"Always There," a 1970s jam that's been remade more often than the bed at $3 a night hotel.

I was having a talk with a buddy recently about the kind of music we missed.

He missed the self-contained funk groups like EW&F, Confunkshun and Cameo--as do I. And I missed the time when the R&B/Soul airwaves were filled with songs in which women sing like women, rather than teenage girls. As did he.

Which brings us to this very cool clip from "Soul Train" of the group Side Effect from 1976 singing "Always There," a remake of Ronnie Laws' hit from just a year earlier.

Side Effect's version is every bit as good as Laws', if not better: a brisk, funky bit of R&B with the tragically underrated Helen Lowe--who now better known as gospel singer Helen Baylor--positively owning the lead vocals. Side Effect should've had a longer time in the spotlight, but darn if they didn't make the most of the shine they did get.

Amazingly, their version of "Always There," only rose to Number 56 on the R&B charts. But it was a Number 2 dance hit, which likely earned them this spot on the Train. The song has since become a jazz/funk and neo-soul staple and has been remade by the likes of Incognito and more.