When Arthur Conley shouts "Do you like good music?" on Sweet Soul Music, the resounding response is "Yeah! Yeah!" Forty years later, fans are saying "Yeah! Yeah!" to a new wave of soul purveyors, who are spinning the sound forward.

Amy Winehouse made a splash at this year's Grammy Awards with her brassy, retro-leaning Back to Black album, and Welsh newcomer Duffy is enjoying crossover appeal with her sumptuous Rockferry collection. But while those stars have achieved popular appeal and big record sales, other acts are fueling a soul resurgence with music heavily influenced by the '60s sound.

OLD SCHOOL, FORWARD SPIN: Five acts in the mix

This summer, artists such as James Hunter, Eli "Paperboy" Reed & the True Loves, Ryan Shaw, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker are doing more than waxing nostalgic. Though commercial radio bypasses them in favor of glossier R&B and their niche-label record sales remain modest, these acts are wowing live audiences coast to coast with fresh songs and slamming performances.

When soul fell off the mainstream radar, "for a lot of people, it went away," says Reed, who released debut album Roll With You in April. "But good music like that will always rise back to the top.