Artists like Erma Franklin

James & Bobby Purify were an R&B singing duo, whose biggest hits were "I'm Your Puppet" in 1966, which reached number six in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and in a re-recorded version number 12 in the UK Singles Chart, and "Let Love Come Between Us" in 1967, which reached number 23 in the US. The original "Bobby Purify" was replaced by a second "Bobby Purify" in the 1970s.

Eherene Patricia "Patti" Drew was an American pop singer who achieved brief success in the late 1960s.

Charles Edwin Hatcher, known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. He is best remembered for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-one hit "War".

Peylia Marsema Balinton, known professionally as Sugar Pie DeSanto, was an American R&B singer and dancer, whose career in music flourished in the 1950s and 1960s.

Doris Troy was an American R&B singer and songwriter, known to her fans as "Mama Soul". Her biggest hit was "Just One Look", a top 10 hit in 1963.

Barbara Jean Acklin was an American soul singer and songwriter, who was most successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her biggest hit as a singer was "Love Makes a Woman" (1968). As a songwriter, she is best known for co-writing the multi-million-selling "Have You Seen Her" (1971) with Eugene Record, lead singer of the Chi-Lites.

The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. The premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful American vocal group, with twelve number 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. The breakthrough by the Supremes is considered to have made it possible for future African-American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success. Billboard ranked the Supremes as the 16th greatest Hot 100 artist of all time.

Barbara Ann Lewis is an American singer and songwriter whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues.

Chairmen of the Board are an American-Canadian soul music group, based in Detroit, Michigan, who saw their greatest commercial success in the 1970s.

Tyrone Davis was an American blues and soul singer with a long list of hit records over more than 20 years. Davis had three number 1 hits on the Billboard R&B chart: "Can I Change My Mind" (1968), "Turn Back the Hands of Time" (1970), and "Turning Point" (1975).

Betty Jean Everett was an American soul singer and pianist, best known for her biggest hit single, the million-selling "Shoop Shoop Song ", and her duet "Let It Be Me" with Jerry Butler.

Martha and the Vandellas were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s as a major act for Motown Records. Formed by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Gloria Williams, Martha Reeves eventually joined the group, and she became its lead vocalist after Williams's departure in 1962. The group signed with Gordy Records, a subsidiary of Motown.

The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The group's repertoire has incorporated elements of soul, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Lead singer Levi Stubbs, along with backing vocalists Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together in the group for more than four decades, performing until 1997 without a change in personnel. Along with fellow Motown groups the Miracles, the Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Temptations, and the Supremes, the Four Tops helped to establish the "Motown sound"; pop-friendly soul and R&B with a clean, polished production quality. They were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer, whereas most other male and mixed vocal groups of the time were fronted by tenors.

Lorraine Ellison was an American soul singer and songwriter known for her recording of the song "Stay with Me" in 1966.

Autry DeWalt Mixon Jr., known professionally as Junior Walker, was an American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who recorded for Motown during the 1960s. He also performed as a session and live-performing saxophonist with the band Foreigner during the 1980s.

The Chi-Lites is an American R&B/soul vocal quartet from Chicago. Forming at Chicago's Hyde Park High School in 1959, the group's original lineup consisted of singers Robert Lester, Eugene Record, Creadel Jones, Clarence Johnson, Burt Bowen, Eddie Reed and Marshall Thompson.

Barbara Lynn is an American rhythm and blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. She is best known for her R&B chart-topping hit, "You'll Lose a Good Thing" (1962). In 2018, Lynn received a National Heritage Fellowship. In 2026 Lynn was further honored by being inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.