While the first Flatt & Scruggs box on Bear Family documented the band's development over its first 11 years – 1948-1959 – this set captures the band at the height of its meteoric rise to fame into the stuff of legend. First and foremost, Flatt & Scruggs eclipsed the fame of their mentor, Bill Monroe by having six charting singles in Billboard between the mid-'50s and 1960. They also got reviewed in Playboy and Downbeat magazines and began to play the Newport Folk Festival and appear on stages with Joan Baez, Cisco Houston, the Kingston Trio, New Christy Minstrels, Woody Guthrie, John Jacob Niles, and many others.
From the classic sounds of the jug band heyday to the earthy blues straight from the Mississippi Delta, Memphis was at the very epicentre of the 1920s country blues explosion. This Rough Guide charts the city’s huge influence with classic tracks by blues legends Memphis Minnie, Furry Lewis, Sleepy John Estes and many more.
Pablo Casals showed the world that Bach's solo cello suites were more than mere teaching exercises. Modern ears weaned on historically informed versions might flinch at Casals' tempo fluctuations and distensions of line. Yet his imposing personality, intense concentration, and penetrating musicianship transcend time. Seth Winner's revelatory transfers restore the warm overtones to Casals' cello missing from EMI's harsher remasterings.
This collection delves yet deeper into the archives of country blues, uncovering hidden gems by artists shrouded in mystery. From classic renditions of blues standards to intriguing novelty songs, this is a must-listen for any blues connoisseur.
Broke, Black & Blue delivers multiple surprises within its 100 songs of prewar blues. Arranged chronologically by Joop Visser, the set admirably covers the first 22 years of recorded blues, 1924 to 1946, from vaudeville and Delta to boogie-woogie and jump blues. It's a swell gift for anyone wanting to learn more about the history of blues. But old-timers will be pleased, too, as special attention has been paid to culling rare and idiosyncratic tracks by the well-known and the obscure. The first three discs present single tracks by artists as diverse as the Memphis Jug Band, De Ford Bailey, Tommy Johnson, Son House, Skip James, Peetie Wheatstraw, Lonnie Johnson, and Bukka White, alongside unknowns such as Isaiah "The Mississippi Moaner" Nelson, Barbecue Bob and Laughing Charley, Ed Andrews, Chicken Wilson, and Bumble Bee Slim. On the fourth disc, this convention is jettisoned to luxuriate in a series of very rare sides of lovely, oddly subdued boogie-woogie and jump blues by Jimmie Gordon, Johnny Temple, and Lee Brown.
The five years from the beginning of 1958 to the end of 1962 were crucial to the genesis of country music as it moved away from a traditional hillbilly and western sound to something altogether more cosmopolitan in construction.
With 158 hits on 10 CDs, the 'Golden Age of Country' is the most comprehensive collection ever devoted to country music of the 1950s and '60s. We've brought together all the major C&W stars and their hits from the two most important decades in the genre's history. It's a dream collection for any fan of classic country music.
This collection brings together the most influential country and western artists from country music’s golden age. Pioneering artists combined traditional mountain music with new instruments and sounds – launching their songs onto the national scene. Enjoy this unique collection of country’s original hits and hit makers. This one-of-a-kind set is the most comprehensive country music collection ever devoted to the classic hits of the ’50s and ’60s.