The Legendary Story of Sun Records...various artists

Sun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27, 1952.
Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was notable for discovering and first recording such influential musicians as Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. (Presley's recording contract was sold to RCA Victor Records for $35,000 in 1955 to relieve financial difficulties which Sun was going through.) Prior to those records, Sun Records had concentrated on recording African-American musicians, because Phillips loved Rhythm and Blues and wanted to bring black music to a white audience. It was Sun record producer and engineer, Jack Clement, who discovered and recorded Jerry Lee Lewis, while owner Sam Phillips was away on a trip to Florida. The original Sun Records logo was designed by John Gale Parker, Jr., a resident of Memphis and high school classmate of Phillips.

The music of many Sun Records musicians helped lay part of the foundation of late 20th century rock and roll, plus it influenced many younger musicians, particularly The Beatles. In 2001, Paul McCartney appeared on a tribute compilation album titled Good Rockin' Tonight: The Legacy Of Sun Records. The 2010 tribute Million Dollar Quartet is based on the famous photograph of Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis grouped round Elvis Presley at the piano, the night when the four joined in an impromptu jam at Sun Record's one-room sound studio, the "Million Dollar Quartet" of 4 December 1956.

In 1969, Mercury Records label producer Shelby Singleton purchased the Sun label from Phillips. Singleton merged his operations into Sun International Corporation, which re-released and re-packaged compilations of Sun's early artists in the early 1970s. It would later introduce rockabilly tribute singer Jimmy "Orion" Ellis in 1980 as Orion taking on the persona of Elvis Presley. The company remains in business today as Sun Entertainment Corporation, which currently licenses its brand and classic hit recordings (many of which have appeared in CD boxed sets and other compilations) to independent reissue labels. Sun Entertainment also includes SSS International Records, Plantation Records, Amazon Records, Red Bird Records, Blue Cat Records among other labels the company acquired over the years. Its website sells collectible items as well as compact discs bearing the original 1950s Sun logo.

Some of the notable recording artists at Sun were Roscoe Gordon, Rufus Thomas, who recorded solo and with his daughter Carla Thomas, Little Milton, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich and Conway Twitty (who at that time recorded under his real name of Harold Jenkins).

This excellent 60 track compilation represents all the styles of music heralded by Sun Records, from earthy Blues and Country to Rockabilly and Rock'n'Roll. For anyone interested in the roots of rock and roll, this an important and historical collection. Many of these tracks were later covered by other artists early in their own careers.

Disc: 1
1. Mystery Train - Little Junior's Blue Flames
2. Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins
3. Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On - Jerry Lee Lewis
4. Bear Cat - Rufus Thomas
5. Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
6. Color And Kind (Look-A Here Baby) - Howlin' Wolf
7. Flying Saucer Rock And Roll - Billy Lee Riley
8. Ten Cats Down - The Miller Sisters
9. I Never Knew - Roy Orbison
10. Your Cheatin' Heart - Cliff Gleaves
11. Just Walking In The Rain - The Prisonaires
12. The Hucklebuck - Earl Hooker
13. Shake 'Em Up Baby - Frank Ballard
14. Willing And Ready - Ray Smith
15. Rock 'n' Roll Ruby - Warren Smith
16. Born To Lose - Carl McVoy
17. Lonely Weekends - Charlie Rich
18. I Need A Man - Barbara Pittman
19. Ubangi Stomp - Carl Mann
20. Sadie's Back In Town - Sonny Burgess
21. Groovy Train - Wade Cagle & The Escorts
22. Don't Be Runnin' Wild (Problem Child) - Ken Cook
23. Go! Go! Go! - Roy Orbison
24. Red Velvet - The Kirby Sisters
25. Greyhound Blues - D.A. Hunt
26. I Forgot To Remember To Forget - Charlie Feathers
27. Lewis Boogie - Jerry Lee Lewis
28. Peace In The Valley - Million Dollar Quartet
29. Down By The Riverside - Million Dollar Quartet
30. Who Will The Next Fool Be? - Charlie Rich
Disc: 2
1. Great Balls Of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
2. Matchbox - Carl Perkins
3. Feelin' Good - Little Junior's Blue Flames
4. Mona Lisa - Carl Mann
5. Ooby Dooby - Roy Orbison
6. Guess Things Happen That Way - Johnny Cash
7. My Babe - Narvel Felts
8. It's Me Baby - Malcolm Yelvington
9. Paralyzed - Million Dollar Quartet
10. I'll Wait Forever - Anita Wood
11. Somebody Told Me - Little Milton
12. Rockin' Bandit (Dubbed Version) - Ray Smith
13. Pearly Lee - Billy Lee Riley
14. Red Hot - Billy 'The Kid' Emerson
15. Uranium Rock (Alternate Take) - Warren Smith
16. Raunchy - Bill Justis
17. Got You On My Mind - The Miller Sisters
18. Just In Time - Harold Jenkins (Conway Twitty)
19. Ain't Got No Home - Carl Mann
20. Ain't Got A Thing - Sonny Burgess
21. Cheese And Crackers - Rosco Gordon
22. Got Love If You Want It - Warren Smith
23. Feelin' Low - Ernie Chaffin
24. There's Another Place I Can Go - Charlie Rich
25. Handsome Man - Barbara Pittman
26. How Long Can It Be? - Maggie Sue Wimberly
27. Goin Crazy - Mack Self
28. Rockin' Daddy - Eddie Bond
29. Cloudy - Brad Suggs
30. Goodnight Irene - Johnny Cash

Sun Records 001

Sun Records 002

Big Joe Turner ... Shake, Rattle and Roll

Big Joe Turner, also known as The Boss of the Blues was an American "blues shouter" (a blues-music singer capable of singing un-amplified with a band) from Kansas City, Missouri. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and Roll would have never happened without him". Although he had his greatest fame during the 1950s with his rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and Roll", Turner's career as a performer endured from the 1920s into the 1980s. Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during 1987.

1. Shake, Rattle and Roll
2. Honey Hush
3. Chains of Love
4. Well All Right
5. Sweet Sixteen
6. Married Woman
7. TV Mama
8. The Chill is On
9. Don't You Cry
10. Oke She Moke She pop
11. In The Evening
12. Midnight Rockin'
13. Ooo, Ouch, Stop!
14. Rock The Joint Boogie
15. Baby, Won't You Marry Me
16. Wine O Baby Boogie
17. Hollywood Bed
18. Careless Love
19. Lucille, Lucille
20. My Gal's A Jockey
21. Still In The Dark
22. Sally Zu Zazz
23. Corrine, Corrina
24. Piney Brown Blues
25. Roll 'em Pete

Big Joe Turner

The Essential LITTLE RICHARD

A-WOP-BOP-A-LOO-BOP-A-WOP-BAM-BOOM..!!

Richard Wayne Penniman (born December 5, 1932), known by his stage name Little Richard, is an American pianist, singer and songwriter. He has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for over six decades. His most celebrated work dates from the mid-1950s where his dynamic music and charismatic showmanship laid the foundation for rock and roll. Penniman's hits of that period were generally characterized by playful lyrics underpinned with suggestive overtones. His music also had a pivotal impact on the formation of other popular music genres, including soul and funk. Penniman influenced numerous singers and musicians from rock to rap.

Penniman was honored by many institutions, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was the recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award in 1992 and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1994. Penniman's breakthrough hit "Tutti Frutti" was included in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry, claiming the "unique vocalizing over the irresistible beat announced a new era in music"....(text from Wikipedia)

This collection showcases 20 of his greatest hits, digitally remastered from the original session tapes.

TELT

reposting of links

Dear visitor, I am currently in the process of reposting some of the links on this blog. If you try to download a sample file and the message from the file server comes up as "permission denied", please leave a comment against the post and I will update accordingly. Thanks for your patience and understanding..cheers...Marty

Elvis Presley...HitStory

There is no doubting the impact Elvis Presley has had on popular music. Many musicians have been quoted as saying that he was one of their original influences, and his legion of fans is ever growing. His recorded output has been extensive, and there are still new releases being issued regularly.

HitStory is an 90-track compilation of his chart hits. Spanning his entire career from 1954's "That's All Right" to 1976's "Way Down", this deluxe three-disc set combines two landmark collections of Elvis's indispensable smash hits with a brand new compilation of more essential Top 20 singles. HitStory features Elvis' popular hits and recent chart-topping remixes, including 'Heartbreak Hotel',''Hound Dog', 'Love Me Tender', 'Blue Suede Shoes', 'Jailhouse Rock', 'A Little Less Conversation', and 74 other iconic Presley hits. Discs one and two of Hitstory are made up of Elvis' 30 #1 Hits' and 'Elvis' 2nd To None. Disc three, The Story Continues, is a brand new compilation showcasing nineteen Top 20 singles from the Billboard Top 100

Elvis 30 #1 Hits

Elvis 2nd to None

The Story Continues

ChangesBowie...David Bowie

Known as "The Chameleon" of Rock music, David Bowie's career has seen many "changes". Starting in the early 1960's, he has created some of the most varied and always interesting music of his time and never fails to attract attention. This hits compilation contains 18 of the Thin White Duke's finest from 1969-1990. Includes 'Space Oddity', 'Changes', 'Suffragette City', 'Rebel Rebel', 'Young Americans', 'Golden Years', 'Ashes To Ashes', 'Let's Dance' and 'Blue Jean'.

ChangesBowie

River Rescue: The Very Best of Ry Cooder

Ry Cooder has many influences - from the early days as part of Taj Mahal's backing group (Ryland P Cooder, Rhythm Guitar) to the global success of Buena Vista Social Club. This collection pre-dates the latter and post-dates the former. It features 19 of his best tracks from his recordings on Warner from, 1972-1994. Includes 'Paris, Texas', 'Little Sister', 'The Pearls/ Tia Juana' and more!

Whether serving as a session musician, solo artist, or soundtrack composer, Ry Cooder's chameleon-like fretted instrument virtuosity, songwriting, and choices of material encompass an incredibly eclectic range of North American musical styles, including rock and roll, blues, reggae, Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, Dixieland jazz, country, folk, Rand B, gospel, and vaudeville. The 16-year-old Cooder began his career in 1963 in a blues band with Jackie DeShannon and then formed the short-lived Rising Sons in 1965 with Taj Mahal and Spirit drummer Ed Cassidy. Cooder met producer Terry Melcher through the Rising Sons and was invited to perform at several sessions with Paul Revere and the Raiders. During his subsequent career as a session musician, Cooder's trademark slide guitar work graced the recordings of such artists as Captain Beefheart (Safe as Milk), Randy Newman, Little Feat, Van Dyke Parks, the Rolling Stones (Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers), Taj Mahal, and Gordon Lightfoot. He also appeared on the soundtracks of Candy and Performance.

Cooder made his debut as a solo artist in 1970 with a self-titled album featuring songs by Leadbelly, Blind Willie Johnson, Sleepy John Estes, and Woody Guthrie. The follow-up, "Into the Purple Valley", introduced long time cohorts Jim Keltner on drums and Jim Dickinson on bass, and it and Boomer's Story largely repeated and refined the syncopated style and mood of the first. In 1974, Cooder produced what is generally regarded as his best album, Paradise and Lunch, and its follow-up, Chicken Skin Music, showcased a potent blend of Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, gospel, and soul music, and featured contributions from Flaco Jimenez and Gabby Pahinui. In 1979, Bop Till You Drop was the first major-label album to be recorded digitally. In the early '80s, Cooder began to augment his solo output with soundtrack work on such films as Blue Collar, The Long Riders, and The Border; he has gone on to compose music for Southern Comfort, Goin' South, Paris, Texas, Streets of Fire, Alamo Bay, Blue City, Crossroads, Cocktail, Johnny Handsome, Steel Magnolias, and Geronimo. Music by Ry Cooder (1995) compiled two discs' worth of highlights from Cooder's film work. (This biography was provided by the artist or their representative.)


1. River Come Down (PKA Bamboo)
2. UFO Has Landed In The Ghetto
3. Low-Commotion
4. Smack Dab In The Middle
5. Tattler
6. Dark End Of The Street
7. The Very Thing That Makes You Rich (Makes Me Poor)
8. Going Back To Okinawa
9. Money Honey
10. Why Don't You Try Me
11. Paris, Texas
12. Chloe
13. The Pearls/Tia Juana
14. I Think It's Going To Work Out Fine
15. Down In Hollywood
16. Which Came First
17. Crazy 'Bout An Automobile (Every Woman I Know)
18. Get Rhythm
19. Little Sister

Ry Cooder

Billie Holiday...Legacy (1933-1958)

 

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an African American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo.

Critic John Bush wrote that Holiday "changed the art of American pop vocals forever." She co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standards, notably "God Bless the Child", "Don't Explain", "Fine and Mellow", and "Lady Sings the Blues". She also became famous for singing "Easy Living", "Good Morning Heartache", and "Strange Fruit", a protest song which became one of her standards and was made famous with her 1939 recording. Music critic Robert Christgau called her "uncoverable, possibly the greatest singer of the century".

Her distinctive delivery made Billie Holiday's performances instantly recognizable throughout her career. A master of improvisation, Billie's well-trained ear more than compensated for her lack of music education. Her voice lacked range and was somewhat thin, plus years of excessive drug use eventually altered its texture and gave it a prepossessing fragility. The emotion with which she imbued each song remained not only intact but also profound. Her last major recording, a 1958 album entitled "Lady in Satin", features the backing of a 40-piece orchestra conducted and arranged by Ray Ellis. 

With few exceptions, every major pop singer in the US during her generation has been touched in some way by her genius. It is Billie Holiday who was, and still remains, the greatest single musical influence on me. Lady Day is unquestionably the most important influence on American popular singing in the last twenty years.

If you haven't heard or heard of Billie Holiday or "Lady Day" as she was affectionately known, then this 70 track collection of her finest recordings is a good place to start. Every track is a classic and there is no mistaking that unforgettable voice.....

Billie Holiday

Wikipedia Billie Holiday

                                      

The Hollies...All the Hits and More..The Definitive Collection

From 1963 through to the mid-70’s, the Hollies had more hits than the Beatles. In that period alone, they had 17 Top ten hits, while “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” gave them a second No 1 hit when re-released in 1988. “I’m Alive” had been their first chart topper back in 1965. At the heart of the band since 1963 are two original members, drummer Bobby Elliott and guitarist and singer Tony Hicks. Former members include Allan Clarke, Graham Nash and Pete Wingfield.They formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, although the majority of the band members came from towns in East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and early 1970s. They enjoyed considerable popularity in many countries. This 40 track compilation features all their hits and more..

The Hollies CD1

The Hollies CD2

                                          

                                              

The Band...To Kingdom Come..The Definitive Collection

For about six years, from 1968 through 1975, the Band was one of the most popular and influential rock groups in the world, their music embraced by critics (and, to a somewhat lesser degree, the public) as seriously as the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Their albums were analyzed and reviewed as intensely as any records by their one-time employer and sometime mentor Bob Dylan. For a long time, their personalities were as recognizable individually to the casual music public as the members of the Beatles.

They were famous as Bob Dylan's musicians but they also (eventually) had their own career, brilliantly represented on this collection, which includes extensive liner notes. The music they made on their own was very different to Bob's.This compilation is worth tracking down if you are interested in guitar rock music of the late sixties and early seventies. No subsequent compilation does as much justice to The Band as this one.

(text source: Amazon)

The Band CD1

The Band CD2

                                 

Carole King...Tapestry [Original Recording Remastered, Extra Tracks]

Carole King was one of the original Brill Building songwriters and with husband, and co-collaborator, Gerry Goffin, wrote some of the most memorable hits of the '60s. In 1971, she became more famous. That's the year Tapestry became one of the biggest-selling LPs of all time. It's easy to hear why--the music is loose, earthy, L.A. session-pop. King is casual, intimate, and tough; she covers all the emotional ground of the post-liberated woman with ease. She brings adult nuance to "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" and comes up with hits ("It's Too Late," "I Feel the Earth Move") whose white-soul realism and maturity put pop hits to shame. --Steve Tignor..(Amazon.com)

1. I Feel The Earth Move  

2. So Far Away  

3. It's Too Late  

4. Home Again  

5. Beautiful  

6. Way Over Yonder  

7. You've Got A Friend  

8. Where You Lead  

9. Will You Love Me Tomorrow? 

10. Smackwater Jack  

11.Tapestry  

12. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman  

13. Out In The Cold (Previously Unreleased)  

14. Smackwater Jack (Live)

Tapestry

                                 

Janis Joplin...Pearl

Amazon.com
Janis Joplin made the blues her own. Though she didn't live to finish this album before her 1970 death from a heroin overdose, her intense passion and frantic cries of pain and ecstasy were enough to make Pearl one of the most memorable recordings of her era. Her band does fill up some vinyl with the instrumental "Buried Alive in the Blues," but it's the vocals that make this album worth hearing these many decades later. Listen to the tortured heartbreak of "Cry Baby" or the hopeful declarations of Kris Kristofferson's "Me & Bobby McGee" and understand why Joplin remains an essential, if tragic, figure in pop. --Steve Appleford
1. Move Over 
2. Cry Baby 
3. A Woman Left Lonely 
4. Half Moon 
5. Buried Alive In The Blues 
6. My Baby 
7. Me And Bobby McGee 
8. Mercedes Benz 
9. Trust Me 
10. Get It While You Can 
11. Tell Mama (Live) 
12. Little Girl Blue (Live) 

Janis Joplin

 

 

 



                                                            

The Beatles...Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

What more can be said about this CLASSIC album? It usually tops any best albums of all time lists and people of all ages know about it and all the songs have been covered by numerous artists over the years. Certainly The Beatles' "masterpiece" and a definite essential for your collection.

Amazon.com

Before Sgt. Pepper, no one seriously thought of rock music as actual art. That all changed in 1967, though, when John, Paul, George and Ringo (with "A Little Help" from their friend, producer George Martin) created an undeniable work of art which remains, after 40-plus years, one of the most influential albums of all time. From Lennon's evocative word/sound pictures (the trippy "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," the carnival-like "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite") and McCartney's music hall-styled "When I'm 64," to Harrison's Eastern-leaning "Within You Without You," and the avant-garde mini-suite, "A Day in the Life," Sgt. Pepper was a milestone for both '60s music and popular culture. --Billy Altman

1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

2. With A Little Help From My Friends

3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

4. Getting Better

5. Fixing A Hole

6. She's Leaving Home

7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite

8. Within You Without You

9. When I'm Sixty Four

10. Lovely Rita

11. Good Morning Good Morning

12. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)

13. A Day In The Life

The Beatles Sgt Peppers LHCB

The Best of John Coltrane

This collection from one of the masters of Jazz contains 20 of his finest moments including "Blue Train", "My Favourite Things" and "A Love Supreme". Just play and chill!

Bio - Whether legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane was inverting bebop chord structures or inducing meditational depth with his complex melodies, he seemed to shift gears and gain new expertise with every passing year in the 1960s.

In the 50s, Coltrane played in Miles Davis’ ‘First Great Quintet’, and experienced a spiritual epiphany after kicking heroin in 1957 that inspired everything he played thereafter. The same year his first real solo album was released, Blue Train, before he played on Davis’ seminal Kind of Blue and released his second major solo work, Giant Steps. At this stage Coltrane was at the forefront of the innovative changes in jazz, moving from the usual hard-bop style to the modal form that Kind of Blue introduced. Coltrane took modal jazz and ran with it through the 60s - from My Favourite Things (1961) and Live at the Village Vanguard (1962), to Duke Ellington and John Coltrane (1962) and John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (1963), Coltrane produced innovative and complex jazz that divided the critics of the time, but is now accepted as era defining. In 1965, Coltrane and his quartet released his most famous record, the deeply spiritual A Love Supreme, which has since been regularly acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz albums ever.

After A Love Supreme, Coltrane became more interested in free jazz, as shown on the classic Ascension. After adding Pharoah Sanders to his band, Coltrane began to take hallucinogenic drugs and his music became more spaced-out, alienating some listeners. In 1967 Coltrane was diagnosed with liver cancer, and he died shortly afterwards at the age of 40, leaving a hugely influential legacy of jazz. His spirituality was influential too - in 1971 a San Francisco church began worshipping Coltrane as a saint. (This biography was provided by community contributors.)

John Coltrane 1

John Coltrane 2



                                                       

Creedence Clearwater Revival..Chronicle Vols. 1 & 2

Creedence Clearwater Revival (often known as just CCR) were a Californian band who were said to play a form of southern rock called 'swamp rock'. Led by John Fogerty, they had an incredible run of hits at their peak, scoring nine Top 10 hits between 1969 and 1971. Creedence had begun life in 1959 as The Blue Velvets and then The Golliwogs, without much success. 

In 1967 they changed their name, and the following year released an eponymous album Creedence Clearwater Revival, which featured a No.11 hit in “Suzie Q”. Follow-up Bayou Country went Top 10 and included the No.2 smash hit “Proud Mary”. Their third album Green River (1969) was widely praised and spun two hit singles, “Bad Moon Rising” and “Green River”, both of which matched “Proud Mary” in reaching No.2. Willy and the Poor Boys was another hit with critics and fans, spawning two more No.5 singles. Their fifth album, Cosmo’s Factory (1970) topped the album charts and produced an incredible five Top.5 singles. There is much debate among fans and critics about which of these three albums is their best, with Cosmo’s Factory perhaps slightly edging it with most listeners. After two more albums, the adventurous Pendulum (1970) and Mardi Gras (1972), CCR broke up. (This biography was provided by community contributors and accessed from Amazon)

Chronicle Vol.1

Chronicle Vol.2

                                     

                                        

Ray Charles...The Classic Years

R'n'B innovator Ray Charles was one of the most important musicians of the 1950's. Despite being blind from childhood, he was hugely successful at fusing elements of blues, country, gospel and doo-wop together to form a kind of proto-soul.

Despite losing his sight at an early age, he never let his disability stop him from being a success and scored several Rn'B chart hits in the early 50s –- including “It Should Have Been Me”, “Mess Around”, “I Got a Woman” and “Lonely Avenue” -– all recorded on Atlantic Records. These songs were among the early blueprints for soul music, alongside the work of artists like James Brown and Sam Cooke. In 1959 Charles enjoyed his biggest hit yet, when “What I’d Say” topped the R'n'B chart and reached No.6 in the main singles chart.

After leaving Atlantic for a better contract at ABC Records, Charles enjoyed more crossover successes, including the pained ballad “Georgia on my Mind”, the swinging pop chart-topper “Hit the Road Jack”, and the pleading “Unchain My Heart”. His 1962 record, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, was a smash hit, topping the album charts for 12 weeks. It is remembered as one of the greatest albums of the early 60s.

Ray Charles 1

Ray Charles 2

Ray Charles 3

                  


                     

Sam Cooke..The Man and his Music

A 28-track best-of giving conclusive proof that soul's doomed golden boy was a singer of exquisite control and grace. Opening with a couple of Soul Stirrers gospel gems, The Man & His Music packs together most of Cooke's great pop sides, from the airily lovely "You Send Me" all the way to the majestic "A Change Is Gonna Come." Some of the cuts are more twee than others--it's rare that he touches the soulful pinnacles of "Bring It on Home to Me" or "That's Where It's At," and too often he descends to dross like "When a Boy Falls in Love." Even on the more winsome hits, though, he remains a peerless vocal artist. And when you finally get to "Change," it's hard not to feel despair at Cooke's premature death. --Barney Hoskyns...Amazon.com

1. Touch the Hem of His Garment
2. That's Heaven to Me
3. I'll Come Running Back to You
4. You Send Me
5. Win Your Love (For Me)
6. Just for You
7. Chain Gang
8. When a Boy Falls in Love
9. Only Sixteen
10. Wonderful World
11. Cupid
12. Nothing Can Change This Love
13. Rome (Wasn't Built in a Day)
14. Love Will Find a Way
15. Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha
16. Another Saturday Night
17. Meet Me at Mary's Place
18. Having a Party
19. Good Times
20. Twistin' the Night Away
21. Shake
22. Somebody Have Mercy
23. Sad Mood
24. Ain't That Good News
25. Bring It on Home to Me
26. Soothe Me
27. That's Where It's At
28. A Change Is Gonna Come

Sam Cooke

                                                        

The Best of Booker T. and The MG's

These four gentlemen, Booker T. Jones (organ, piano), Steve Cropper (guitar), Lewie Steinberg (bass)(Steinberg was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1965), and Al Jackson, Jr.(drums), may have been the most important players in all of soul music. They were an interracial group before it was popular or even accepted. They formed the core of the house backing-band at Stax Records, wrote classic soul songs, and discovered and produced artists at Stax. As this compilation makes very clear, they recorded great songs in their own right. All instrumentals, the MGs wrote their own classics-"Green Onions," "Time Is Tight"--and interpreted others--"Groovin'," "Hang 'Em High." The contemporary sound and feel of these vintage tracks proves what visionaries they were. --Robert Gordon..Amazon.com

1. Green Onions
2. Mo' Onions
3. Jellybread
4. Tic-Tac-Toe
5. Soul Dressing
6. Terrible Thing
7. Can't Be Still
8. Boot-Leg
9. Summertime
10. Be My Lady
11. Red Beans And Rice
12. My Sweet Potato
13. Booker-Loo
14. Hip Hug-Her
15. Slim Jenkins' Place
16. Groovin'

Booker T and The MG's

As It All Began...The Best of John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers 1964-1969

"The Father of British Blues" himself chose and annotated the 20 tracks that comprise this look at his early years, and when you consider Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Paul Butterfield, Mick Fleetwood and Mick Taylor all passed through the band during this era, the honorific is well-earned!

 1. Crawling Up A Hill
 2. Mr. James
 3. Heartache
 4. Crocodile Walk
 5. Blues City Shake Down
 6. Lonely Years
 7. Bernard Jenkins
 8. All Your Love
 9. Parchman Farm
10. Looking Back
11. A Hard Road
12. Eagle Eye
13. Double Trouble
14. Broken Wings
15. The Death Of J.B. Lenoir
16. Me And My Woman
17. Suspicions
18. Picture On The Wall
19. Miss James
20. Start Walkin'

John Mayall 

                                

The Best of Aretha Franklin

“There are singers,” said Ray Charles, “then there is Aretha. She towers above the rest. Others are good, but Aretha is great. She’s my only sure-enough sister.” Since the moment Aretha stepped to the pulpit at her father’s famed New Bethel Baptist Church as a young girl singing in the great gospel tradition, the world has recognized her as a musical miracle. Aretha Franklin's first collection of hits is represented with this CD, which was originally released in 1968. Many of her best songs from the 1960s are here: "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" (#9 in 1967), "Respect" (#1 for 2 weeks in 1967), "Chain of Fools" (#2 in 1968), "Think" (#7 in 1968), and "I Say a Little Prayer" (#10 in 1968).

1. Chain of Fools
2. I Say a Little Prayer
3. Natural Woman, A (You Make Me Feel Like)
4. Think
5. Rock Steady
6. Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)
7. Respect
8. Spanish Harlem
9. Dr. Feelgood
10. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
11. I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
12. Save Me

Aretha Franklin