Prince always found a way to transcend his own legendary eccentricities. And this music, more than all of that, is what will remain.

If you’re looking to have your spine tingled and heart jingled, the Main Ingredient certainly fits the bill.

Most people associate Glenn Frey with the peaceful, easy country-rock songs with the Eagles. But he also had a gift for R&B and vocal arranging.

Dr. John’s funky Nola street dance anthem has rarely been covered with as much festive spirit as it has from New Orleans’ own Mardis Gras Indian funk collective Cha Wa.

Maurice White, who died today, was the mastermind behind Earth Wind and Fire’s focused, soul-lifting horns, sunburst harmonies and a thrilling propensity for shaken-up textures and rhythms.

Nick DeRiso’s Best of 2015 list for blues, jazz and R&B also included Marc Cary, Robben Ford, Dave Douglas, Papa Mali, Matthew Shipp and others.

George Harrison paid tribute to Smokey Robinson both with the Beatles and as a solo artist, including a key cut on ‘Thirty Three and 1/3’ from November 1976.

The Blues Brothers’ ‘Briefcase Full of Blues,’ released on Nov. 28, 1978, was all but complete when Steve Cropper made a career-changing suggestion.

With the release of their inspirational first album ‘Abundance’, the soul-funk-rock jam band the Nth Power has been a triumphant musical story so far.

When I think of the genius of the late, great Allen Toussaint, I think of the masterpiece he made with Lee Dorsey in 1970.