…it’s a Northern Soul staple with a tremendous chorus hook. Also, I think it holds the World Record for the most expensive 7″ single ever sold!
- Real Love – Drizabone : A much more sophisticated, downtempo track, this time from the 90s, but when played in my warm-up set it always gets toes tapping and hips swaying. Uber cool & refined!
- Never Too Much – Luther Vandross : Whilst there are (in my opinion, anyway) better Luther tracks around, this is the song that defined his career as one of the best 80s soul voices ever. Amazingly, everybody seems to know all the words!
- Shake Your Tailfeather – Ray Charles : The global popularity of The Blues Brothers is undeniable, and this is possibly the pick of the bunch from the movie. A genuine dance floor filler, just as soon as the crowd hear the unmistakable tones of Ray Charles’ voice kicking in!
- Where Love Lives – Alison Limerick : Soul music meets House music, with 100% success. East London-born singer Alison Limerick had her finest moment with this absolute banger of a dance tune.
- Respect – Aretha Franklin : Wanna fill the floor with females singing at the tops of their voices? This will do it! It’s a standard by which all others follow. There’s no higher praise than that.
- Get Up Offa That Thing – James Brown : This track (and the next one) is purely aimed at the people who can really move & shake! James Brown brought raw funk to the masses and this song beckons every bone in your body to the dance floor. If you’re not moving to this, you’re already dead!
- I Want You Back – Jackson Five : I think I’ve seen more adventurous moves and shapes on the dance floor to this one than any other track! People seem to morph into Little Michael Jackson for three minutes….and rightly so, as it’s still as popular as it was back in 1970.
- Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me – Gladys Knight & The Pips : If you’ve gonna end the night with a slow number, soul music provides the very best ammunition for a cuddle…Barry White, Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie, etc…but for pure heartfelt soulfulness, not to mention unbelievably romantic lyrics, Gladys Knight will bring the curtain down with pure class.
There are soooo many more tracks I wanted to include. Even my personal favourite, Jackie Wilson’s Your Love Keeps Lifting Me (Higher & Higher) didn’t make the list, but it’s always there in reserve!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my little journey through some of the most popular tunes in my collection. And I hope it’s inspired you to turn on your hi-fi or your Bluetooth speaker and joyously belt them out at full volume!
