Billy Joel - Piano Man (1973). Embittered by legal disputes with his label and an endless tour to support a debut that was dead in the water, Billy Joel hunkered down in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, spending six months as a lounge singer at a club. He didn't abandon his dreams - he continued to write songs, including "Piano Man," a fictionalized account of his weeks as a lounge singer. Through a combination of touring and constant hustling, he landed a contract with Columbia and recorded his second album in 1973. Clearly inspired by Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection, not only musically but lyrically, as well as James Taylor, Joel expands the vision and sound of Cold Spring Harbor, abandoning introspective numbers (apart from "You're My Home," a love letter to his wife) for character sketches and epics. Even the title track, a breakthrough hit based on his weeks as a saloon singer, focuses on the colorful patrons, not the singer…
Nancy Kelly has paid her dues over her career and produced her best CD as a result of her hard work. She benefits considerably from the presence of tenor saxophonist Houston Person on this studio date, as he provides the perfect foil for her sassy vocals. Her regular rhythm section - consisting of pianist Dino Losito, bassist Neil Minor, and drummer Mark Taylor - also provides strong support. Seven of the dozen tracks she chose are standards from the 1930s through the 1950s, including a spirited take of "I've Got the World on a String," a midtempo bossa nova setting of "Like Someone in Love" (with Losito switching to electric piano), and a driving "Falling in Love with Love," the latter two with Person sitting out…
The ultimate Orbison! Between 1955 and 1965 Roy Orbison revolutionised popular music and these are the recordings that did it! This 7-CD set includes every recording from his golden decade! Beginning his career as a rockabilly singer on Jew-Wel and Sun Records , Roy scored one hit, 'Oooby Dooby', and left many great early rare and rockin' sides behind …'Problem Child, Down The Line, Rockhouse, Cat Called Domino'…
Although he shared the same rockabilly roots as Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison went on to pioneer an entirely different brand of country/pop-based rock & roll in the early '60s. What he lacked in charisma and photogenic looks, Orbison made up for in spades with his quavering operatic voice and melodramatic narratives of unrequited love and yearning. In the process, he established rock & roll archetypes of the underdog and the hopelessly romantic loser…