Black Coffee.

Beth Hart first teamed up with guitarist Joe Bonamassa in 2011 and the partnership proved to be mutually beneficial. Hart gave the rock-edged Bonamassa some blues bona fides while the guitarist brought the vocalist to a wider audience. Plus, it was evident from their two studio albums and live set that the two had an easy chemistry: They shared a similar vernacular in Chicago blues and classic soul. The pair rely on that effortless interplay on Black Coffee, their third studio collaboration. Working with producer Kevin Shirley – a veteran of Black Crowes records who has been in the Bonamassa orbit since 2006 – the pair eschew straight traditionalism for a clean, colorful, retro vibe. Sometimes, the duo make choices that are perhaps a little too obvious – the covers of LaVern Baker's "Saved" and Howlin' Wolf's "Sittin' on Top of the World" are a bit on the nose – but they also know how to kick up the intensity on these chestnuts while avoiding sounding like they're on steroids.

Budget priced collection of great hits from the late singer/songwriter's years recording for the Decca Records label. Includes the title track (covered by k.d. lang a generation later), "Love Letters", "Baubles, Bangles & Beads", "Mister Wonderful", "Bye Bye Blackbird", "Sans Souci", "He Needs Me" and many other greats.

From its discovery on an ancient Ethiopian hillside to its role as a contemporary elixir, coffee has dominated and molded the economies, politics and social structures of entire countries. BLACK COFFEE, a three-part mini-series, traces the unique and volatile history of this ubiquitous beverage.

Peggy Lee left Capitol in 1952 for, among several other reasons, the label's refusal to let her record and release an exotic, tumultuous version of "Lover." Lee was certainly no Mitch Miller songbird, content to loosen her gorgeous pipes on any piece of tripe foisted upon her; she was a superb songwriter with a knowledge of production and arrangement gained from work in big bands and from her husband, Dave Barbour (although the two weren't together at the time). The more open-minded Decca acquiesced to her demand, and watched its investment pay off quickly when the single became her biggest hit in years. Black Coffee was Lee's next major project…