MEL TORMÉ, was born Melvin Howard Tormé in 1925. Known as “the Velvet Fog” he was the son of Russian immigrant parents who settled in Chicago. He aspired to be Frank Sinatra and could have been too! His 1962 vocalisation of “Comin’ Home Baby” earned him a Top 40 hit on both sides of the Atlantic and a permanent slot in any discerning R&B and Northern Soul playlist. SOLOMON BURKE, preacher/singer was born in Philadelphia in 1936 and is regarded as the de facto Southern Soul singer who bridged the gap between R&B and Soul. He recorded “Cry To Me” in December 1961 and scored his second chart hit. The Bert Bernes song truly heralded the dawn of the soul era and it has been covered many times most notably by the Rolling Stones and Betty Harris.