A list of predominant groups of the era included Little Caesar and the Consuls, Kay Taylor and the Regents, the Silhouettes, the Big Town Boys, David Clayton Thomas, Domenic Troiano, the Five Rogues/Mandala/Bush, George Olliver and the Soul Children, Eric Mercury, the Marcatos (also known as "David"), Diane Brooks and the Soul Searchers, Grant Smith & the Power, Steppenwolf (originating as Jack London and the Sparrows), Rick James, the Mynah Birds (including Neil Young and Rick James), the Plague, Jackie Shane, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Shawne and Jay Jackson and the Majestics, Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks (who became the Band), the Mid-Knights, Robbie Lane and the Disciples, Jackie Gabriel, Jack Harden and the Silhouettes, RK and the Associates, Jon and Lee & the Checkmates, who became Rhinoceros, Luke & the Apostles, and, later, Prakash John and the Lincolns, the James Stafford Set, and the Ugly Ducklings.
Sets were influenced by bands such as Robbie Lane and Little Caeser and the Consuls and were heavy on Ray Charles, James Brown, Jimmy Reed, Sam Cooke and other major US R&B performers.
Also popular were "Battle of the Bands" events where non-union musicians gathered to compete for top honors at venues such as The Pavilion in Oshawa, Ontario.
Usually all backup band members dressed in identical suits, often fashionably double breasted, while the singer/front man wore an alternative to offset him/her from the rest of the group.
Instruments included drums, lead, bass, and rhythm guitars, organ, often a Hammond B3, a two to five piece horn section all showcasing a front man/soul singer.