Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up

Bobby Hebb - Sunny

Booker T & The M.G.'s - Green Onions

Formed in 1962 in Memphis, Tennessee, Booker T and the MG’s (“MG” officially stood for “Memphis Group”, and is usually punctuated correctly on LP covers as “M.G”) became one of the most important soul outfits in the history of music. They were indispensable as the house band for Stax Records, backing many rising artists (Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Albert King, and many others), but it was the MGs themselves that put Stax on the map with such singles as “Green Onions”, which reached number three on the Pop Charts, and “Hip Hug-Her”, which reached number six on the Pop Charts. 

The group consisted of four core members: Booker T. Joneson keyboards and organ (as well as many other instruments), Steve Cropper on guitar, Al Jackson Jr. on drums, and Donald “Duck” Dunn on bass. Cropper and Dunn were originally in the first house band for Stax, The Mar-Keys, and later were part of The Blues Brothers, both in the band and in the movie. Various others added horns and other instruments, and a young Isaac Hayes covered the keys on at least one session. Source: Last.fm

Wes Montgomery - California Dreaming

      John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He was born March 6, 1925, in Indianapolis, Indiana, as part of a musical family including his brothers Monk (string bass, electric bass) and Buddy (vibraphone, piano). He died of a heart attack on June 15,1968. He is the grandfather of actor Anthony Montgomery.

Many jazz guitarists today list Montgomery among their influences, including Pat Martino,Robert Conti, Lee Ritenour, Pat Metheny, George Benson, Pete Smyser, and Yoshiaki Miyanoue. By some accounts, Montgomery has been the most influential jazz guitarist of all time, whose style has also transcended into other forms of music, including Rock 'n' Roll, Soul, and Rhythm and Blues. Many songwriters and composers have written musical tributes to him, including Stevie Wonder.

Dick Dale & His Del-Tones - Misirlou

Dick Dale wasn’t nicknamed “King of the Surf Guitar” for nothing: he pretty much invented the style single-handedly, and no matter who copied or expanded upon his blueprint, he remained the fieriest, most technically gifted musician the genre ever produced. Dale’s pioneering use of Middle Eastern and Eastern European melodies (learned organically through his familial heritage) was among the first in any genre of American popular music, and predated the teaching of such “exotic” scales in guitar-shredder academies by two decades. The breakneck speed of his single-note staccato picking technique was unrivalled until it entered the repertoires of metal virtuosos like Eddie Van Halen, and his wild showmanship made an enormous impression on the young Jimi Hendrix. But those aren’t the only reasons Dale was once called the father of heavy metal. Working closely with the Fender company, Dale continually pushed the limits of electric amplification technology, helping to develop new equipment that was capable of producing the thick, clearly defined tones he heard in his head, at the previously undreamed-of volumes he demanded. He also pioneered the use of portable reverb effects, creating a signature sonic texture for surf instrumentals. And, if all that weren’t enough, Dale managed to redefine his instrument while essentially playing it upside-down and backwards — he switched sides in order to play left-handed, but without re-stringing it (as Hendrix later did). Source: Last.fm


Links:
http://www.dickdale.com/

Professor Longhair - Big Chief

Professor Longhair (Henry Roeland Byrd and aka Fess) (December 19, 1918 - January 30, 1980) was a legendary New Orleans blues musician. He was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana. He was noted for his unique piano style, which he described as "a combination of rumba, mambo, and Calypso", and his unusual, expressive voice, described once as "freak unique".
Source: what.cd

Incredible Bongo Band - Apache

Unlikely godfathers of hip-hop, the Incredible Bongo Band was a revolving-door group of studio musicians led by bongo player Michael Viner, who by day worked as an executive at the MGM label and ran its short-lived Pride subsidiary. Viner had worked on Bobby Kennedy's ill-fated presidential campaign before entering the music industry as a talent scout and A&R man in Los Angeles. By the early '70s, he was successful enough to start his pet side project the Incredible Bongo Band, taking unused studio time to record percussion-heavy instrumentals and pop covers with African and Latin influences. He placed two songs on the soundtrack of the 1972 B-movie The Thing With Two Heads, released on Pride, and the following year issued the first Incredible Bongo Band full-length, Bongo Rock, which reportedly featured a guest spot by Ringo Starr. Viner's funked-up version of the Shadows' "Apache" went on to become one of hip-hop's earliest breakbeat staples, as first-generation hip-hop DJs Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash came to rely on its percussion breaks to get block parties moving. "Apache" went on to provide the basis for the Sugarhill Gang's hit of the same name, and stands as one of the most sampled tracks in hip-hop history. The single "Bongo Rock" charted in the lower reaches of both the pop and R&B lists, and eventually assumed a status similar to "Apache" in the hip-hop world (though with lesser magnitude). Viner assembled a follow-up album, The Return of the Incredible Bongo Band, in 1974, but the band came to a halt not long after; Viner was getting overly ambitious (a planned session with the London Symphony Orchestra fell through), and mainstay drummer Jim Gordon fell prey to severe mental difficulties, all of which spelled the end of the road. The British Strut label later reissued both of the group's albums on a two-fer titled Bongo Rock: The Story of the Incredible Bongo Band.

Source: Steve Huey

Little Milton - We're Gonna Make It

Little Milton (September 17, 1934—August 4, 2005) was the stage name for Milton Campbell, Jr., a blues vocalist and guitarist best known his hits “Grits Ain’t Groceries” and “We’re Going to Make It.” Most popular in the sixties, he became one of the lesser known greats of the genre, combining traditional lyrical structure with smoother production. Source: Last.fm