Danny Kaye The Best

A gifted mimic and peerless physical comedian, Danny Kaye ranked among America's most popular entertainers in the years during and following World War II. Rubber-faced and manic, he rose to stardom in film and in television, on record and on Broadway, easily adapting from outrageous novelty songs to tender ballads; for all of his success as a performer, however, his greatest legacy remains his tireless humanitarian work – so close were his ties to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) that when the organization received the Nobel Peace Prize, Kaye was tapped to accept it.

This album is broken into two sections. The majority of the disc is devoted to archive recordings of the Second Esquire Jazz Concert. The legendary event took place on January 17, 1945, in New Orleans, New York, and Los Angeles. The concert featured many of the day's best-known jazz performers: Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, and more. The second section of the album highlights a performance by Louis Armstrong at the Winter Garden Theater in New York on June 19, 1947. This particular performance by Armstrong commemorated the world debut of the film New Orleans.

On the eve of the New Year I offer you a small insight into the already so far away, but so cool twentieth century. And remember it will help you to Mario Lanza, Marilyn Monroe, Bill Haley & His Comets, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Louis Armstrong, Pat Boone, Jerry Lee Lewis, Perry Como, Paul Anka, Roy Orbison, Scorpions, Bob Dylan, The Mama's & Papa's, Stevie Wonder, Van Morrison, Fleetwood Mac, Simon & Garfunkel, David Bowie, Johnny Cash, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Shocking Blue, Guess Who, Black Sabbath, Jefferson Airplane, Rod Stewart, The Byrds, The Kinks and many many others … The greatest hits of the past millennium. Need I say more? Download and enjoy the great past.

If you're willing to count his work in such early regional bands as the Prime Movers and the Iguanas, Iggy Pop has been playing rock & roll for over 40 years as this compilation hits the stores – meaning there are guys in big-league rock bands who've spent years trying to be Iggy but weren't even alive when the guy first started plugging into the Real O Mind. That, dear readers, is influence, and while the man has had more than his share of creative ups and downs over those four decades, one spin of A Million in Prizes: The Anthology tells you why Iggy has always mattered, and still does – he has never lost the ability to plug into the primal madness and furious belief that separates great rock & roll from ordinary stuff, and he can call up that near-demonic passion on a regular basis…