Laugh Her Way Into Bed

Sunny Sweeney is the party and the morning after. She's the quip that makes you laugh and the truth that makes you cry, the devil that's egging you on and the angel whispering that you aren't alone. But those compelling contradictions aren't what's most interesting about Sweeney: it's the depth and brazen authenticity she brings to all her roles that grabs you and won't let go.

"Bring It On Home" is Osborne's first album of hand-picked vintage blues and soul songs, a collection that fans have long been asking for and Osborne herself delighted in making.

Carmen McRae always had a nice voice (if not on the impossible level of an Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan) but it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretations of lyrics that made her most memorable. She studied piano early on and had her first important job singing with Benny Carter's big band (1944), but it would be another decade before her career had really gained much momentum.