Dead of Night (1945) [re Up]

Don Birnam, long-time alcoholic, has been "on the wagon" for ten days and seems to be over the worst; but his craving has just become more insidious. Evading a country weekend planned by his brother Wick and girlfriend Helen, he begins a four-day bender. In flashbacks we see past events, all gone wrong because of the bottle. But this bout looks like being his last…one way or the other.

Mercury Records was founded in 1945 and originally only signed black artists. By 1962, the year of our compilation, they had recruited a host of new artists of all hues which made Mercury the dominant force in jazz, blues, rock 'n' roll and pop in the US. These artists included Little Richard, Dolly Parton, George Jones, Jivin' Gene, Clyde McPhatter, Charles Aznavour, Quincy Jones, Patti Page, Ray Stevens and many more.

Acrobat has devoted a number of collections over the years to anthologies of the biggest hits in different years and decades across different genres, and this one fills a particular gap in the catalogue, bringing together all the records which featured at No. 1 in all of Billboard’s charts relating to the R&B market during the 1940s. In October 1942, Billboard launched the “Harlem Hit Parade”, which was replaced in February 1945 by the “Most Played Juke Box Race Records”, to which in 1948 was added the “Best Selling Retail Race Records”. This 97-track 4-CD collection features every record which reached No. 1 in any of those charts, apart from a few which are unavailable for copyright reasons. We have also included those from 1950, as it is arguably the final year of the decade, and we had space in the 4-CD format to accommodate them for the benefit of collectors who do not have our “R&B No. 1s of the ‘50s” set.

A Comprehensive Historical Release. Black & White Records Rescued from extinction – music you’ve likely never heard. At Mosaic, presenting music that’s been hard to find — or completely overlooked — is as exciting today as it was in 1983 when we assembled our very first package of Blue Note recordings featuring Thelonious Monk. Sometimes we unveil just a handful. Other times, dozens. So, can you imagine how exhilarated we are about an 11-CD set where nearly every track has been unavailable for nearly 75 years? Unearthing the music on our new collection, Classic Black & White Jazz Sessions, has been a dream for decades. Unlike most of our sets, the original masters of these sessions are not known to exist anymore. Confusion over who owned the copyrights and who owned physical recordings we could use as source material raised additional obstacles.

20 Original Recordings Series Collection from 1930 to 1990!