Otis Redding got a flat no at Stax. Then he asked for church chords.

James Brown stepped between police nightsticks. Three live cameras kept Boston calm.

Al Green begged to bury Let's Stay Together. It became his only number one.

Bobby Womack Fought to Stop the Rolling Stones. Sam Cooke Handed Him an Envelope.

Otis Redding took the Monterey stage past curfew. He had twenty minutes to win fifty thousand

Barry White Fought Three Days Not to Sing. He Offered a Fake Band Instead.

Stevie Wonder cut his 21st birthday cake. Next morning Berry Gordy lost him.

James Brown Paid $5,700 at the Apollo. His Label Had Forbidden It.

The Spinners Drove the Temptations to the Stage. A Flipped B-Side Made Them Legends.

Wilson Pickett sang Hey Jude. A young guitarist dared him.

Dennis Edwards read the first line of Papa Was a Rollin' Stone. He refused to sing.

Mahalia Jackson Whispered to Mavis Staples. The Queen of Gospel Could Not Sing Alone.

Donny Hathaway Walked Into Atlantic Studios in 1971 to Sing With an Old Friend

Smokey Robinson Showed Up With a Notebook of 100 Songs. Berry Gordy Noticed.

The Four Tops Sang at a Birthday Party in 1953. They Stayed Four for 44 Years.

Curtis Mayfield Started His Own Record Label in 1968 So His Words Stayed His Own

Ray Charles Left Atlantic in 1959 for One Thing Nobody Else Would Give Him

The Four Tops Asked Motown to Shelve a Song. It Topped Two Countries

Smokey Robinson Took a Tape. Then Put Off Leaving the Miracles.

Ben E. King Got the Same Five Words Every March. In 1986, He Came to Her Door.

Gladys Knight Won a TV Talent Contest at Seven. Her Family Built a Group Around That Voice.

The Supremes reached London in 1977. Mary Wilson was ready to leave.

Jimi Hendrix Moved Into the Isley Family Home. Ernie Watched Him Practice.

David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks Walked Back Onstage at the Apollo in 1985

Al Green Fell Off a Cincinnati Stage in 1979. In the Hospital, He Asked What It Meant.

The Dells Watched The Five Heartbeats in 1991. Marvin Junior Had Warned Its Director.

Bill Withers Went to Cleveland in 2015. Stevie Wonder Was Holding the Door.

Curtis Mayfield Recorded His Last Album Lying on the Floor. One Line at a Time.

Sam Cooke Failed at the Copa in 1958. A Waiter Forgot His Tray in 1964.

Isaac Hayes Walked Into the Oscars Wearing Chains, and a Room Went Quiet

Al Green Walked Into a Closing Diner at Midnight. The Jukebox Was Already Playing His Song.

Ray Charles Refused to Play Augusta in 1961. Georgia Needed 18 Years to Answer.

Otis Redding Sang to 7,000 Strangers at Monterey in 1967. One Woman Let Go of Her Rope.

Stevie Wonder Wouldn't Stop Playing in 1962. A Voice Asked a Question Nobody Could Answer.

James Brown Paid for His Own Apollo Recording in 1962. His Label Called It a Mistake.

Smokey Robinson Fell Ill Before a Session That Could Not Wait. A Stranger Stayed All Night.

Donny Hathaway Turned a Hospital Note Into 'Someday We'll All Be Free.'

Teddy Pendergrass Crashed His Rolls-Royce in 1982. Three Years Later He Sang for 90,000.

The Four Tops Turned Down a Song in 1969. It Reached the World a Different Way.

Curtis Mayfield Raised His Hand to a Brooklyn Crowd in 1990. Then the Sky Came Down.

Bill Withers Closed His Briefcase at Columbia in 1985. He Never Made Another Album.

Smokey Robinson Gave a Terrified Teenager His Own Verse. She Never Told Anyone Why.

James Brown Held Up One Hand at Boston Garden. It Kept a City From Burning.

Percy Sledge Kept a Promise to a Dying Woman. His Own Body Was Failing Him.

Georgia Dobbins WROTE Motown's First Number One — She Never Got to Sing a Note of It

Otis Redding FOUND a Grieving Janitor at His Door at 2 A.M. — He Never Repeated What Was Said.

Solomon Burke Was CROWNED Backstage at the Apollo in 1964. He Never Took It Off Again.

William Bell Was DRAFTED to War in 1966. He Came Home to a Label That Almost Didn't Exist.

Eddie Floyd WROTE a No. 1 Hit for Otis Redding — Stax Told Him to Sing It Himself Instead

Wilson Pickett STOPPED a Broke Teenager From Walking Home — Then Made Him Swear Never to Tell

Eugene Record STOPPED SINGING Mid-Take — What Happened Next Made Chart History

Sly Stone Recorded His #1 Hit ALONE — What His Band Did When They Found Out Stunned a Room

Fontella Bass HUMMED the Hook Behind 'Rescue Me' — It Took Her 28 Years to Get the Credit

Ray Charles TURNED a Gospel Hymn Into a Love Song — His Childhood Church Called It a Sin

Pops Staples TURNED OFF the TV in 1957 — What He Wrote Next Became Dr. King's Favorite Song

Mary Wells WALKED OUT on Motown in 1965 — Dying of Cancer in 1990, They Called Her Back

Levi Stubbs TURNED DOWN Motown's Biggest Solo Deal Ever — Then He Made a Fist

Eddie Levert Was READY TO QUIT in 1971 — One Knock on a Motel Door Changed Everything

Wilson Pickett COULD BARELY WALK Onstage in 2004 — What He Did Next Left a Crowd Screaming

A Crowd of 200 REFUSED TO SIT DOWN in 1959 — The Isley Brothers Answered With 'Shout.'