Arundathi Roy

Roy Buchanan has long been considered one of the finest, yet criminally overlooked guitarists of the blues rock genre whose lyrical leads and use of harmonics would later influence such guitar greats as Jeff Beck, his one-time student Robbie Robertson, and ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons…

As far as Roy Eldridge's big bands go, this was the peak. With arrangements by Buster Harding and a stable of powerful young players, the Roy Eldridge Orchestra must have been formidable in live performance. Most of the recordings they made for the Decca label represent the ultimate in extroverted big-band swing. The explosive "Little Jazz Boogie" is one of the hottest records Roy Eldridge ever made. The flip side, "Embraceable You," bears witness to his profound abilities as an interpreter of ballads. Three sides by the Roy Eldridge Little Jazz Band recorded for V-Disc on November 14, 1945, allow for more intimate interplay…

There is so little professionally shot video footage of Roy Buchanan officially available, that this frustratingly short half-hour set is a major find for the late guitarist's devoted fan base. Recorded November 15, 1976 when he was 37, the Austin City Limits DVD doesn't add extra footage to what was originally telecast, and is one of the few ACL videos not to do so…

This is a truly, bizarre two-fer package that combines Roy Orbison's early hit album Crying with the soundtrack to the TV Special Black & White Night. The only conceivable reason is, perhaps, that on the latter recording, Orbison re-recorded the title track and "Candy Man." They were included on the special as a career-spanning look at his collection of smashes played by an all-star cast of musicians including Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, and k.d. lang. Weird.

Originally recorded for Capitol Records in his pre-Hee-Haw days (1963), this is Roy Clark's instrumental album, an all-guitar fest that showcases the country artist's amazing chops. Kicking off with a warp-speed version of "Twelfth Street Rag" that actually gets doubles in tempo by the final chorus, this album features a brace of generic "twistin''' instrumentals (read: public domain tunes given a twist beat) like "Texas Twist," "Weeping Willow Twist," "Wildwood Twist" ("Wildwood Flower"), "Golden Slippers," and "Over the Waves," rocked up cha-cha's like "Pink Velvet Swing" and Bob Wills' "A Maiden's Prayer," and boogies like the closing "Chicken Wire." Produced by Ken Nelson and sounding for all the world like it was cut in a single afternoon session, this should open up anyone's eyes and ears who thinks of Roy Clark only as a belly scratchin' fool, telling corny jokes and singing sappy love ballads.

A northern California-based blues guitarist, Roy Rogers works firmly out of a Delta blues acoustic style and is particularly good with a slide. A member of John Lee Hooker's '80s Coast to Coast Band, Rogers produced and played on Hooker's Grammy-winning comeback album, The Healer, and its follow-up, Mr. Lucky. During the early '70s, Rogers played with a variety of Bay Area bar bands. In 1976, he and harpist David Burgin recorded A Foot in the Door, which was released on Waterhouse Records. For the next few years, he played in various bands before he formed his own, the Delta Rhythm Kings, in 1980.

The Krupa band of 1941 to 1943 had two great forces in it with the addition of trumpeter Roy Eldridge and vocalist Anita O'Day replacing Irene Day. Eldridge almost singlehandedly transformed the orchestra from a pop-based dance band to a more jazz-inspired one, and O'Day was simply the most swinging singer Krupa ever had in the fold. Highlights include a wild "After You've Gone," "Stop! The Red Light's On," "Let Me Off Uptown," "Thanks for the Boogie Ride," "Knock Me a Kiss," "Bop Boogie," and the previously unissued "Barrelhouse Bessie From Basin Street." Those interested in Krupa's career as a bandleader should start with this one.