If Fela Kuti was Africa's James Brown, Tabu Ley Rochereau was its Sam Cooke, a singer whose sweet vocals — delivered mainly in French and Lingala — were a gold standard for more than 30 years. The Congolese bandleader was a talent magnet, and this two-CD anthology from his career's second half, 1977-1993, shows his artisanal guitar armies and horn sections stretching out — most songs clock in around 10 minutes. "Ohambe" features Afropop guitar hero Dr. Nico; "Loyenghe" shows off the birdsong voice of Mbilia Bel, Rochereau's superstar protégée. But on the reggae-inflected "Ekeseni" and elsewhere, his sublime, purring high tenor needs no co-star.

Listen to "Mère Ando" and "Lisanga Ya Banganga":

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“Everyday People”

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.