Casiddie Williams

Carefully curated and assembled with leading music historian and Hank biographer Colin Escott. The book features over 200 images of Hank, including dozens of rare and unseen photos The book is packaged with six CDs of Hank’s live in-studio performances known as the “Mother’s Best” radio shows, newly restored and remastered to sound better than ever. It will be a must-have item for every Hank collector and country music fan, especially coming on the heels of the release of Ken Burns’ (PBS TV) much-anticipated 16 hour documentary, Country Music.

John Williams One of the pillars of film scoring and the most popular film composer of his era, John Williams has created music for some of the most successful motion pictures in Hollywood history – Star Wars, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and Harry Potter are just a handful of selections from an extensive catalog that has included over 50 Academy Awards nominations. After getting his start in television in the late '50s, Williams worked more steadily on feature films by the early '70s.

Great balls of fire! The Towering Inferno (1974) was the biggest success of the Master of Disaster, Irwin Allen, and his last collaboration with the world's most famous film composer, John Williams. Williams had written TV themes and scores for Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants, as well as the score for The Poseidon Adventure (1972). The Towering Inferno was both the summa of his work for Allen and a large-scale lead-in for his legendary run on 1970s and early '80s blockbusters for Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Williams has always had a talent for opening themes and The Towering Inferno features one of his best: the bustling, five-minute "Main Title" accompanies a helicopter flight over San Francisco in soaring, heroic fashion. From there the score encompasses distinct romantic themes—presented symphonically as well as in the "light pop" style of the period—and a wide variety of suspense, chaos and action music as the characters struggle valiantly to stay alive. Unlike The Poseidon Adventure, which featured sparse and claustrophobic interior scoring in addition to a thrilling main theme, The Towering Inferno was scored much extensively and emotionally.

SoulMusic Records is very proud to present a deluxe box set of the 11 Columbia and ARC albums by award-winning icon Deniece Williams released between 1976-1988. A constant presence on the contemporary music scene as a soul, pop and gospel best-selling artist and distinguished songwriter, ‘Niecy’ (as she’s been known since her early ‘70s tenure with Stevie Wonder’s female background vocalists Wonderlove) has racked up over 25 charted hits, all of which can be found on the eight discs that comprise this first-of-its-kind full showcase of Deniece’s distinctive and influential music.

Charles Melvin Cootie Williams was a jazz trumpeter, born in Mobile Alabama in 1911, who enjoyed a lengthy career as a sideman and bandleader, and was especially renowned for his associations with Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman. This collection takes its title Concerto For Cootie from a tune Duke Ellington composed in his honour.

Big Joe Williams was a Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist famous for the distinctive sound of his unique nine-string guitar, as well as for recording classic songs like Baby Please Don't Go and Crawling King Snake. His career was remarkable for the fact that he recorded through every decade from the mid-1930s into the'70s, although his periods of active recording were somewhat erratic, while he maintained a constant round of 'live' performing. This great-value 115-track 5-CD set comprises most of the A & B sides of his releases on the Bluebird, Columbia, Bullet, Trumpet & VeeJay labels from 1935 to 1957, plus EP titles and the titles from his albums Piney Woods Blues, A Man Sings The Blues, Tough Times, Blues On Highway 69, Nine-String Guitar Blues and Mississippi's Big Joe Williams & his Nine-String Guitar from 1957 through to 1962. It includes recordings where he is accompanied by noted contemporaries like Sonny Boy Williamson, Ransom Knowling, Robert Lee McCoy, Judge Riley and others. He was one of the most impressive blues performers of his era who inspired many artists of later years like Bob Dylan, and this substantial collection offers an entertaining showcase for a highly original and influential artist.

The Tony Williams Quintet recorded four studio albums between 1986 and '91: Civilization, Angel Street, Native Heart and The Story Of Neptune. Each album was distinguished by Tony's distinctive, melodic compositions, unique arranging and extraordinary drumming. Roney, Pierce and Miller, all outstanding and concise soloists, quickly developed an empathy that grew with each album. This was a band that made Tony immensely happy. He enjoyed the company of his sidemen and loved the way they interpreted his music. And from 1986 to '94, he had a consistent musical outlet for his music. Throughout a career filled with achievement and innovation, this body of work remains among his most satisfying music.

The Tony Williams Quintet recorded four studio albums between 1986 and '91: Civilization, Angel Street, Native Heart and The Story Of Neptune. Each album was distinguished by Tony's distinctive, melodic compositions, unique arranging and extraordinary drumming. Roney, Pierce and Miller, all outstanding and concise soloists, quickly developed an empathy that grew with each album. This was a band that made Tony immensely happy. He enjoyed the company of his sidemen and loved the way they interpreted his music. And from 1986 to '94, he had a consistent musical outlet for his music. Throughout a career filled with achievement and innovation, this body of work remains among his most satisfying music.