Like most great Southern R&B artists of his generation, Benjamin Latimore was immersed in blues, gospel and country in his youth. On his ’70s classics, those sounds all came together for a swampy, sensual feel, with his bluesy keyboard licks and soulful, after-hours croon at the fore. Hits like “Let’s Straighten It Out” and “Keep the Home Fire Burnin'” were among the most seductive R&B tunes of the era. And even when the bump and grind of his grooves gained an electronic edge in the ’80s and onward, Latimore’s slow-burning sound remained as gloriously sweaty and sensuous as ever.