Various Artists - James Brown's Original Funky Divas (2014)

Over the decades, James Brown collaborated with, and encouraged, some of funk's leading ladies. During the '60s and early '70s in particular, every Brown show featured a 15- or 20-minute break when he would leave the stage, turning it over to a young female singer who'd perform her own mini set -- an event that became a tradition and an important part of the revue. It is these women who are collected across this marvelous and historically potent two-disc set. The first disc (1960s) kicks off with Bea Ford's "You've Got the Power."