Blue-Eyed Soul

Blue-eyed soul is what happens when the basic requirements of great soul and R&B — big voice, earth-moving energy, raw emotion — are met by artists whose skin colour happens to be white. Here we've assembled the subgenre's founding fathers, including the Righteous Brothers, the Rascals, Tony Joe White, and, of course, Elvis.

The community of blue-eyed soul singers is broad, based on one universal litmus test: the existence of a direct link from voice to soul. So it is that Boy George and Culture Club ("Church of the Poison Mind") exist on our list alongside Dexy's Midnight Runners ("Geno"), the Animals ("Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"), and Alison Moyet ("All Cried Out").

The icons of blue-eyed soul have earned a place in the highest reaches of the pop hierarchy (Mick Jagger, Justin Timberlake) as well as the most important intersections on the rock 'n' roll underground: the Box Tops, for example, feature a teenage Alex Chilton, who would go on to found the legendary and influential Big Star.

The soul talents of "whitey" can so often look subpar, which makes inclusion on our list of the blue-eyed elite an instant mark of quality. The Rascals not only had a 1966 #1 smash with "Good Lovin'", they represented a force for racial integration in song as in life; while the work of Dan Penn (better known as a writer of soul than a performer) crosses over into the output of Aretha Franklin. Forget the colour: feel the quality.