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An early member of the Motown stable, George Kerr was a talented songwriter who produced memorable hits for the Whatnauts, the O’Jays, and the Moments, among others. Here, the New York native pens an unlikely instrumental rock number, comprised of generous slabs of distorted guitar, Iron Butterfly organ, and reckless drumming.

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Written by a teenaged Booker T. and the MG’s six years earlier, Count Basie reinterprets this Southern standard with the help of his expansive orchestra. With Basie on the piano, breathy saxophones double the song’s murky bass line for a jazzy take on a blues classic.

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Although charting frequently through the early and mid-’60s, this slice of blue-eyed soul would be the Connecticut native’s last sizable hit on U.S. soil. Pitney’s unabashed guitar (and possibly his piano playing and drumming) is complimented with pep-rally trumpets and cascading strings. Pitney passed away in 2006 at the age of 66.

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Although famously sampled by J Dilla on the song “Workinonit” from his instrumental masterpiece Donuts, “The Worst Band in the World” was a moderate hit for this experimental group of English rockers back in the early ’70s. The single would later appear on their second album, Sheet Music.

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Best known by wrestling fans as “the Freight Train,” Rufus R. Jones had a penchant for soul music, as illustrated by this funky side on the Charlotte, North Carolina-based Choice Cut Records. After retiring in 1987, he settled in Kansas City, Missouri, eventually opening the Ringside Bar and Restaurant.