January 1966

Brown's orchestrated soul ballad reached #1 R&B, demonstrating that his genius extended far beyond the funk grooves he was developing simultaneously.

Robinson won the American League Triple Crown (.316, 49 HR, 122 RBI) and AL MVP, having previously won the NL MVP in 1961, becoming the first player to win MVP awards in both major leagues.

Traded from Cincinnati to Baltimore, Robinson won the American League Triple Crown (.316, 49 HR, 122 RBI) and AL MVP — having previously won the NL MVP in 1961 — becoming the first player to win MVP awards in both leagues.

Walker's novel based on the life of her great-grandmother Elvira Ware, a Georgia slave, became the first major fictional account of slavery and Reconstruction written by a Black woman. It preceded Alex Haley's 'Roots' by a decade and helped launch the tradition of Black women's historical fiction.

The Holland-Dozier-Holland production with its dramatic oboe intro and Levi Stubbs's urgent vocal reached #1 in both the US and UK, widely regarded as the Temptations-Four Tops era's peak achievement and one of the greatest soul records ever made.

Brown's orchestrated soul ballad, with its string arrangement and meditation on male pride and need for women, reached #8 pop and #1 R&B, demonstrating that his genius extended far beyond the funk grooves he was developing simultaneously.

Norman Whitfield's production with David Ruffin's raw lead vocal reached #13 pop and #1 R&B, showcasing the grittier emotional direction the Temptations were developing — a precursor to their later psychedelic soul recordings.

One of the Supremes' defining Holland-Dozier-Holland productions, the song reached #1 pop and R&B, its call-and-response structure drawing on gospel roots while delivering pure pop joy. Later covered by Phil Collins as a massive 1982 hit.