This Jay McShann/Duke Ellington vocalist forged a solo career as the '50s arrived, and that's what's covered here: 75 tracks including most of his A- and B-sides for Aladdin, Sunrise/Miracle, Chess,... more

Bobby was just 23 when the first of these recordings were made and was still leading his own band (which he'd been doing since he was 16). These 52 tracks comprise all his As and Bs for Bobby,... more

Before she scored a streak of pop hits on both sides of the Atlantic during the second half of the '50s, Jane Morgan studied at Juilliard and trained to be an opera singer before supporting herself... more

There weren't always five Pennies, as this trumpeter/cornetist led a wide variety of small groups and early swing orchestras during his hugely successful career in the '20s and '30s. This low-priced... more

Only a tragic backstage gun accident could have halted the rise of this wonderfully talented singer/pianist, who worked with B.B. King and Bobbie "Blue" Bland before taking off as a solo artist. Here... more

It's a cold, hard fact that some groups are crucial to their genre but aren't a big part of its chart history. Such was true for the Harptones, one of the greatest doo-wop groups but the owners of... more

The calypso king rode to fame on that wave that he started, but it quickly became clear that Belafonte could positively own a blues classic, jazz standard, folk tune, gospel song…anything he took on.... more

That price should have you singing with glee, as one of the all-time great crooners gets an anthology that's as comprehensive as he was prolific. These 126 tracks include every 1943–62 Perry Como hit... more

This brilliant piano virtuoso made his first records for RCA in his native Canada, then got the attention of Norman Granz and started recording for Clef/Mercury in NY. That's the breakthrough period... more

Erroll Garner was one of the most distinctive jazz piano stylists of the post-war era, his approach transcending the emerging sub-genres of modern jazz, although his music was rooted in swing and he... more

You've heard Dion's solo and Belmonts smashes on the Laurie label—they're only some of the greatest classics of the original rock 'n' roll era. But what about the early singles he put out on the... more

Leo Reisman was a violinist and bandleader whose orchestra initially came to popularity in the 1920s as a society orchestra performing at New York's Central Park Casino, becoming one of the first... more

Guitarist, singer and songwriter Lightnin' Slim (real name Otis Hicks) was born in Louisiana in 1913 and was a pioneer and first prominent exponent of the "Swamp Blues" style, coming relatively late... more

Mary Wells occupies a unique niche in pop music in that she was the first female artist on any of Motown's labels to have a hit record, and she remained as the vanguard in that regard until leaving... more

Tex Williams was one of the leading figures in the distinctive sub-genre of country known as Western Swing, beginning his career as the vocalist in the highly successful band of Spade Cooley during... more

The Wilburn Brothers were a popular and successful country duo whose chart career spanned fifteen years, during which they had more than fifteen hits in the Billboard country charts. Hailing from... more

This cherished jazz/big-band singer was active into the '80s, but these 3 CDs zero in on her '30s/'40s early prime. You'll hear 75 career-making performances with Claude Thornhill, Charlie Shavers,... 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

This prolific singing cowboy balanced his screen career with copious sessions for Decca and Capitol. These 84 A- and B-sides cover both periods: his early Decca smash "I'm Sending You Red Roses," his... more

What a smooth customer Mayfield was, crooning with a velvet touch and writing classics for himself as well as his longtime associate Ray Charles. Here are just about all the A- and B-sides from his... more

These live '55 performances were later released by Blue Note, and this new 2-CD set adds three studio tracks that this lineup recorded at their first session together in November 1954 (those were... more

This continues the strand of R&B and country collections associated with Acrobat's highly popular "America's Greatest Hits" series, this one focusing on the top R&B records in the US Billboard charts... more

Along with Bessie Smith, Gertrude "Ma" Rainey has come to be recognised as one of the towering figures of early blues, pioneering the recording of blues by female artists during the earliest years of... more

The Chordettes were one of the female vocal groups who epitomised the style and atmosphere of early '50s popular music but who continued to have pop hits through into the rock 'n' roll era following... more