Dakota Staton was a jazz and R&B singer very much in the mould of Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington, whose style was sultry and sophisticated but who was extrovert and funky enough to share an R&B... more
Like their West Coast Contemporaries Sly and the Family Stone, The Chambers Brothers shattered racial and musical divides to forge an incendiary fusion of funk, gospel, blues, and psychedelia which... more
Accordionist, bandleader, composer and TV impresario Lawrence Welk was one of the most visible and popular personalities in easy-listening orchestral pop music through several decades spanning the... more
Eddy Howard, although not necessarily a household name these days, was a hugely popular and successful singer and bandleader during the 1940s and early '50s, racking up more than 40 Billboard pop... more
Johnny Horton was a honky-tonk country and rockabilly singer, who found international fame and chart when he recorded a run of "saga" songs which crossed over into the pop charts in the US and UK in... more
Patsy Cline is one of the most important and revered female artists in the history of country music, a situation made all the more remarkable by the fact that she only had a few years at the top... more
Bob Wills was one of the two country music personalities, along with Spade Cooley, who pioneered the style of Western Swing music during the 1930s and '40s, combining the standard approach of... more
Judy Garlands star continues to shine now, over thirty years since her death and over 60 years since she made her movie debut. Her simple yet affecting vocal style still captivates listeners today.... more
James Darren was an actor who got his first movie contract with Columbia when he was twenty years old in 1956, appearing in several films and TV series until making his first record in 1958, and... more
Bandleader and fiddle player Spade Cooley, the self-styled "King Of Western Swing", was a notoriously colourful character who worked in western movies with Roy Rogers before leading one of the... more
Marlene Dietrich was one of the most enduring and iconic stars of the 20th century, re-inventing herself as a stage actress, silent movie actress, and then a movie star whose exotic persona made her... more
Blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Earl King, a native of New Orleans, was one of the coterie of influential artists who helped create the distinctive style of R&B which characterised the music... more
The Andrews Sisters were one of the most prolifically successful vocal groups in the entire annals of popular music, beginning their chart success in the late '30s and then acquiring a central role... more
A consistent feature of the pop charts during the early 1950s was the popularity of vocal groups, ideally suited to the easy-going style of the time, and providing a ready vehicle for the songs... more
Bob Newhart was an advertising copywriter in Chicago who wrote comic satirical monologues with a work colleague, sending tapes of them to radio stations, which led to an introduction to Warner Bros.... more
Joni James was a hugely successful American recording artist of the 1950s and '60s, and was one of the few singers who were able to maintain the momentum of her career through from the... more
Canadian singer Paul Anka shot to fame in 1956 at the age of 15 when he auditioned for Don Costa at ABC singing a song he had written for a girl he hardly knew. "Diana", which became one of the... more
This release is the latest in the series of "America's Greatest Hits" which over the years has provided annual collections of the biggest hits of each year in the Billboard pop charts. The collection... more
The collection for 1959 is an excellent value 100-track 4-CD set which includes every record that appeared in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 during the year including tracks by well-known... more
Along with Billie Holiday and other contemporaries like Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald was one of the great singers to emerge from the golden age of jazz singing as a premier exponent of an art form... more
Barrelhouse Chuck¹s blues piano playing is filled with soul, high energy, and low down greasy blues. His loyalty to carry on the works of legendary players, like his mentors Little Brother Montgomery... more
Here are selections from this popular late '30s group of jazz and bluesmen featuring Joe and Charlie McOy. The Harlem Hamfats bridged the gap between small group jazz, swing and the emerging sound of... more
One of the most controversial performers in Rock history, Jerry Lee Lewis aka The Killer is in concert on this 80's recording. This selection presents some of his greatest hits from both phases of... more
Don Williams is one of the World's most popular C&W performers. In a genre considered a difficult export for America, Don has consistently broken box office records around the world. This generously... more
For many, Chuck Berry is the quintessential rock showman who's at his best before an audience. This 15-track set captures Chuck in that very scenario, burning through classics like Sweet Little... more
