The Soul Stirrers - Never Turn Back: The Singles Collection 1940-49 / The Soul Stirrers were one of the most noted gospel groups of the post-war decades, although they were formed as long ago as the 1930s, becoming one of the innovative groups during the 1940s who moved from the traditional "flatfooted" highly arranged quartet style towards the freer "hard gospel" style of the new era. They are perhaps most famous for the period during the 1950s when the future soul legend Sam Cooke was with the group and got a hugely significant grounding the business, but among cognoscenti they are equally renowned for this period, when their lead singer was Rebert "R.H." Harris, who introduced the "swing lead" style as two singers exchanged lead vocals to build emotional intensity. This 48-track 2-CD collection comprises releases on the Bronze, Down Beat, Harlem and 20th Century labels during this era followed by most of their substantial body of recordings made for the Aladdin label from 1947 to 1949 before they joined the Specialty label, and were joined by Sam Cooke. They were one of the most influential gospel groups of the day and this collection offers, we hope, a substantial, inspiring and uplifting showcase for their bold and distinctive approach to gospel music during what was a golden era for the genre.

He is a stylish and fluent improviser and these early titles are an enjoyable showcase for his distinctive approach to jazz guitar.- Kenny Burrell is an American modern jazz guitarist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in 1931 and still alive at the age of 94 as these notes are being written. Making his recording debut in 1951, he became a valued and versatile sideman, recording and performing prolifically for over 65 years through to 2015, in a huge variety of recording settings. He also recorded and performed leading his own bands, and quite early in his career recorded a number of sessions under his own name for Alfred Lion's Blue Note label, from which came his first albums, all taking advantage of the opportunity for extended performances on the new LP format. This 21- track 2-CD set comprises titles from those sessions for Blue Note during his early years as a bandleader, and features all the titles from the Blue Note albums "Introducing Kenny Burrell", "Kenny Burrell" and "Blue Lights Vol. 1" and most of the titles from the album "Blue Lights Vol. 2". Musicians in his groups include tenor saxophonist Frank Foster, pianists Tommy Flanagan, Duke Jordan and Bobby Timmons, bassists Oscar Pettiford, Paul Chambers and Sam Jones, drummers Shadow Wilson, Kenny Clarke and Art Blakey, trumpeter Louis Smith, tenor saxophonists Frank Foster, Junior Cook and Tina Brooks and percussionist Candido Camero. He is a stylish and fluent improviser and these early titles are an enjoyable showcase for his distinctive approach to jazz guitar.

Earl Coleman - Early Years: The Collection 1946-56 / Earl Coleman was one of a coterie of fine African-American jazz and R&B crooners who came to the fore during the post-war era, and which included Nat King Cole, Billy Eckstine, Johnny Hartman, and later examples like Brook Benton. Unlike some of those artists, however, his career never quite scaled the heights that his talent promised or merited, although he made some excellent records with notable artists along the way. This 2-CD collection comprises as many of his recordings we could amass - he was not a prolific recording artist, and some of his sides are hard to locate, and his work has not been very thoroughly compiled over the years. It features a significant proportion of his studio recordings during this era, both on singles for the Dial, Atlantic, Mercury, Jade and Prestige labels, and albums, including the titles from his album for the Prestige label "Earl Coleman Returns" and his performances with the Sonny Rollins Quartet for the Rollins' album "Tour de Force". Other notable bandleaders and musicians featured in the recordings are Miles Davis, Gene Ammons, Charlie Parker, Erroll Garner, Milt Jackson, Red Callender, Howard McGhee, Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke, Junior Mance, Linton Garner, Fats Navarro, Art Farmer, Gigi Gryce, Hank Jones, Oscar Pettiford, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach and other noted musicians. The willingness of those stars to invite him to record with them underlines the respect in which he was held. It's a collection which offers a rare showcase for a stylish performer who should have had much more success and recognition than he enjoyed over the years.

Little Walter Jacobs was blues harmonica player, singer, songwriter and occasional guitarist who revolutionised the way that the harmonica was played and recorded, bringing a new dimension to the blues during the 1950s. He was one of the first artists to amplify his harmonica by holding it to a microphone and maybe the first artist on any instrument deliberately to use electronic distortion as part of his range of sounds. He was a member of Muddy Waters' band, appearing on many of his records during the 1950s, but from 1952 recorded for the Chess subsidiary Checker, his releases regularly featuring a harmonica-led instrumental on one side and a vocal performance on the others. He scored an R&B No. 1 with his first solo single "Juke", and another one a few years later with what became a staple of blues bands the world over "My Babe". Little Walter became the only harmonica player to be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame. This great value 52-track collection, with extensive booklet notes plus comprehensive discographical, chart, session and personnel information, comprises all of his Checker A & B sides from 1952 to 1960 plus two bonus tracks from 1961 and 1962, and includes all of his 15 R&B chart hits

American songstress Kitty Kallen had a remarkable career, starting in the swing era of the late '30s and extending beyond the rock 'n' roll explosion of the '50s into the early '60s, racking up a lengthy run of hits spanning two decades. She began her career as a singer with some of the most popular orchestras of the swing and big band years - Jack Teagarden, Jimmy Dorsey, Harry James and briefly with Artie Shaw - and with the Dorsey and James outfits enjoyed a dozen hits during the early '40s, including three No. 1s. As a solo artist she readily found a niche in the mainstream pop world of the late '40s and early '50s, scoring many more hits, with the career highlight being a No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with "Little Things mean A Lot" in 1954. She was able to maintain her popularity and profile on radio and TV through the '50s despite the rapid changes in popular taste, updating her style to ensure she had hits into the 1960s. This great-value 51-track collection covers the breadth of her career from her recording debut with Jack Teagarden in 1939, through to her last Top 20 hit in 1962, naturally including all her 31 Billboard and Cashbox chart entries, and provides an admirable showcase for her distinctive talent.

We continue our popular and successful series devoted to the biggest chart records of each calendar year in the early chart era as we focus on 1942, the second full calendar year of the Billboard Best Sellers chart - the chart was launched in July 1940. This great value 85-track 4-CD set comprises every record which appeared in the Best Sellers Top 10 during the year - the chart was restricted to ten places in those days. The big names of the swing era were very much in evidence, and the year started with Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo Choo" at No. 1 and finished Dinah Shore's "Dearly Beloved" with occupying the top spot. In between, a host of other big names made their presence felt - Jimmy Dorsey, Harry James, Tommy Dorsey, Bing Crosby, Benny Goodman and others - alongside many highly collectable lesser-known records by some artists we don't hear too much about these days like Kay Kyser and Alvino Rey. It makes for an intriguing and very entertaining musical snapshot of a year when the USA had become fully embroiled in WWII and there were plenty of patriotic and sentimental wartime hits to give a period flavour, with prolific hitmaker Glenn Miller epitomising that particular strand. It includes a 10,000+ word booklet with a commentary on every record as well as full discographical and chart information

Very few instrumentalists can match the chart success of American pianist Roger Williams, who had well over thirty chart entries during his career, and came to fame with his 1955 debut hit "Autumn Leaves", which remains the only piano instrumental to reach No. 1 in the Billboard pop charts, selling over two million copies in the process. A classically-trained pianist, who also studied jazz piano at New York's renowned Juilliard School of Music, he was signed to the Kapp label after winning a talent contest, and was launched to fame with his second release for the label. This great-value 51-track 2-CD collection is drawn entirely from his A and B sides released by Kapp during the period, with the majority of his releases during the period represented by at least one side, with both the A and B sides of many of his releases included. It naturally includes all of the eighteen Billboard or Cash Box chart entries he achieved during this era, notably the Top 10 hit "Near You" as well as "Autumn Leaves", and features his versions of many of the fine melodies of the times such as "The Warsaw Concerto (The World Outside)", "Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1" and "The Skater's Waltz", characterised by lush orchestral accompaniments, plus his hit duet with singer Jane Morgan "Two Different Worlds".

Guitarist, singer and songwriter T-Bone Walker was one of the most important and influential pioneers of the electric blues sound, specially the style most closely associated with the West Coast - he was one of the first to amplify his guitar, which he had done by 1940, and was a key influence on B.B. King and Chuck Berry. This 2014 collection is about as comprehensive an anthology of his most important recordings as it is possible to achieve. It comprises 124 tracks in a terrific value 5-CD set, and effectively encompasses every track he recorded through to the end of the 1950s. Beginning with two early tracks recorded in 1929, it includes important performances from the early '40s with other leaders' bands before the many sessions he recorded under his own name for the Black & White, Capitol, Comet and Imperial labels through to the mid-'50s, along with the tracks from the LP "T-Bone Blues" which he recorded for Atlantic in 1956-7, and which many consider his finest work. It naturally includes the blues standards and chart hits for which he is best known, such as "Call it Stormy Monday", "Bobby Sox Blues" and "West End Blues". It is a fine showcase for his distinctive guitar style and sound, and an ideal purchase for anyone wanting a thorough insight.

Don Cherry was one of the relatively few big band vocalists of the late '40s who not only built a successful career as a solo performer through the era of traditional middle-of-the-road popular music during the early '50s but made the successful transition to have hits in the years after rock 'n' roll had transformed the pop landscape. He also found time to enjoy a parallel career as a top class amateur golfer and was in contention to win the 1960 US Open. This great-value 75-track 3-CD set comprises selected A and B sides for Decca and Columbia from across the first and most successful decade of his career, from his recording debut with the Victor Young orchestra in 1950 through to the end of the 1950s, by which time he had had made his final appearance in the pop Hot 100. It includes his Top 5 hits "Thinking Of You" and "Band Of Gold" along with all his other chart entries from this era. It includes performances with the orchestras of Artie Shaw, Camarata, Gordon Jenkins, Percy Faith, Norman Leyden and Ray Conniff, and it offers not only a fascinating insight into the development of his style through a dynamic decade in popular music but also an enjoyable showcase for his versatile but distinctive vocal talent.

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 artists alongside more obscure hits by artists that never saw the light of day outside the US, such as Billy Grammer, Travis & Bob, Phil Phillips with the Twilights, Jerry Wallace with the Jewels and the Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny.

We continue our popular and successful series devoted to the biggest chart records of each calendar year in the early chart era as we focus on 1941, the first full year of the Billboard Best Sellers chart - the chart was launched in July 1940. This great value 91-track 4-CD set comprises every record which appeared in the Best Sellers Top 10 during the year, which was the first complete calendar year of the sales chart. The big names of the swing era were very much in evidence, and the year started with Artie Shaw's "Frenesi" at No. 1 and finished with Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo Choo" occupying the top spot. In between, a host of other big names made their presence felt - Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore and others - alongside many highly collectable lesser-known records by some artists we don't hear too much about these days. It makes for an intriguing and very entertaining musical snapshot of a year when the USA was enjoying the calm before the storm of Pearl Harbour in December of that year. It includes a 10,000 word booklet with a commentary on every record as well as full discographical and chart information.

Despite the fact that his career was curtailed in 1963 by a fatal heart attack when he was only 45, Elmore James was an extremely influential figure in the development of blues guitar, both but virtue of his highly distinctive sound, which he consciously developed by building his own combination of a modified hollow-bodied guitar and custom pick-ups, but also his hit with a version of Robert Johnson's "Dust My Broom", which has become one of the most ubiquitously performed and recorded tunes in blues. This 52-track 2-CD collection comprises the A and B sides of every single he released from his debut on the small Trumpet label with the aforementioned classic in 1951 through to a few months before his death, during which time he recorded for the Meteor, Flair, Modern, Chief, Fire and Chess labels. A host of high profile guitarists have readily cited Elmore James as an influence and performed his material over the years, despite his relatively modest body of work, including Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and George Thorogood. This collection is an ideal introduction to his work.

Clarinettist and bandleader Woody Herman was one of the leading figures of the swing era and beyond, with his various bands, generally known as "Herman's Herd", being known for the force and originality of their music, which was often cutting edge and experimental for it's time. However, his records were always very popular, and regularly featured in the Billboard charts from the 1930s through to the 1950s. This collection, unusually perhaps for jazz music, focuses on those chart hits, and primarily comprises the 34 chart hits he had, which included the No. 1 hit "Blues In The Night" and the Top 5 hits "Laura" and "Caldonia". Herman himself was a noted vocalist, and he features as a singer on some of these titles, while others provide a showcase for two of his female singers during the '40s, Frances Wayne and Muriel Lane. Alongside those hits, and interspersed within the chronological presentation of the 44 recordings in the 2-CD collection, are other titles which were not hits, but which are recognised by commentators and critics and being among his most interesting and notable recordings, such as his suite, with Igor Stravinsky conducting, called "The Ebony Concerto". The range of material in this anthology provides a fascinating overview of the Herman's innovative, but always fresh and entertaining music during this dynamic era in jazz and popular music.

Jimmy Smith was one of the first musicians to use the Hammond organ in jazz and popular music, taking it up in 1951 and establishing a formidable reputation in Philadelphia, before coming to prominence with his 1956 appearances at New York's CafA© Bohemia., followed by dates and Birdland and the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, cementing his place as the pioneer of the Hammond in jazz and R&B. After occasional recordings early in the '50s, he recorded regularly with his own trio from 1956, and this collection chronicles that first decade of his career as he effectively established a sub-genre within popular music, recording prolifically for Blue Note while touring regularly, becoming a favourite with club audiences, who enjoyed the crossover feel of his music, incorporating contemporary rhythm and blues styles with sophisticated bop influences, as he used the organ to create a group sound in what became a familiar trio line-up with guitar and drums. This great value 4-CD set, includes tracks from most of his significant sessions and albums along with some 'live' recordings, and it provides an excellent overview of both the best-known and perhaps less familiar work from the formative decade of a career that lasted half a century, and is a great introduction to one of the influential and innovative figures in jazz and R&B in the post-war era.

MODERN CHESS & VEEJAY SINGLES COLLECTION 1949-62 - John Lee Hooker is one of the true giants of blues, ranking alongside the likes of other post-war greats such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf as one of the artists who contributed massively to the development of the genre. His driving boogie style has become an essential element of the way blues is played in the modern era. He took the simple structures of Delta blues, sometimes using one and two-chord compositions, but added a fierce, relentless and hypnotically rhythmic approach, underling the rawness of the messages in his songs. He was one of the blues artists who exerted a substantial influence on emerging stars in the rock 'n' roll era, from Bob Dylan through to Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, and his legacy resonates through the rock music of the last half-century. He recorded prolifically under a number of names, but this great value 101-track 4-CD collection focuses on the singles he released under his own name (or in the case of some Chess singles, as John Lee Booker) on the Modern, Chess and VeeJay labels from 1949 through to 1962. It naturally includes his big R&B hits during that period - "Boogie Chillen", "Crawlin' King Snake", "Hobo Blues", "Hoogie Boogie", "I'm In The Mood", "Boom Boom" and "Dimples", some of which have become blues and R&B standards. Includes comprehensive booklet with full discographical and session information. It's a thorough overview of his output during what was perhaps the key era of his career, and a fine showcase for his unique talent.

Chester Burnett, better known as Howlin' Wolf, was one of the most important and influential figures in Chicago Blues through the 1950s, and along with Muddy Waters helped to establish the electric blues style that laid the foundations for rock music in subsequent decades. With his imposing physical presence and loud, almost fearsome voice, he was a powerful and impressive performer, who wrote and popularised songs which have become classic standards of the genre, like "Spoonful", "Smokestack Lightning", "Killing Floor" and "Red Rooster", which became fixtures in the repertoire of bands like The Rolling Stones, who very much championed his cause and widened his reputation in the latter years of his career. This collection brings together both sides of all the singles he released through the RPM and Chess labels during the first hugely important decade of his career, along with bonus tracks comprising recordings made at sessions during this period which were not released as singles at the time. It's a great-value 80-track 3-CD set, which showcases one of the major personalities of the blues.

Ivie Anderson was a jazz singer who was so versatile and highly regarded that she was the longest-serving female vocalist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, occupying that exacting role from 1932 through to 1942, a vital and exciting formative era for Ellington's music. Born in 1905, she began performing in her native Los Angeles in 1921, and by 1925 was singing at New York's famous Cotton Club and toured with stage musicals, before joining Earl Hines in 1930. She was soon hired by the Duke, and enjoyed a lengthy stay with him, as he made the most of her fine jazz feel, and her ability to work across a range of styles and material, from highly original renditions of up-tempo material like her much-lauded recording of "It Don't Mean A Thing" to sensitive treatments of ballads like "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good" which place her alongside the likes of much better known peers as Billie Holiday. This great value 50-track 2-CD set primarily comprises recordings with the Ellington orchestra for the Brunswick, Columbia, RCA-Victor, Variety & Master labels across the era, including the 1942 pop and R&B hits "I Got It Bad" and "Hayfoot, Strawfoot", plus later solo recordings for the Excello and Black & White labels, including her 1944 hit "Mexico Joe". It also includes a version with Duke of "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" which she performed in the 1942 Marx Brothers movie "A Day At The Races". It's a thoroughly enjoyable and, we hope, nicely representative overview of the most important period of her career and a fine showcase for a distinctive performer who has not received the recognition her talent merits.

Nancy Wilson is one of the finest vocalists to emerge in the post-war era to take over the mantle of great jazz, cabaret and pop singers such as Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee, and compete with them on their own terms. Achieving her early recognition in the era when the long-playing stereo album was becoming a universal format, she was always primarily an album artist, especially with her focus being as much on jazz and easy listening as the pure pop market, although she had chart success in the pop, R&B and adult contemporary markets from the '60s through to the '90s. This collection takes a thorough look at the formative years of her career, comprising as it does her complete performances on five LPs - "Like In Love", recorded in 1956 when she was just 19, "Something Wonderful", "The Swinging's Mutual" with jazz pianist George Shearing, the equally jazz-oriented "Nancy Wilson With Cannonball Adderley", and "Hello Young Lovers". In addition, it includes an early single with R&B artist Rusty Bryant, two of her singles from 1960 and a couple of very jazzy 'live' performances from 1961. It showcases the breadth and distinctiveness of her talent, and her sophisticated artistry even in these early days, as she delivers material across the jazz, blues and pop spectrum

June Christy was one of an elite coterie of singers during the post-war decade who readily spanned the big band, cool jazz, and sophisticated pop genres. This great-value 49-track 2-CD set comprises a significant proportion of the studio and 'live' recordings she made with Kenton's orchestra.

Maxine Sullivan was a stylish and versatile jazz and big band singer who was active in music for over half a century into the 1980s but whose most important recordings were during the first decade or so of her career from the late '30s through the 1940s. She came to the fore as vocalist with Claude Thornhill's innovative orchestra, and had a surprise hit with a version of the traditional song "Loch Lomond" which established a professional style and profile which enabled her to work as a solo artist, accompanied not only by Thornhill but by some of the other important names of that era, including John Kirby, Frankie Newton, Charlie Shavers, Bobby Hackett, Teddy Wilson, Benny Carter and Ellis Larkins. This excellent-value 75-track 3-CD set comprises a significant proportion of her recordings from these years as she recorded for the Vocalion, Brunswick, Victor, Bluebird, Decca, Davis, Musicraft, DeLuxe, International and Apollo labels, encompassing performances across the jazz spectrum from big band to sessions in an intimate trio environment, as well as sophisticated renditions of pop songs that place her alongside some of the finest song interpreters of that era. It naturally includes her chart hits "Loch Lomond", "Nice Work If You Can Get It" and "My Ideal". The collection offers a substantial and fairly comprehensive overview of her work during her key formative years, and is also a thoroughly enjoyable showcase for a distinctive and sometimes underestimated talent.

Anita O'Day has long been admired as one of the very best jazz singers of the post-war era, with a rhythmic and dynamic style that she could readily deploy in big band, small group and sophisticated orchestral environments. Acrobat has already showcased her work during the early 1940s with the orchestras of Gene Krupa and Stan Kenton ("Anita O'Day - The Early Years 1941-45" ADDCD3098), and in this collection we focus on a similar period of years during the 1950s when she firmly carved for herself a significant place in the jazz pantheon. During the decade from 1952-62, she recorded for the labels established by jazz impresario Norman Granz - Clef, Norgran and, most famously, Verve - and her recordings during that time are recognised as the most significant of her career. This excellent-value 46-track 2-CD set comprises the complete content of her albums during the first five years of that era - "Anita O'Day Collates", "Songs By Anita O'Day", "An Evening With Anita O'Day", "Anita" and "Pick Yourself Up", (some titles appear on more than one LP) plus tracks from singles. On those albums she is accompanied variously by the orchestras of Ralph Burns, Roy Kral, Larry Russell and Buddy Bregman, with musicians on the sessions including Barney Kessel, Roy Eldridge, Stan Getz, Shelly Manne, Budd Johnson, Andy Secrest, Jimmy Giuffre, Paul Smith and many more. It's a snapshot of a key era in her career, and a fine showcase for her unique talent working across a range of musical environments.

There has never been any other partnership in jazz quite like that of tenor saxophonists Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. After their initial meeting in the late 1940s Woody Herman band, the pairing became firm musical friends, forming a union that would last until Sims's death in 1985

This comprises two 'live' club performances by the Cal Tjader Quintet, recorded at the Club Macumba in either September or October 1956. It comprises a fascinating line-up of the quintet, including the great Luis Kant on congas, along with an unnamed bongo player.

This is another re-issue of a title previously released by Acrobat and now deleted, but much in demand, so it has been re-packaged, with eight tracks added, presented in chronological order. It comprises 48 tracks tracing the recordings of the King Of Swing in all configurations of his outfits from his Trio through to his big band, focusing mainly on the era from 1935 to the early '40s, but also including some tracks from the late '40s and early '50s. As a budget-priced 2CD set, it represents fantastic value, and is a fine showcase not only for his renowned clarinet styling but also the fine arrangements and the sound of which he was one of the creators and pioneers.

Buddy DeFranco was one of the few jazz clarinettists to come to prominence in the post-war era when the instrument generally saw a decline, and he was one of the only clarinettists to successfully find a role in the changing musical environment brought about by the emergence of bebop.

The Chantels were an all-girl vocal group from New York, who followed in the footsteps of The Bobbettes as one of the first African-American girl groups to enjoy major chart success in the USA. They took their name from their school, St. Frances of Chantal, and unlike many of their peers were more influenced by classical and Latin music than by gospel. They were still at high school when they were discovered by Richard Barrett of The Valentines, and signed to the End label in 1957, having their first pop and R&B hits the same year, featuring the lead vocals of Arlene Smith. This 2-CD collection comprises their A & B sides on the End, Gone and Carlton labels from this era, plus the tracks from their albums "We Are The Chantels", "There's Our Song Again" and "The Chantels On Tour" not otherwise released on singles. It features their No. 2 R&B hit "Maybe", and No. 6 hit "Look In My Eyes" plus their other pop and R&B chart entries from these years "He's Gone", "Every Night (I Pray)", "I Love You So", "Summer's Love" and "Well I Told You So". Although they had a couple of minor Hot 100 entries later in the '60s, this collection provides a reasonably comprehensive overview of the primary era of their career, and is a fine showcase for their distinctive style and sound as they paved the way for other girl groups in the charts

Freddie Slack was a boogie-woogie pianist and swing bandleader who started out with Jimmy Dorsey's band in the 1930s and subsequently racked up a string of hits in the 1940s, first with the Will Bradley Orchestra and then leading his own band, some of them with the fine singers Ella Mae Morse and Margaret Whiting on vocals. This 49-track 2-CD collection begins with his hits with the Will Bradley Orchestra on Columbia, and then comprises selected A & B sides from his releases on Decca and Capitol through to the time he left the label, and did not release any records for another five years. It features all his chart entries with Will Bradley, including the Top 10 hits "Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar", "Down The Road Apiece", "Scrub Me Mama With A Boogie Beat" and "There I Go", plus all his career pop and R&B hits with his own band, including the Top 10 successes "Cow-Cow Boogie", "Mister Five By Five", "That Old Black Magic", "Riffette" and "The House Of Blue Lights". Along with hits that feature Ella Mae Morse, Margaret Whiting and Liza Morrow, it features his hit with Johnny Mercer, "I Lost My Sugar In Salt Lake City". Other featured vocalists are David Street and Charlotte Blackburn, and there are also notable recordings accompanying blues singers Big Joe Turner and T-Bone Walker. It's a highly entertaining showcase for the range of his music, especially his renowned boogie-woogie piano

The doowop and pop vocal group which eventually became The Vibrations began life as The Jayhawks, having a 1956 hit with "Stranded In The Jungle", and recording under different names before becoming The Vibrations to have another hit with "The Watusi", and then "Peanut Butter" as they recorded as The Marathons