Managed by Aretha Franklin’s husband, the Detroit band the Dynamics featured four singers, each able to take the lead with a different vocal style. Following in Franklin’s footsteps, the band headed to Memphis to mix their sound with Stax-flavored soul. Produced by Tommy Cogbill and Chips Moman, responsible for hits like Elvis’ “Suspicious Minds” and the Box Tops’ “Cry Like A Baby,” 1969’s First Landing never fully caught on with R&B fans, with only a minor hit in “Ice Cream Song.” But the album’s last track, “Murder in the First Degree,” is a funky number comparing a woman packing her bags to premeditated homicide, and the narrator’s misery is to your listening benefit:

• The Dynamics – Murder in the First DegreeDownload