It's a rainy night in New York and I for damn sure don't feel like talking politics, economics, foreign policy or crime.

Sometimes I just want to get back to the things that groove me, you know? Fortunately, I decided to make this a YouTube night and felt like hearing some soul music. By that, I don't mean cookie cutter radio music, but rather the classics that it takes some searching to find. You know, the stuff that actually helped us to heal after the Civil Rights years.

Some call it R&B. Some call it Soul. I call it Black Therapy.


For example, this 1974 Gil Scott-Heron gem...




Speaking of Heron, one of his best compositions was this one, covered by the late Esther Phillips (Lil' Esther), in 1971, whose bitter embrace captured the addiction she was never able to kick.



And on the sneak, check out this link to another of her classics. One of the most beautifully arranged productions of that era, and it was probably what was playing when many of your parents conceived you. In fact, the album it was on was so stunning that Aretha Franklin gave the Grammy she won in 1972 to Phillips, a true unsung diva.



But Soul isn't always about venting your angst. It is frequently uplifting, like this 1976 melody from The Emotions. For me, this song is so beautiful, it's haunting. In a way, although I remember it, I feel sorta cheated that I wasn't an adult back then.



At the same time, a lot of us keep tunes like this 1975 Donald Byrd vintage jam, in our IPods or .mp3 players because we like to look at Soul as the sountrack of our lives.



And don't forget another pop lockin' badass 1973 track from flutist Bobbi Humphrey. If you grew up in Detroit, you know both tunes were rotation staples in the heyday of the now-defunct WJZZ-FM.



But you know what? I can't help but be inspired when I hear Cuba Gooding Jr.'s dad tear it up in 1975 on what I consider The Main Ingredient's very best hit. With this additional Harlem funkdafied rhythm hitting the charts preceding it the year before as a close second.



Remember, Soul music was at its strongest during some of America's worst racial strife and the Vietnam War, and believe me there was no shortage of protest songs. This 1972 beauty from Timmy Thomas was covered by both Sade and Joan Osborn.



At the same time, you could always count on Soul to be sexy. Billy Paul is known to most for his Me and Mrs. Jones ballad, but few remember this 1976 hit. Be sure to check out the second movement (at 3:23) when he starts to get down.



Long before stupid, pointless music videos became the majority of most record companies' budgets, artists gave fantastic concerts that were just as much experience as they were performance. Parliament/Funkadelic was at the top of that game. After you see this 1976 clip, you'll agree that it was truly a shame that their Glen Goines was taken from us at such a young age.



But let's not act like Soul music ended in the 70s. Artists like Teena Marie, certainly kept it going with this 1980 street-funky tune. I saw her in concert a couple of years ago, and she has not lost a single step.



That leads us to all the roller skating jams of 20 or more years ago. Cheri had every kid in my neighborhood doing the Smurf to this 1982 joint (yeah, I'm that old).



Truth is, Soul has always been multicultural. Sorry J-Lo, you're cute, but you don't come close to Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, who worked in 1985 breakdance beats from the barrio.



Fast forwarding to the 90s, there is no question in my mind that Damian Dame would have been the most influential R&B group of the decade. Their songwriting structure and arrangements were brilliantly done. But both members died before they could cut their second album: Debra Jean "Deah Dame" Hurd in a 1994 auto accident and Bruce Edward "Damian" Broadus two years to the date of colon cancer. This was a favorite slow jam at many a 1991 college party.



In the mid-90s, Quincy Jones, who saw every era from blues, jazz, to doo-wop, rock and roll, to Soul and beyond, kept up his record. This 1994 love dedication is one of those play-it-over-and-over tunes that you hope you never lose sight of.



And finally, because I'd be here all night going through Soul music, I'll finish off with this latest from Jill Scott --- perm or blowout, this is what I'm talking about, so don't sleep it. If you've got this album, you certainly need to whip it out.



This is nowhere near all that Soul has to offer, but I hope you've got a nice sampling of what music should be.