Billy Graham And His Friends A Hidden Agenda?

Harp master Billy Branch has been a figure of the note on the Chicago blues scene since he was discovered by Willie Dixon in 1969, and after more than four decades, he's grown from a young buck bringing new blood to the blues scene to an elder statesman who stands tall for the music's traditions. Blues Shock arrives ten years after Billy Branch last released an album, but it sounds like he and his latest edition of the Sons of Blues are still in fighting shape, playing tight, straight-ahead blues with force, imagination and wit. Blues Shock shows there's plenty of fun and fresh ideas to be found in a form as time-tested as Chicago blues. It's a great set.

Here is Anita O'Day in excellent vocal form joining forces with Billy May, one of the most prolific arrangers of the Hollywood recording studios in the 50s and 60s. To back her, May led three big-sized groups staffed by top musicians, and provided the swinging, tasteful charts in these two excellent albums dedicated to the songbooks of Cole Porter and Rodgers & Hart. Miss O'Day treats this handful of great evergreen songs in her usual compelling manner and with innate musicianship. She was gifted with a wide vocal range and a level head: that is to say, she sang smoothly without panic or strain at either extreme of her range, and remained consistently impressive in projection, phrasing, and flexibility. There is much to groove within this set and, be it for pop or jazz fans, listening to this great singer is sure to be an incomparable musical pleasure.

From 1958 to 1970, orchestra leader Billy Vaughn placed 36 LPs on the Best-Selling album charts in the USA. This release contains 2 LPs in full - "Orange Blossom Special & Wheels" peaked at #11 in the U.S. Pop Album charts where it remained for 43 weeks while "Berlin Melody" reached #20 and stayed 18 weeks in the charts. Both LPs produced hit singles -"Wheels" reached #28, "Orange Blossom Special" #63, "Blue Tomorrow" #84, "Berlin Melody" #61 and "Come September" made #73. Included 3 bonus tracks making this a total of 28 tracks of the best of The Great American Songbook and the pop world of the late 1950s and early 1960s performed with a happy, dancing beat.