There are a whole lotta reasons why Jerry Lee Lewis was branded "The First Wild Man of Rock" and gained the nickname "The Killer". An outrageous, controversial, and over-the-top character, he was... more

With their distinctive heavenly harmonies and roots firmly embedded in country music, The Everly Brothers were at the forefront of the Rock 'n' Roll revolution of the fifties. Born two years apart... more

The Staple Singers were one of gospel music's most unique and best-known family groups. Thanks to leading lady Mavis Staples powerhouse of a voice, they went on to have soul chart success in the... more

Duane Eddy - Dance With The Guitar Man: Greatest Hits 1958-62 - Duane Eddy's guitar was the sound of the instrumental hits of rock 'n' roll music in the late fifties and early sixties. This... more

Muddy Waters was one of the most important figures in post-war blues, influencing some of the most significant rock musicians of his era. He was one of the most prominent, in a relatively small... more

Ray Charles was one of the most iconic and influential artists in the annals of pop as a singer, songwriter and pianist, and while he is considered one of the godfathers and great innovators of soul... more

Joan Baez is one of the most revered and important names in contemporary folk music, a pioneer of the protest movement in the 1960 alongside Bob Dylan and others, and an artist whose peerless voice... more

Frankie Lymon was just 14 years old when he burst onto the scene as leader of an R&B doowop group in the wake of the first flush of rock 'n' roll in the charts during the mid-50s, and the... more

Perhaps more than any other artist, Ruth Brown helped lead the way in bridging the gap between R&B and pop as far as female artists were concerned, paving the way for the likes of Mary Wells and... more

Trumpeter Miles Davis was without doubt one of the most important and influential jazz musicians of the post-war era, not only as a pioneer of the bebop movement but through being at the forefront of... more

Ritchie Valens was one of leading lights in what became known as the Chicano style of rock - music from the Mexican-American community of the USA, often sung in Spanish and heavily influenced by R&B,... more

Led by the legendary singer and songwriter Smokey Robinson, The Miracles were one of the first groups to sign to Berry Gordy's newly-established Tamla label in 1959, and went to become one of... more

The Staple Singers are one of the most celebrated and respected groups to have graced the gospel landscape in the post-war era, their music transcending the boundaries of the genres so that they... more

Nina Simone was one of the most distinctive, individual and complex musical personalities of the second half of the 20th century, her music starting out from the base of the classical music she... more

Roy Orbison was one of the most talented and distinctive singers and songwriters of the rock 'n' roll era and beyond, with a unique and original approach to writing songs and a remarkable and... more

He belted it out like an opera singer, he helped give birth to soul, he lit up the stage like no performer before or since…he was the incredible Jackie Wilson, and these are all his Brunswick A- and... more

Bill Haley's place in rock 'n' roll history hardly needs underlining, but suffice to say that his landmark No. 1 hit with "Rock Around The Clock" in 1955 was one of the most significant records in... more

The Flamingos were one of the many doowop vocal groups of the 1950s whose group name was borrowed from that of a bird - The Robins, The Penguins, The Orioles and The Ravens were among the others.... more

Etta James is widely regarded as one of the finest female blues, R&B and soul singers of the modern era, second only in some eyes to Aretha Franklin - Atlantic's Jerry Wexler called her "the greatest... more

For several decades Aretha Franklin has enjoyed the accolade of being called "The Queen Of Soul", a position that was cemented by her landmark 1967 pop and R&B No. 1 "Respect". However, her career as... more

The sub-genre of guitar instrumental hits is a fascinating musical strand of rock 'n' roll, with Duane Eddy representing it's primary high-profile chart vanguard, but it was with groups like The... more

The rockin', up-tempo R&B numbers, the smooth, seductive ballads…every A- and B-side by Harvey Fuqua and his Moonglows, one of the most influential doo-wop groups of 'em all. Their biggest smash,... more

"Be-Bop-A-Lula," of course, is the immortal rockabilly classic that made Gene Vincent an icon of early rock 'n' roll—but he had a whole heap of other killer cuts, too, and here are well over two and... more

The Coasters were one of the vocal groups of the '50s and early '60s who bridged the gap between the doowop and R&B eras of the early '50s through to the rock 'n' roll explosion and beyond, with a... more

The Hook recorded foot-stomping, gritty-guitar, deep-voiced boogie-blues classics for all those labels in and around the '50s. With its price, its 101 tracks and its plethora of essential classics,... more