[Henry Morton]

I rarely stray from the Stanley forum, but this thread is much too tasty to miss !

Wynonie's tastes coincide with my own in respect of the Stax (and, may I suggest, Chess) material. As the Hammond organist (we didn't call it "keyboards" in those days) in the Soul Survivors I used to love playing this stuff. Also the late, great Edwin Starr featured heavily in our repertoire . . . Headline News was a particular favourite of mine.

However, once that genre had lost a little of its impact I started listening to the white Americans who were producing some fine music in the late 60s and early 70s. And Steely Dan are the greatest musicians to emerge from those times.

Later, I got a lot of pleasure in the 70s from Andrew Gold , and particularly from Rupert Holmes (an Englishman who moved to the states at a young age).

This will probably sound a bit daft to many of you very knowledgeable music lovers, but I rate Rupert Holmes far above other singer-songwriters such as Elton John. Of course, Rupert is remembered largely for his popular hit "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)", but he has written and performed some amazing stuff which is of a much higher standard.

So, in response to the original question, I spend most of my free time listening to what I consider to the best four albums of all time.

1) Rubber Soul by The Beatles

2) Revolver by The Beatles

3) Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys

4) Pursuit Of Happiness by Rupert Holmes