Born in Florida, where he was stricken with polio as a young child, spent his young adulthood in Detroit, where he never let his need for crutches prevent him from performing whenever he could, and by the time signed him and relocated him to Chicago in the early '60s, had developed into a thoroughly professional singer with an incredibly controlled and emotive baritone. Placed on 's subsidiary and given songs to work with from songwriters like the great , quickly became the epitome of what was then called big-city , turning out records marked by strong production, orchestration, horns, and full massed backup vocals. His voice was so strong, however, that it easily became the central anchor in any production he was involved with, and there really is no singer in the history of or otherwise, quite like . This wonderful set contains 's complete debut album from 1965, , with ten bonus tracks added in, and given the quality on display here, it is truly amazing that didn't enjoy more high chart action than he did. His voice and approach, which really had more in common with singers like than the singers of the day, anticipates the so-called movement by some three decades, and if singers can be said to croon, well, invented the technique. The album was itself cobbled together from whatever singles and B-sides had on hand when 's version of the title tune, 's gorgeous went Top Ten on the charts in 1965, but largely because of 's huge, steady vocals, the album now seems much more unified in concept than it actually was. Not surprisingly, some of the best songs here were written by , including the aforementioned the brilliant and a pair of previously unreleased gems, and It would be unfair to think of as simply a interpreter, though, since whatever he sang he made completely his own. Nearly forgotten these days, is due for a rediscovery, and seems committed to bringing his complete body of work back into print. is a great start. ~ Steve Leggett