Arthur Prysock

If you feel like some uptown, sophisticated lovin’, by all means slip a little Arthur Prysock under your lady’s pillow. The man packs more "shagadelic" punch than an Austin Powers-style fistfight. Prysock was comfortable singing blues, jazz, and Soul. He had a deep, coal mine baritone like Billy Eckstine, but he didn’t mess around with the melody as much. He was with Buddy Johnson’s blues band from 1944 to 1952, but Prysock really made a name for himself working with Count Basie in the '60s. Besides carrying on that band’s swing and blues traditions, Prysock released a string of albums under his own name where his velvety tonsils were perfect for laying down “love poems.” Sound familiar? Prysock was a major influence on the likes of Barry White in the '70s and the school of mainstream “sing and rap” acts that make hearts flutter today.