Frances Various Artists

2010 two CD collection containing 50 more tracks drawn from Bob Dylan's third season of Theme Time Radio Hour. Spanning 76 years, it contains artists as diverse as Roy Rogers, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Nirvana, Toots & the Maytals, Laura Cantrell, the Mississippi Sheiks - shuffle that lot on your iPod. This time there is a nod to the topical collapse of Western capitalism in Joe Mooney's 'The Man with $1 Million' and Mel Blanc's irresistibly alliterative (but blunt) 'Money'. Speaking of Mel we even got Pat Boone to write the sleeve note for that one. A prize for the first person to guess why. The introduction has been written by the novelist and poet Lavinia Greenlaw, whose book "The Importance of Music to Girls", is a must-read for music lovers and we have a spectacular array of annotators this time, ranging from the man who introduced US to the blues, Paul Oliver, to Sir Tim Rice on Elvis (Presley) and Elvis (Costello) on Dave Bartholomew's 'The Monkey (Speaks His Mind)' that he once covered.

"The Ultimate Lady Jazz" is a compilation album released in 2012 by Blue Note. This double CD album features a collection of tracks by various female jazz artists. Notable tracks include "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones, "Cry Me A River" by Julie London, and "The Girl From Ipanema" by Eliane Elias. The album blends classic and contemporary jazz performances, highlighting the contributions of women to the genre​.

"The Ultimate Lady Jazz" is a compilation album released in 2012 by Blue Note. This double CD album features a collection of tracks by various female jazz artists. Notable tracks include "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones, "Cry Me A River" by Julie London, and "The Girl From Ipanema" by Eliane Elias. The album blends classic and contemporary jazz performances, highlighting the contributions of women to the genre​.

A great listening pleasure is guaranteed, whereby very rare titles alternate with nos-talgic summer hits. Really real summer hits are Eddie Cochran with 'Summertime Blues' and Jerry Keller with 'Here Comes Summer'. And then there's Brian Hyland, with two bombs: 'Summer Job' and of course the obligatory 'Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polkadot Bikini'. Also for collectors there is a lot to see! Rare titles from the Bikinis and the Kittens, Doo-Wop songs from the Pearls, Chimes and Diamonds, Beach rarities from Dave York and Gene Gray and of course the title song 'Banana Split' from the McGuire Sisters!

It always seemed that women have led the way when it came to Swing. For every Crosby and Sinatra, there was not only an Ella or a Billie, but also a Sarah and a Peggy. For each Mel Tormé or Tony Bennett, there was a Lena , an Aretha, a Nina or a Dinah. When women became band singers during the Swing era, they frequently outlasted their employers in terms of celebrity and record sales. There are many remarkable examples of female vocal art on this compilation, some by those who have achieved superstar status. So many stories, so many brilliant performances. What a way to swing!

In the '50s and early '60s, there seemed hardly a single film noir that didn't involve a scene in a nightclub. There'd be smoke, elegantly clad women in evening gowns that were all zip and hip… and sharp-suited men attempting to look cool by linking Marlboro's with Martini's. Amidst it all, there'd be a singer, sometimes seated at a piano, who would slow down the action for a moment or two with a song of lost love or maybe a touch of the blues. These were the 4am people - folk who drifted homewards just before dawn. And this 2CD compilation celebrates some of those singers and the songs which made that era so memorable.

5CD Box set. American Popular Song: Six Decades Of Songwriters And Singers, a Various Artists Compilation. Released in 1984 on Smithsonian Collection.