When African-American music broke out of the church in the early 1960s and singers like Ray Charles and Sam Cooke added secular lyrics to gospel to reach a new audience, the 7″ single was the medium of the moment. The early soul LPs were mostly compilations of successful singles, enriched with cover versions. This was to change radically in 1971, when Marvin Gaye released “What’s Going On” against the resistance of his label Motown. After that, there was no stopping them.

• Perpetual 365 day desk calendar with sturdy cardboard stand
• Printed Spotify codes you can “test listen” to any album anywhere and immediately