Dr. Benway's Office

Heavy Handed's "Do Yourself Some Good" was among the first drum & bass tracks I heard over a decade ago and is partly responsible for my love affair with the genre. From the 1997 comp Mutant Beatz: Abstrakt Hip-Hop, Future Funk and Science Fiction Soul.

Singer-songwriter Laura Nyro created a singular body of work that encompassed pop, soul, jazz, gospel and tin pan alley. "Sweet Blindness," which later became a hit for The 5th Dimension, appears on her 1968 master work Eli and the Thirteenth Confession.

DJ/producer Miss Kittin is among the few acts to emerge from the electroclash scene with a lasting career. "Pollution of the Mind" can be heard on her 2008 release Bat Box.

Blues singer Big Mama Thornton is best known for her hit "Hound Dog," which topped the R&B charts for seven weeks in 1953. Her songs have been covered by Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin. "Everybody's Happy (But Me)" was compiled on The Complete Vanguard Recordings.

Quiet Village live at the intersection of downtempo and sleazy listening music, and I can't get enough of their debut album Silent Movie, on which "Too High To Move" appears.

Russell Garcia has been composing music for jazz musicians and film soundtracks for over a half century. "Monsters of Jupiter" is from his exotica classic Fantastica.

Jim & Jean's "Time Goes Backwards" appears on a great psychedelic pop compilation called Soft Sounds for Gentle People 3.

"Oscar Winners" by 12 From A Dozen can be heard on the 1997 compilation Porn Beats.

Mississippi-born soul singer Margie Joseph was frequently compared to her Atlantic label mate Aretha Franklin and toiled in her shadow for many years. Her music is enjoying a revival with the reissue of her great 70s albums. "Come Lay Some Lovin' On Me" is from her 1974 classic Sweet Surrender.

"Idealistic" appears on Idealism, the 2007 debut of German electronic duo Digitalism.

Soul crooner Al Green needs no introduction. "Take Your Time," his duet with Corinne Bailey Rae, may be found on his latest effort, 2008's Lay It Down.

"Count Back" by Purple Underground is from the 2001 compilation Psychedelic States: Florida in the '60s, Vol. 2.

Funk soul diva Joi's "You Turn Me On" can be heard on her great (unreleased) 1997 album Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome.

"Ben (Hiroshi Fujiwara & K.U.D.O. Remix #2)" is from Soul Source: Jackson Five Remixes, Vol. 2.

Legendary soul singer Mavis Staples rose to prominence with her family gospel/pop group The Staple Singers. "Koochie, Koochie, Koochie" appeared on the Curtis Mayfield-produced soundtrack to the Bill Cosby/Sidney Poitier classic A Piece of the Action.

Philly neosoul singer and poet Jill Scott's "How It Make You Feel" is from her latest album, 2007's The Real Thing: Words and Sounds, Vol. 3.

"Five Years Ago, Did You See Yourself Here!" by electronic duo Fake, can be heard on their free-to-download album You Are Not Dead: A Guide to Modern Living.

Blues belter and former sex worker Candye Kane is one of my favorite singers. You can find "I'm Not Gonna Cry Today" on her latest release, Guitar'd and Feathered.

At first gloss Cornelius' take on the Sinatra/Nelson Riddle classic "Sleep Warm" seems like a straightforward cover, but put on your headphones and it becomes something altogether different. I loved the crazy stereo effects and a lullabye seemed an appropriate way to close. From the 2006 album Sensuous.