Various Artists - Chicago Soul '62 RSD 2025 Vinyl LP

In 1962, Black Music was making its transition from R&B to soul, and the Chicago music industry was exploding, producing thousands of records and dozens of new labels.

The two biggest Black labels, Vee-Jay and Chess, led in the creation of the distinctive, smooth Chicago soul brand with names familiar and not so familiar: the former with Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler, and the latter with Mitty Collier, Etta James, and Billy Stewart.

And yet, it’s the smaller labels that make up the bulk of the Chicago story: Hawk with Geraldine Taylor, Lu-Cee with Roberta, M-Pac with Dorothy Prince. It’s here that we explore some of the finest sounds of the era in this collection.

Extensive liner notes written by Robert Pruter, author of the acclaimed Chicago Soul.