The Marvelettes Good Luck Charm

Elvis Presley may be the single most important figure in American 20th century popular music. Not necessarily the best, and certainly not the most consistent. But no one could argue with the fact that he was the musician most responsible for popularizing rock & roll on an international level. Viewed in cold sales figures, his impact was phenomenal. Dozens upon dozens of international smashes from the mid-'50s to the mid-'70s, as well as the steady sales of his catalog and reissues since his death in 1977, may make him the single highest-selling performer in history.

Early thirty-something dentist Dr. Charlie Logan has never experienced true love, despite having had a number of girlfriends over the years.

Cursed since childhood, dentist Charlie Kagan (Dane Cook) cannot find the right woman. Even worse, he learns that each of his ex-girlfriends finds true love with the man she meets after her relationship with him ends. Hearing of Charlie's reputation as a good-luck charm, women from all over line up for a quick tryst. But when Charlie meets the woman (Jessica Alba) of his dreams, he must find a way to break the curse or risk losing her to the next man she meets.

Beginning with a 600-meter descent into the depths of the earth, Good Luck shines a flashlight onto the human face of labor in the time-warp'd working conditions of an underground state-owned mine in Serbia. The hiss of oxygen cuts through the diesel rumble, the walls of the office vibrate with explosions two levels below; war-torn and half-forgotten, these miners' physical struggle finds its mirror a continent away - in the tropical heat of an illegal Surinamese gold mine. The water pumps roar under the blinding sun; silver liquid rolls across the hand of a Saramaccan Maroon as he adds mercury to dirt in a never-ending search for gold….

If variety is the spice of life, then listening to American radio during the early part of the 1960s was certainly a spicy experience! Legend has it that the period covered by these 3CDs was a low point in pop, roughly bordered by Elvis enlisting in the Army in 1958, and the American breakthrough of The Beatles in 1964. But even the briefest look at these titles - or the quickest of listens, will disprove that legend. Here is a delicious menu of dance sensations, virtuoso instrumentals, novelty hits, heart-breaking ballads together with some of the perkiest pop you could wish for.

The Persuasions have logged some serious miles driving from town to town over the years to deliver their a cappella message. To amuse themselves on the road, they sing old favorites: songs they perform in their shows, their own versions of songs of the day, and, of course, the good old stuff they've known since they were kids. This disc boasts the good stuff, including covers of Elvis Presley, Bill Withers and Otis Redding. Each selection is a song the band has known and jammed on and thought about for many years, over a lot of rough roads.