Surging from deep within the heart of American music there lies a pulseâ€"a rhythm, an explosion of sound- -called soul music. From its heyday in the 1960s it has been the sensuous energy, the incorruptible truth and the driving force behind a movement that influenced race relations, the political system, the merging of musical genres and that most American of all qualities: deeper and more personal self expression. From the shrieks of James Brown to the shouts of Wilson Pickett to the spirit filled testifyings of Aretha Franklin, soul has carried us through tough times with its conscience, invigoration and sweet inspiration.

Unfortunately, with the emergence of disco and its overactive bass drum and high hat in the mid 1970s, soul was very nearly relegated to the greasy wrecking yard of history, nearly down for the count.