🎸Ten Unmissable 70s Soul Tracks
‘You ain’t got no kind of feeling inside’
Hey listeners,
Damn – don’t you just feel good listening to soul? (I’ll take your kind and assumed silence as a ‘yes’, very much indeed).
Welcome back to Drop The Needle, a monthly overview of my top ten recommended tracks of a genre that hit the speakers during the 1970s. For our soul month, I hope that you understand from our relationship by now my deeply visceral relationship with the genre. It’s safe to say, making this ranking was really fucking hard.
Special Mentions
You & Me, Penny & The Quarters (Unknown)
Initially uncovered in 2010 as an unreleased demo, this song’s origin is actually unknown after it was discovered in 2006 and shared with the world. It’s thought that the initial recording was between 1970-1975, making it disastrously hidden from the world for far too long and an essential track to queue online.
Love Really hurts without you, Billy Ocean (1976)
It’s everyone’s favourite soul track to come on at a wedding, and for good reason too! Unless you watched Netflix’s Sex Education, and it now makes you think of cringe flash mobs.
That’s The Way I Feel About Cha, Aretha Franklin (1973)
In the future, if there were one artist I was so besotted with that I would tattoo them on me, it would most certainly be Aretha (yes Vogue, you can quote me on that). Listening to this track makes you feel like a fly on the wall, witnessing a piece of history in its most natural form happen before your very eyes.
10. Seven Day Lover, Raymond Smith (1975)
Oh Northern Soul, you had me at hello. The joy, the dancing, the unabashed love for being able to act freely and not care about what you look like. It’s a deeply infectious sub-genre, and this song is a hidden gem often overlooked. It rivals the sultry tones of Otis and Marvin, making it the sweetest addition to your streaming queue.
9. Get Up Offa Thing, James Brown (1976)
BAM. Feel that? It’s the power of this song hitting you in the face with the punchiness of a Brown classic, combined with the funky twang that only he ever pioneered. Albeit it does conjure up memories of Amanda Bynes movies for me, it’s also the perfect record to listen to if you want to get dancing out of bed in the morning.
8. Tell Me Something Good, Chaka Khan & Rufus (1974)
Before she became a solo starlet in her own right, much of the 70s was moulded around the releases of Khan and Rufus. For a long time, it felt that there was no song they couldn’t sing or no chart they couldn’t top. This is exactly what this track does, reminding you of the sheer brilliance and sexiness of Khan’s voice (and perfectly tailored platform shoes, of course).
7. What A Man, Linda Lyndell (1971)
A song so guttural and soul-bearing that it feels like it should come with a warning every time it’s played on the radio. What list would be credible if it didn’t have this record? No notes Linda, no notes.
6. If You Want Me To Stay, Sly & The Family Stone (1973)
Sly & The Family Stone represented some of the best music to hit the streets of the 1970s, soundtracking a black power mixtape for the Black Panthers and using songs as a method of social activism. This track is no exception and has a bass feature that will be sure to be stuck on your head for the next week.
5. If You Really Love Me, Stevie Wonder (1971)
Okay, okay, you may not have heard of this track. And that’s okay! Superstition, Higher Ground, I Wish – they’re all good options! Unfortunately, we only accept great options in this ranking, which is exactly why this track makes the list.
4. Bad Girls, Donna Summer (1979)
Picture this: the sun is setting, beaming shades of amber surround you, you’ve just finished work on a Friday night and you’re going to meet your girls for a drink. This is the song to capture the moment, transporting you with every listen.
3. Let’s stay together, Al Green (1972)
When I was younger, I used to listen to this song after it was downloaded on my iPod, replaying it on my walk to high school in year seven. It was the first time I remember listening to a song and playing it on a loop contagiously, so for the sake of wee little Alanya it was inevitable that Al Green would be in our top three ranking.
2. I Want You, Marvin Gaye (1976)
Marvin had many great tracks that he produced throughout his career, and the joy, grief and vulnerability he wove within his music remains a constant inspiration to songwriters and listeners alike. I Want You is probably one of his sexier records and will be a shining star in your next feel-good playlist.
1. Day Dreaming, Aretha Franklin (1972)
A voice that sang a lullaby across nations, Franklin’s music can do no wrong (also one of two celebrity deaths I’ve ever shed a tear for). Day Dreaming captures exactly what her discography represented, using music as a form of poetry and seeing life through a romantic lens. Listen to this track and try to see your surroundings through Aretha’s eyes - doesn’t it already feel a little bit more beautiful?
Want to listen to the Drop The Needle selection and MORE great soul music to keep you moving and grooving in your day? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered, as you can listen along to the newsletter via Spotify:
Until next time, listeners, keep that speaker blasting too damn loud and don’t stop dancing.
-Alanya x
P.S. This newsletter is brought to you in a setting very similar to Studio 204 itself; amber-lit room, curtains closed, tunes blaring and furniture moved out the way to make room for dancing, just as our Queen Aretha would have hoped for.