The late Esther Phillips (1935-1984) has often been considered one of the ‘unsung’ pioneers in the world of R&B, stretching back to the early ‘50s when as a child star working with famed bandleader Johnny Otis, she enjoyed a run of chart-topping singles at the age of 15, making her the youngest female artist to ever have an No. 1 R&B hit at the time. The Texas-born vocalist returned in 1962 with a soulful version of the country hit, ‘Release Me’ for Lenox Records, subsequently signing with Atlantic Records for whom she recorded a total of four full albums between 1964-1970 with a brief spell at Roulette Records in 1969.
Five CD set featuring all of the albums recorded by Eric Burdon & the Animals for the MGM Records label issued between October 1967 and December 1968. Eric Burdon & the Animals came together in December 1966 when the original Animals had ground to a halt. Vocalist Eric Burdon recruited Vic Briggs (guitar, piano), John Weider (guitar, violin, bass), Danny McCulloch (bass) and Barry Jenkins (drums) to form a new group which changed direction away from raucous rhythm and blues and embraced psychedelic rock and the influences of the emerging counter-culture…
UK five CD set. White Lion originally formed in 1983 when Danish singer Mike Tramp moved to New York City and teamed up with guitarist Vito Bratta. Tramp and Bratta would make a strong and consistent writing team throughout White Lion's brief career. Releasing their debut Fight To Survive (CD One) independently in 1985, the band's fortunes really took off once they were snapped up by Atlantic Records to release second record Pride (CD Two) in June 1987.
Continuing the recurring output of one of the UK's best loved Blues Bands, vocalist Zoe Schwarz brings together her working band of guitarist Rob Koral, organist Pete Whittaker and drummer Paul Robinson alongside a horn section featuring Ian Ellis, saxophone and trombonist Patrick Hayes. “We’re very proud to present the sixth studio album for Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion. It’s hard to believe that it’s only eight years that we started this particular musical journey with Pete Whittaker-Hammond organ and Paul Robinson-drums. We have another twelve original songs for you here, and we felt that because of the diversity of musical stylings, the album title Chameleon fitted perfectly.”
To say that Aretha Franklin was one of the greatest American artists of all time is an understatement. Her multi-octave voice moved millions around the world during an unrivaled career that spanned six decades and garnered the singer-songwriter every achievement and honor imaginable. Her reign as the Queen of Soul will play out across four discs on a new boxed set from Rhino that is the first to span her entire career, including songs from every label she recorded with.