Have to admit that in the last decade or so,I've been of the opinion that the R&B/soul community has taken the historical importance of it's own music for granted. There has tended to be a perception that if it couldn't be linked in some way to hip-hop sampling and such R&B/soul had no historical value since sampling seemed to be considered a major form of archiving for R&B's past. While that's a valuable concept,it left little room for the music to stand on it's own two feet. Sometimes there are individuals who transcend barriers like that completely. There was only one Ray Charles,one Sam Cooke,one Otis Redding,one James Brown and only one Jackie Wilson. Jackie's career not only shaped the future to come after him,but in another way entirely what's occurring in music in recent years. One of rhythm & blues's first bonnified showmen along with James Brown (and you could maybe consider Louie Jordan),Wilson was possessed of one of the most distinctive voices in the music-with a range and timbre seldom heard since this time. Not only that but his gospel inflected shouts and cries gave that vocal ability enormous emotional depth and ability to interpret melody of just about any sort the soul could offer. But at the same time music speaks for itself so I'll talk about that.