Jo Ann Algermissen

People have begun to discover just how good a blueswoman the late Jo-Ann Kelly was. That's led to a trawling through the vaults, which have turned up albums like this, of obscure compilation and unreleased cuts. Key to the Highway covers what's arguably her most prolific period, as her star was ascending and was at its critical height (although it should be noted that the 1974 end date in the title is very elastic – there are six cuts from 1975, and two conversation pieces from 1988). While all too often material has remained unreleased for a good reason, everything here is prime. Kelly's definition of blues is definitely loose, including Hank Williams' "You Win Again," with some strong piano from Bob Hall, and even Marvin Gaye's "Can I Get a Witness" and Rufus Thomas' "Walking the Dog." However, in her hands, blues is exactly what they are. While generally accompanied, the stunning a cappella "Levee Camp Holler" shows the power she had, enough to put her up there with the top rank, and where her fretwork shows through, as on "I Can't Be Satisfied," she was a superb guitar player, with a slide technique to make Bonnie Raitt envious. The audio here might not be the best, somewhat crackly and aged, but in many ways that simply adds to the authentic patina of blues. She shows that you don't have to be male and African-American to have the blues. And a record like this simply increases her legacy.

28 recordings, including early singles with orchestral backing by: Dave Barbour; Jerry Gray; Dick Stabile and Ray Anthony, with whom she had the hits 'Wild Horses' and 'The Hokey Pokey', as well as 11 great tracks with Les Brown's Band of Renown featuring superb renditions of 'The Man That Got Away', 'He Needs Me' (from Pete Kelly's Blues), 'Liberace's 'Sincerely Yours', Irving Berlin's 'Sittin' in the Sun' and the Arlen-Mercer song 'Hit the Road to Dreamland'.

The rock era saw a few white female singers, like Janis Joplin, show they could sing the blues. But one who could outshine them all — Jo Ann Kelly — seemed to slip through the cracks, mostly because she favored the acoustic, Delta style rather than rocking out with a heavy band behind her. But with a huge voice, and a strong guitar style influenced by Memphis Minnie and Charley Patton, she was the queen. Born January 5, 1944, Kelly and her older brother Dave were both taken by the blues, and born at the right time to take advantage of a young British blues scene in the early '60s.

22 Great Ragtime Hits is a two volume CD series by jazz pianist Jo Ann Castle, who specialized in ragtime music. True to its title, each disc features 22 songs. The original volume was released in 1977 before Ranwood Records released a follow-up a year later. This was released on CD in 1987.

The rock era saw a few white female singers, like Janis Joplin, show they could sing the blues. But one who could outshine them all Jo Ann Kelly seemed to slip through the cracks, mostly because she favored the acoustic, Delta style rather than rocking out with a heavy band behind her. But with a huge voice, and a strong guitar style influenced by Memphis Minnie and Charley Patton, she was the queen.