"I Wanna Get Next To You" (Rose Royce)

My mom often reminisces that the first movie she and my dad went to see together was the comedy Car Wash (1976).  It sort of became a tradition in our household to watch it at least once a year when I was growing up.  I mean, it has George Carlin and Richard Pryor in it.  So even if some of the 70s references are a bit dated, its skit-like scenes and (surprisingly) tasteful dramatic moments always guarantee a good time.
The soundtrack, which was written and produced by Motown expatriate Norman Whitfield and performed by Los Angeles-based band Rose Royce, may be one of the best, most consistent original soundtracks to any film.  What makes the double album so good is that Whitfield had the band tackle a number of styles: straight up funk, smooth soul, R&B, disco, and jazz soul.  The effect is that you're listening to a mix of hit music by different performers on an urban radio station, circa 1976.  (In the film, the workers at the car wash listen to fictional station KGYS over the PA system, with selections from the soundtrack comprising the station's program set.)
"I Wanna Get Next To You" from the soundtrack sets the mood for a key scene, where comedian Franklyn Ajaye's character "T.C." tries--and fails--to get a date with "Mona," a waitress at the coffee shop next door to the car wash.  The song has a feel that pays homage to smooth Philly soul (think: The Stylistics or The Delfonics) with a dash of Whitfield's own composition "Just My Imagination" mixed in.  
Unlike most Rose Royce songs, where Rose Norwalt (a.k.a. Gwen Dickey) takes the lead vocal, trumpeter Kenny Copeland is the featured vocalist here, addressing a woman who constantly ignores him and takes him for granted in a smooth falsetto (the lyrics mirroring the on-screen relationship between T.C. and Mona.)
It's a simple song with a simple theme: no matter what, he still wants to be her man.  
But it's so indelibly sung by Copeland with such soulful backing vocals and a note-perfect performance from the rest of the band that it's hard not hit "replay" a time or two to let its tranquil vibe soak in.  This is a song made for a long drive on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Also, I have to point out what Lequeint "Duke" Jobes is doing on bass throughout this song.   Although it would have been easy to just play whole notes, he instead keeps this steady pulse going that syncopates with the kick drum and congas.  He also doesn't just stick to the tonic of each chord, which gives the track movement and a little extra injection of soul.  It's simple but effective playing.