Now that you’ve had a chance to get reacquainted with some of the great classic male soul singers, here are five men that are working hard to keep the baby-making music tradition alive.
Jamie Lidell
Don’t let the schoolboy haircut and thick black frames fool you, this 35-year-old Englishman is capable of knocking out deliriously sexy Motown-style jams with a gut-busting voice that will stop you in your tracks. A former member of the techno duo Super Collider, Lidell can’t help but put a slight experimental spin on the old-school tunes that populate his second solo album, Jim, but that doesn’t mean tracks like “Little Bit of Feelgood” and “Another Day” couldn’t have easily come from a time capsule marked 1965.
Listen: “Little Bit of Feel Good”
Mark Ronson
The man that gave Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black that warm vintage R&B sheen is a star in his own right. The always impeccably dressed Ronson learned to play the guitar by emulating the riffs to Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction, but his heart belongs to brass-laden retro grooves, as evidenced by his remixes for the likes of Bob Dylan and Maroon 5. On his 2007 album, Versions, the U.K.-born, New York-bred producer gave songs by the Smiths, Britney Spears, and even Radiohead a ’70s funk makeover via ripping horns and wah-wah guitars with remarkable results. Just don’t hold the fact that he served as DJ at Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ wedding against him.
Listen: “Just”
Sam Sparro
He’s already scored an international hit with the sleek “Black and Gold,” a song that could easily become as massive as Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” and OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” But the Australian-born, Los Angeles-based producer is a true rarity in the R&B world. For starters, he’s gay, Christian, and white. Never mind that, though. On his self-titled debut album the 25-year-old singer navigates digital synthesizer melodies with a gritty voice that hovers between Prince and Bill Withers. It’s a party album loaded with great songs. He’s also prone to wearing feathers, which is always a good thing.
Listen: “Black and Gold”
John Legend
This Kanye West associate seems to have made little impact outside of the world of awards shows, where he seems to pop up with alarming regularity. It’s a shame because he’s got a fantastically laid back voice and great skill for knocking out creamy melodies like Smokey Robinson circa 1981. Born John Stephens, he earned the name Legend for his ability to emulate the old-school greats. And while you’re likely to hear snatches of Marvin and Stevie in his soulful songs, the impression he leaves is entirely his own.
Listen: “Save Room”
Chris Brown
Some have disparagingly labeled him as the world’s most famous Michael Jackson imitator, but this 18-year-old from Tappahannock, Virginia is slowly coming into his own. Unlike his peers, he not only writes, produces, and performs his own material but directs the videos as well. His music, meanwhile, employs all the modern tricks on the hip-hop and soul charts. He’s not quite there but give him a few more years and Usher and Justin Timberlake will most certainly start feeling the heat.
Listen: “With You”
Now that you're schooled on new school soul, be sure to brush up on the originators.