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Widely perceived as "The First Female Guitar Hero" (although the concept "Guitar Hero" wouldn't exist for forty years) LIZZIE "Memphis Minnie" DOUGLAS was one of the most popular Blues artistes of... more

Just fifteen years of age when he wrote and recorded the multi-million-selling worldwide smash 'Diana', in 1957, former child prodigy PAUL ANKA was perhaps predestined to become a major star. He was,... more

The doyen of jazz critics, Leonard Feather praised Ella as "one of the great individualists of modern blues singing" yet the unique Ella Johnson is now largely forgotten among the bigger names of the... more

From 'office boy' at a North Texas radio station to one of the top record producers in post-rock 'n' roll era America in under four years is a formidable achievement by anyone's standards - and... more

One of the most popular and versatile artists of his era, MARTY ROBBINS was a genuine one-off. Although nominally a Country singer he consistently crossed musical boundaries, embracing diverse... more

THE FLEETWOODS, With Their Gentle, Oft-Wistful Signature Harmonies, Took The U. S. Charts By Storm During 1959 With A Pair Of Million-Selling, U. S. #1 Records, 'Come Softly To Me' And 'Mr Blue'.... more

By far the classiest, most versatile singer of his era, Bobby Darin was a unique, wholly remarkable talent. He carved out parallel careers as an R&R singer/songwriter, a teen idol, an... more

Recognisable by his plaintive, crying, singing style and "broken" voice, Sleepy John Estes was one of the great Country Blues pioneers. Estes recorded a memorable body of work, much of it during the... more

These classic SHADOWS' sides are drawn from EPs issued in the UK, France and South Africa between 1959 and 62. We steer clear of their most well-known hits in favour of more modest chart-riders,... more

Johnny & The Hurricanes Had A Unique, Unmistakable Sound, Built On Johnny Paris's Sax And Paul Tesluk's Hammond Organ, And Their Hit Records Stand Up As A Near Faultless Body Of Work. Featuring An... more

Ferrante and Teicher are probably the highest selling piano duo of all time, having sold ninety million LPs. Grand Twins Of The Grand Pianos contains their seven Hot 100 chart entries, their two UK... more

One of R&R's most enduring, larger-than-life characters, the late Ronnie Hawkins earned himself many nicknames over the years, e. g. 'Rompin' Ronnie', 'Mr Dynamo', and 'The Hawk'. And although he had... more

One of the few artists covered by both the Beatles and the Stones, this raucous rock 'n' roll/R&B shouter was groomed by Specialty to be its next Little Richard. He got off to a fast start, but a... more

Freddy Cole was the youngest of four brothers - Eddie (1910-1970), Nat (1919-1965), Ike (1927-2001), and Freddy (1931-2020) - who all played piano and sang, with similar timbres in their voices.... more

John Alvin Ray was arguably the biggest male American star of the pre-rock 'n' roll 1950s, his full on emotional style (evolved in part thanks to his hearing difficulties) landing him a series of... more

BUDDY HOLLY belongs to that select group of artists whose importance and influence eclipse the need for statistical corroboration. Indeed, given that no one has ever recorded an absolutely 100%... more

• One-time lead singer of The Lamplighters (aka The Sharps), Thurston Harris left for a solo career in 1957. His first solo release (on which he was backed by The Sharps) was the million-selling... more