Solomon Burke was a preacher before he started hammering away to close the gap between gospel, soul, and R&B, and you can hear echoes of his pulpit approach in the pleads and shouts of Otis Redding and Charles Bradley. His grittier blues influence pops up in the grooves of The J. Geils Band and The Rolling Stones, and his penchant for soaring choral arrangements is found in the harmonies of Curtis Mayfield and Joe Cocker.