Touch of Evil (1958) + Extras

The great Philly soul band Touch of Class featured Pete and Gerald Jackson, writers of Vickie Sue Robinson's smash hit, "Turn the Beat Around". Produced by John Davis, the album presented here, "I'm in Heaven", utilized various members of the Salsoul Orchestra. All selections were remastered.

The stellar A Touch of the Blues pairs Lee Wiley with an exceptional band led by trumpeter Billy Butterfield, whose warm, beautiful tone proves a sympathetic counterpoint to Al Cohn and Bill Finegan's otherwise dark, melancholy arrangements.

The hugely popular live American television plays of the 1950s have become the stuff of legend. Combining elements of theater, radio, and filmmaking, they were produced at a moment when TV technology was growing more mobile and art was being made accessible to a newly suburban postwar demographic. These astonishingly choreographed, brilliantly acted, and socially progressive “teleplays” constituted an artistic high for the medium, bringing Broadway-quality drama to all of America. The award-winning programs included in this box set – originally curated for PBS in the early 1980s as the series The Golden Age of Television, featuring recollections from key cast and crew members – were conceived by such up-and-comers as Rod Serling and John Frankenheimer and star the likes of Paul Newman, Mickey Rooney, Rod Steiger, Julie Harris, and Piper Laurie.

Buddy Cole started as a theater organist in 1934, then worked with a number of big bands, including Frankie Trumbauer's and Alvino Rey's.