UK Soul Divas

Glasgow, Manchester, and London don't immediately leap to mind when you're thinking about world-class capitals of soul? Well, listen — not to us, but to these women, spanning five decades of U.K. soul divahood, easily the equal of the best of the best from Memphis to Motown. The low-moanin' Amy Winehouse practically needed a U-Haul to cart off the GRAMMY® statuary from her addictive Song (and Record) of the Year, "Rehab." Dusty Springfield faces down a very different sort of obsession in the smoky-voiced seductiveness of "Son of a Preacher Man," from 1969's Dusty in Memphis, the U.K.'s best soul album ever. And if the name Linda Lewis doesn't ring a bell, her voice certainly should — it's been paired with everyone from John Lee Hooker to David Bowie. Trust us: you gotta check out her "Red Light Ladies." And make sure your jaw has a soft place to drop when you do. In Next Steps, we're going to hear from an all-star class of soul sensations who are redefining the sound for the new millennium.

Seems like everywhere you turned for the last few years, yet another barely post-teen diva was blowing minds and grabbing ink. In fact, Joss Stone had just turned sweet 16 when she first entered the studio, but you'd never know it from the gargantuan voice in her size-2 body. Writing with Lamont Dozier (the guy sandwiched between Holland and Holland on all those Motown hits), she knocks it out of the park with her ego-stroking ballad "Spoiled." While the man of Stone's dreams can't get any better, the guy in Duffy's nightmare couldn't be worse, so she's gonna dump his sorry be-hind off at "Warwick Avenue," though not without the tiniest chink-in-the-armor hint of bittersweet reflection on what might have been. And Corinne Bailey Rae's light-as-air vocals glide over the string section in "Like a Star" as though they were dreamed rather than sung. In Deep Cuts, we'll spin some sides from an occasional Oasis sidekick, a song thrush from the Georgia that doesn't include the ATL, and Pink Floyd's guitarist(!) — don't worry, he's just providing backup.

As we dig deep into the heart of U.K. soul, we're gonna hear some songs that may be familiar, even if the performances aren't. Both Juice Newton and Merrilee Rush had hits with "Angel Of the Morning," but onetime Oasis backup singer P.P. Arnold put it on the U.K. charts in 1968 with her Joplinesque, blues-busting rendition. Georgian-born Katie Melua lavishly pours sinfully rich vocals like buttered rum on a short stack with her cover of the Cure's "Just Like Heaven," the main title from the 2005 Reese Witherspoon comedy. And those of you acquainted with Screamin' Jay Hawkins' (or even Creedence Clearwater Revival's) version of "I Put a Spell On You" are in for a shock — and a treat. Mica Paris (backed by ex-Squeeze keyman Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, with Pink Floyd's David Gilmour in support) completely revamps this bitter, dark brew of a tune into a slinky, spooky, sexy torch song.

Look, we can't blame you if you've been looking in Philly, or Detroit, or Memphis, or even the Big Apple for your daily fix of soul sisterhood; old habits die hard. But the U.K. is in the midst of a diva renaissance the likes of which we haven't seen since the days of Yardley Lip Slicker and go-go boots. If it's not Amy Winehouse carting off an armload of GRAMMY® Awards, it's Adele getting nominated for the Mercury Prize or Katie Melua selling more than three million copies of her debut album . . . in Europe alone. But the reason these young stars stand so tall is that they're working from a foundation that was laid with toil and sweat — and more than a little bit of eyeliner — four decades ago, when the likes of Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw, and Lulu were the fresh faces to watch. For your listening pleasure, we've rounded up all the best of the Brit Ladies of Soul, both from back in the day and straight on into tomorrow.