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 the label in 1964, her hits during those years helping to define the Motown sound and style. Starting out as a budding songwriter and singer in Detroit, when she was 17 years old, she approached label founder Berry Gordy Jr. With a song she had written for Jackie Wilson - hearing her voice, he signed her on the spot. In 1960 he made the R&B Top 10 and pop Top 50 with her first release, her own song "Bye Bye Baby", and over the next two years had four more hits from her five releases, most notably the R&B No. 1s, which also made the pop Top 10, "You Beat Me To The Punch" and "Two Lovers", both written and produced by Smokey Robinson. This collection comprises the A and B sides of all he singles from these formative years, plus all the tracks from her two albums during this era, "Bye Bye Baby - I Don't Want To Take A Chance" and "The One Who Really Loves You", not otherwise released as singles. It naturally features the hits already mentioned plus the other chart entries from these releases "I Don't Want To Take A Chance" and the R&B No. 2 "The One Who Really Loves You". It's a fascinating insight into the creative world of the early years of Motown, and a great showcase for one of the most distinctive voices of the era

Ink Spots - The Hits Collection 1939-51 The Ink Spots, along with the Mills Brothers, were one of the leading early doowop vocal groups during the decades spanning WWII, bringing together the influences of barber-shop quartets, gospel and jazz to create a sound and style that appealed to the mainstream pop market. Employing a distinctive guitar introduction, and using the "top and bottom" technique that contrasted the high tenor lead vocal of Bill Kenny with the bass voice of Orville Jones delivering a spoken verse, they developed a successful formula that was all their own, and between 1939 and 1951 they had around 50 hits in the various incarnations of the charts. In fact they had too many hits for us to be able to include all of them in this great-value 48-track 2-CD collection, which features all their Top 30 pop hits and all their Top 10 R&B hits, plus a few more, including those with Ella Fitzgerald. It features the No. 1s "Address Unknown", "We Three (My Echo, My Shadow And Me)", "I'm Making Believe", "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall", "The Gypsy", and "To Each His Own" plus the R&B No.1s "I Can't Stand Losing You" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore". It's a concentrated presentation of their very best recordings, featuring their highly individual treatments of some of the finest songs of the era, and it's a marvellous showcase for their unique style of music.

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 precociously talented teenager, already writing his own songs, made a huge impact on both sides of the Atlantic with his landmark debut hit with The Teenagers "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?". His chart career was telescoped into a few short years, his hits drying up in 1960, and his career declining until his untimely demise in 1968 at the age of 25 from a drug overdose. This 61-track 2-CD set comprises the A & B sides of his singles with The Teenagers and as a solo artist on the Gee and Roulette labels during what was the primary era of his career, along with selected titles from the album "At the London Palladium" and the titles not otherwise released as singles from the album "Rock 'n' Roll" for Roulette. It features all his ten US pop and R&B hits, and his UK chart entries from these years, including the Top 10 hits "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", "Who Can Explain", "I Promise To Remember", "The ABC's Of Love", "Baby Baby" and "Out In The Cold Again". His music represented a fascinating strand of pop/R&B which was a significant part of the musical zeitgeist of the era, and this collection is a substantial showcase for his highly distinctive style and talent.

This release continues the series of 4-CD sets which comprises selected annual collections of the biggest US country hits of each year, and fills in a gap in the series at the start of the 1960s. This great-value 114-track collection covers the year of 1960, during which time Billboard published a country Top 30 called Hot C&W Sides, and it comprises every record which peaked in the top 25 places in that chart during the year, excluding a few records which are unavailable for copyright reasons. Despite the fact that the pop landscape had been transformed over the preceding years by rock 'n' roll and it's aftermath, and with the new decade the British Invasion was only two or three years away, the charts still had a familiar look about them for country fans, with many traditional established country stars well-represented, like Ernest Tubb, Webb Pierce, Hank Snow, Hank Thompson, Kitty Wells and Ray Price, although the smoother Nashville sound certainly characterised many of the hits, especially from artists like Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins, Hank Locklin, Don Gibson, and Faron Young. There were also some hot new kids on the block like Buck Owens, Roy Drusky, and Jimmy Dean, along with some highly collectable obscurities among the many one-hit wonders. It's a fascinating and entertaining musical snapshot of the country scene as it entered a new decade, and with an in-depth 12,000+ word booklet with background notes on every record, it gives a solid overview of the most popular country music of the year.

They were unique in that while most groups had a tenor lead voice, their lead vocalist was the hugely influential and respected bass Jimmy Ricks, who was the group's prime mover throughout their career, inspiring many bass singers in doowop and beyond.

Born in Mississippi in 1932, Herman "Junior" Parker moved with his family to Memphis in the '40s and grew up surrounded by the blues, learning harmonica and being mentored by the great Sonny Boy Williamson. He toured with Howlin' Wolf and then with B.B. King and Bobby Bland in The Beale Streeters before forming The Blue Flames, and being spotted by Ike Turner, who recorded him for Modern Records. He signed to Sam Phillips' Sun Records, before moving to the Duke label. He had developed what one critic called a "honeyed, velvet-smooth" voice, and as another writer said, "deserted downhome harmonica blues for uptown blues-soul music", having ten R&B and pop hits during the '50s and into the 1960s. This 50-track 2-CD set comprises all the A & B sides he released on the Modern, Sun and Duke labels in this era, and naturally features all his hits during this key first decade of his career, when he had all his Top 20 hits. It features the Top 10 R&B entries "Feelin' Good", "Next Time You See Me", "In The Dark", "Driving Wheel" and "Annie Get Yout Yo-Yo". It also includes his original version of "Mystery Train", recorded for Sun, which Elvis Presley recorded a couple of years later. It's a fine showcase for an artist who has not generally had the attention which he merits and who was a fine songwriter, as well as a top-class and distinctive blues stylist.

Johnny Ace, born John Alexander in Memphis, Tennessee, was a highly successful blues and R&B pianist and singer, whose career was tragically cut short at the height of his fame when he died at the age of 25 in a bizarre shooting accident in his dressing room at a gig with Big Mama Thornton on Christmas Day 1954. Before that, he had made some noted recordings accompanying the likes of B.B. King and Bobby Bland, and had run up a string of R&B hits as a solo artist. This 51-track 2-CD set comprises the A & B sides of his releases under his own name on the Flair and Duke labels, plus recordings he made with B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Earl Forest and Junior Parker, along with tribute recordings to him made by other artists after his death. It features all his eight Top 10 R&B hits, including the No. 1s "My Song", "The Clock" and "Pledging My Love" and the Top 3 hits "Cross My Heart" and "Saving My Love For You", along with Johnny Moore & The Three Blazers' Top 20 tribute hit "Johnny Ace's Last Letter". It provides as thorough a cross-section of his solo output as could be achieved and also showcases his talents as an accompanying pianist

The Four Knights were a successful African-American doowop group active in the post-war era, who, unlike many of their contemporaries in the genre, enjoyed their hit success in the pop charts rather than the R&B lists. Formed in 1943 as a gospel quartet, and becoming popular on radio, they moved into the secular market and signed to Decca in 1946, having hits in the pop and UK charts through to 1959. This great-value 58-track 2-CD set comprises selected A & B sides of their singles on the Capitol and Coral labels during this era - we have tried to minimise duplication of tracks with our existing Acrobat product "Oh Baby! Best Of Volume 1 1951-1954" (Acrobat ACMCD4030), as this collection covers a much longer period of their career. It naturally features all their US pop and UK chart entries, including their Top 10 hits "Oh Happy Day" and "(Oh Baby Mine) I Get So Lonely", as well as their Top 10 hits with Nat King Cole, "If I May" and "That's All There Is To That", plus one other hit with Nat, "My Personal Possession". It includes at least one side from just about all their single releases during these years, so is a fairly comprehensive overview of their output, and provides an insight into the way their music developed as the pop landscape changed, as well as an admirable showcase for their talents as an accomplished vocal harmony group

Connie Haines was one of female vocalists who established their reputations as singers with the prominent big swing bands of the early 1940s before going on to forge a solo career in the post-war era as the viability of the big bands declined and television offered new opportunities for a new generation of photogenic solo performers. Working first with the orchestras of Harry James and then Tommy Dorsey, in the latter case alongside Frank Sinatra, she had notable success during the war years before recording with Gordon Jenkins for the fledgling Capitol label, and recording for Mercury, Signature and primarily for Coral in the post-war era. This 50-track 2-CD set comprises recordings from all those relationships, the selection of performances with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, with one or two featuring Sinatra, The Pied Pipers and Jo Stafford, including four Top 20 hits with "Two Dreams Met", "You Might Have Belonged To Another", "Kiss The Boys Goodbye" and "What Is This Thing Called Love?". The selected A & B sides of her solo singles also feature her solo hits on Coral from 1949 "How It Lies, How It Lies, How It Lies!" and "Maybe It's Because". She was a talented song stylist, equally at home singing with big bands, or performing the mainstream pop that characterised the post-war decade, and this will appeal to lovers of what is often called "golden age of popular music".

FOUR CLASSIC ALBUMS AND MORE 1958-62

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 Aretha Franklin in the '60s. So successful was she that she became known as "The Queen Of R&B" and her record company Atlantic was sometimes referred to as "the house that Ruth built", so much did her hits contribute to the label's commercial fortunes. Between 1949 and 1962 she racked up 25 R&B hits, including five No. 1s, with several crossing into the pop charts. This great-value 109-track 4-CD set comprises just about all the A & B sides of her singles on Atlantic and Philips during these years, which include the titles from her albums "Rock 'n' Roll" and "Miss Rhythm", plus most of the titles from her albums "Late Date With Ruth" for Atlantic and "Along Comes Ruth" for Philips. It features all her 25 career R&B and pop chart hits including the R&B No. 1s "Teardrops From My Eyes", "5-10-15 Hours", "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean", "Oh What A Dream" and "Mambo Baby". It's a substantial and comprehensive overview of her primary career as a chart artist, and a highly entertaining showcase for her unique talent as a pop and R&B song stylist.

John Williams is one of the greatest classical guitarists of the modern era, introducing a previously highly specialist area of repertoire to a wider audience through his virtuoso expertise on the Spanish guitar. Guitar historian Graham Wade has stated that "John is the most technically accomplished guitarist the world has seen." Born in Australia in 1941, his family moved to the UK when he was 11, and having been taught by his guitarist father, he studied with Andres Segovia in Italy, before attending the Royal College of Music from 1956-59, and making his first performance at the Wigmore Hall in 1958. The first of these recordings was made very soon after that. This excellent value 2-CD collection comprises the complete contents of his first three solo LP releases, which were "Guitar Recital Vol. 1" and "Guitar Recital Vol. 2" for the Delyse label in 1958 and 1959, followed a couple of years later by "A Spanish Guitar" for the Westminster label. The selections performed feature two Bach Cello Suites transcribed by John Duarte, Twelve Preludes composed by Manuel Maria Ponce, a Sonatina by Federico Torroba, and a number of other individual pieces by those and other Spanish and Italian composers, including Domenico Scarlatti, Paquita Madriguera, Alexandre Tansman, Enrique Granados, Antonio Lauro and Andres Segovia himself. It is an absorbing and fascinating scene-setter for his illustrious career, showcasing his prodigious talent and mastery of his instrument even at this early stage.

Vinyl LP pressing. There is nothing more evocative than hearing that first Christmas tune on the radio. The anticipation begins and the excitement builds. Whether it's Here Comes Santa Claus, Christmas Alphabet or the timeless White Christmas, the seasonal song will always have a special place in our hearts. Enter a Winter Wonderland with this fantastic collection from Acrobat. Bringing together 16 of the most beloved and best selling Christmas hits from 1942 through to 1961. Whether you are wrapping presents, serving up your Christmas feast or simply wanting to get into the seasonal spirit, this is the soundtrack for you. Pressed on snow white vinyl in the UK, turn your record player into a festive jukebox! Features Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Connie Francis, Brenda Lee and many more. Christmas hits including Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Winter Wonderland, Santa Baby and of course, White Christmas

Classical and Spanish guitar virtuoso Julian Bream was probably the only instrumentalist of his generation to match the extraordinary talent of his contemporary John Williams among the artists who popularised the music, as well as exploring the potential of the lute in interpreting historical works for that much-ignored instrument.

The Flamingos were one of the most polished groups of the 1950s doo-wop boom. Their career, like so many other collectives at the time, was challenged by numerous line-up changes, contractual issues and hopping between labels to find commercial successes. Despite not having the commercial recognition they deserved, The Flamingos left behind an enduring body of work with some of the finest and most unique close harmony tracks of the 50s. With the addition of a high soprano soaring over the tenors, and their polished performances including cleverly choreographed dance routines, they are certainly one of the most influential groups of their genre. This collection not only features all their chart hits but also their most loved and influential recordings spanning the first decade of their career including the timeless classics Golden Teardrops, I Only Have Eyes For You and Mio Amore.

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. They are regarded as one of the genre's very best and most talented groups, and Billboard magazine wrote of them: "Universally hailed as one of the finest and most influential vocal groups in pop music history, the Flamingos defined doo wop at it's most elegant and sophisticated." Like so many of their peers, they suffered from the fact that one of their biggest R&B hits was covered for the pop market by a mainstream artist - in their case, it was Pat Boone recording their landmark song "I'll Be Home" to score a pop No. 1. This great value 80-track 3-CD set comprises almost all the titles which they release during this primary period of their career, and comprises all their A & B sides released on the Chance, Parrot, Checker, Decca and End labels along with the tracks from their first three LPs "The Flamingos", "Flamingo Serenade" and "Flamingo Favourites" which were not otherwise released on singles. It naturally includes all the dozen or so hits they had during this time, including "I'll Be Home", and their biggest pop hit "I Only Have Eyes For You". Including substantial booklet notes, this provides an entertaining overview of their most important work, ranging with ease across R&B, rock 'n' roll and ballad styles, and is a worthy showcase for their distinctive talent.

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 Motown's most successful acts, racking up more than fifty hits through to the end of the '70s. Starting life as The Five Chimes and The Matadors, they had become The Miracles by 1958, and with songwriter/producer Berry Gordy made records for the End and Chess labels, scoring a minor chart entry, before Gordy launched his own label. They achieved Tamla's first million seller with their first significant hit, the R&B No. 1 "Shop Around". Over the next three years, they had a succession of further pop and R&B hits, before hitting the No. 1 spot again in 1962 with "You've Really Got A Hold On Me". This great-value 47-track 2-CD set comprises all the A & B sides of their fifteen singles for the End, Chess and Tamla labels during these crucial formative years, so features all their eleven hits during this era, plus all the tracks from their first three albums, "Hi We're The Miracles", "Cookin' with the Miracles" and "I'll Try Something New" which were not otherwise released on singles. It is a comprehensive overview of their early career, and in showcasing their unique sound built around Smokey Robinson's highly distinctive voice, it is a highly evocative snapshot of their contribution to a hugely exciting era in pop as their formed part of the chart vanguard of the new Tamla-Motown set-up, influencing major artists like the emerging Beatles along the way.

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 during 1961. This great value 113-track 4-CD anthology includes, with the exception of certain records which are unavailable for inclusion due to copyright restrictions, just about every record which peaked in the Billboard R&B Top 15 during that year. By this time, the R&B scene had evolved considerably as the rock 'n roll scene had matured and Tin Pan Alley had marketed it's teen-oriented offshoots, and there was an exciting feel to the charts, with substantial crossover into the pop charts through artists like Ben E. King, Ray Charles, Brook Benton, The Miracles, Aretha Franklin and The Marvelettes. There was also a significant weight of other records from the increasingly powerful Motown, Tamla and other labels producing material which would have a significant influence on emerging talent across the pond in the UK, like The Beatles, who absorbed some of the songs in this anthology into their repertoire, sowing the seeds of the British invasion which was soon to transform the pop landscape once more. With the blurring of the boundaries between the genres, the more traditional blues and R&B artists whose music had helped lay the groundwork for rock found it harder to reach the top positions in the R&B chart, and the foundations of the soul boom of the late '60s and 70s was clearly in evidence in many of the hits included here. As with all these collections, it provides a window onto a dynamic and exciting musical environment, and includes a number of unfamiliar names and recordings of which even enthusiasts of the genre may not

Roy Hamilton was one of the truly individual and innovative performers of the R&B and pop scene during the 1950s and early '60s as he combined his classically-trained vocal style and his roots in black gospel music to bring another dimension to interpretations of contemporary pop and R&B material as well as to classics of the Great American Songbook to achieve a string of pop and R&B hits during these years. Along the way, he also provided inspiration for R&B and soul singers who followed in his wake, most notably Brook Benton, for whom he was a significant mentor, and Sam Cooke, encouraging him to turn towards secular music. Elvis Presley also credited him with influencing his ballad-singing style, while the Righteous Brothers also drew on his hit repertoire. This great-value 80-track 3-CD set comprises almost all his A & B sides recorded for the Epic label during this era, and features all his sixteen career hits he achieved before his untimely death from illness in 1969, including the R&B No. 1s "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Unchained Melody", and the Top 10 classics "Ebb Tide", "Hurt", "If I Loved You", "Don't Let Go" and "You Can Have Her". It's a comprehensive introduction to an artist who has not received the attention or recognition over the years that his influence and success merits, and it offers a substantial and enjoyable showcase for a highly distinctive

The Cleftones were one of many talented doowop groups to emerge from New York during the '50s, scoring their biggest hit with the memorable classic "Little Girl Of Mine", along with other pop and R&B hits like "Heart And Soul". Having got together at high school in Queens, N.Y., they signed to George Goldner's Gee label and made records over the next few years which doowop aficionados rank alongside some of the best in the genre, until breaking up when overtaken by the British Invasion in 1963. This 45-track 2-CD set comprises all the A and B sides, released during this period, featuring the various evolving line-ups of the group, along with all the tracks from the "Pajama Party", "Heart And Soul" & "For Sentimental Reasons" albums which were not otherwise released on singles - it represents almost all their career recording output. As such, it's a thorough overview of their active recording career, and a comprehensive showcase for their distinctive style and talent

The Four Tunes were a doowop quartet which evolved from The Brown Dots and The Sentimentalists during the mid-1940s, initially performing in the traditional style of Groups like the Ink Spots and Mills Brothers, but moving towards the more R&B-styled doowop genre by the end of the decade, and developed a more pop-oriented approach than many other groups of the era. Featuring baritone Pat Best, tenors Jimmie Nabbie and Danny Owens, and bass Jimmy Gordon for the majority of their primary career, they were one of the most respected and highly-regarded harmony quartets of the classic doowop years. This excellent-value 75-track 3-CD set comprises a significant proportion of the A & B sides of their singles during these years on the Manor, Columbia, RCA, Jubilee and Crosby labels, including their hit recordings with Savannah Churchill. It features their No. 2 R&B and No. 13 pop hit "Marie" and their No. & R&B and No. 6 pop hit "I Understand (Just How You Feel)", both from 1953,)", and their 1948 pop and R&B Top 20 hits with Savannah Churchill "Time Out For Tears" and "I Want To Cry". With a repertoire encompassing Great American Songbook standards and contemporary R&B compositions, this collection traces their career and the progression of their style from the immediate post-war years into the rock 'n' roll era, and provides a fine showcase for their acutely developed talents as a harmony group.

This great-value 116-track collection covers the year of 1956, during which time Billboard published three charts devoted to Country & Western Records - Best Sellers, Most Played in Juke Boxes and Most Played by Disc Jockeys

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 during 1962. This great value 103-track 4-CD anthology includes, with a few exceptions, just about every record which peaked in the Billboard R&B Top 10 during that year. By this time, the R&B scene had evolved considerably as the rock 'n roll scene had matured and Tin Pan Alley had marketed it's teen-oriented offshoots, and there was an exciting feel to the charts, with substantial crossover into the pop charts through artists like Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, The Crystals, The Four Seasons, Booker T & The MGs, and The Marvelettes. There was also a significant weight of other records from the increasingly powerful Motown, Tamla and other labels producing material which would have a significant influence on emerging talent across the pond in the UK, like The Beatles, who absorbed some of the songs in this anthology into their repertoire, sowing the seeds of the British invasion which was soon to transform the pop landscape once more. With the blurring of the boundaries between the genres, the more traditional blues and R&B artists whose music had helped lay the groundwork for rock found it harder to reach the top positions in the R&B chart, and the foundations of the soul boom of the late '60s and 70s was clearly in evidence in many of the hits included here. As with all these collections, it provides a window onto a dynamic and exciting musical environment, and includes a number of unfamiliar names and recordings of which even enthusiasts of the genre may not be too aware, and which will be welcome additions to their collections. It contains a 12,000+ word booklet featuring background notes on every record.

The Harptones were one of the many doowop vocal groups to emerge from New York City in the early '50s, and although they did not have an illustrious chart career, they were one of the most consistently admired and popular groups, both with the contemporary market of the times and with doowop fans and critics in more recent years. With the distinctive tenor voice of Willie Winfield almost always to the fore, they produced a string of polished and classy performances on record through the 1950s, hampered in their search for chart success by recording for a variety of small and under-resourced record companies. This great-value 54-track 2-CD set comprises A and B sides of singles for the Bruce, Essex, X, Paradise, Andrea, Rama, Gee, Tip Top, Domme, Warwick, Coed, Companion and Cub labels during this era, and features their best-known recordings such as "A Sunday Kind of Love", "Why Should I Love You?", "Life is But a Dream", "The Shrine of St. Cecilia", and "What Will I Tell My Heart". As well as their own recordings it includes performances with Bunny Paul, The Woodside Sisters, Mabel King, Raoul Cita Chorus, Ruth McFadden, Carol Blades and Valli Hilton, on which they were either named featured artists or backing vocalists. It's a worthy showcase for one of doowop's most stylish exponents.

Gene McDaniels was an African-American singer, who started out performing gospel, before turning to jazz, and came to the fore as vocalist with the Les McCann Trio in Los Angeles. Signed by Liberty, he teamed up with producer Snuff Garrett after a couple of releases and burst onto the chart scene in 1961 with the US No. 3 "A Hundred Pounds Of Clay". A series of hits followed through the early '60s, and he also became a versatile album seller, before turning to the black consciousness form later in the decade. This great-value 58-track 2-CD collection comprises all his Liberty A & B sides from these years, plus selected tracks from his albums "In Times Like These", "Sometimes I'm Happy Sometimes I'm Blue", "100 Lbs. Of Clay!", "Sings Movie Memories", "Tower Of Strength", and "Hit After Hit". It features all his chart entries from this era including the Top 10 hits "A Hundred Pounds Of Clay", "Tower Of Strength" and "Chip Chip", plus "Point Of No Return", "Spanish Lace" and others. On his albums, he explores a variety of musical territory, exploiting his jazz and gospel-trained voice as he performs Great American Songbook standards and his own interpretations of current hits of the day, plus classic movie songs along with new contemporary material. He was a fine singer, whose pop hits marked him out as a distinctive song stylist, and this collection is an enjoyable showcase for that talent.