<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 12pt" class=MsoNormal>Appealing to a wide range of music lovers, this fascinating account explores an earlier era in soul music from a contemporary perspective. Highlighting previously underexposed and underappreciated performers and recordings, this invaluable reference rediscovers numerous ballads recorded by American soul singers during a 25-year postwar period. The tracks of well-known artists from Doris Day and Aretha Franklin to Otis Redding and the Four Tops are also chronicled in this thoroughly and passionately written history. </P>