Aside from the Louvins and the Delmores, few other postwar vocal duos had the power and consistently high quality of the brother-in-law team of Johnny Wright and Jack Anglin. They started working together on various Southern radio stations before World War II. The war split them but they reunited afterward with Johnnie's wife Muriel (future legend Kitty Wells) singing in the band. In 1947 they joined the Opry and made their first records for the R & B-oriented Apollo label. This superb collection starts with the beautiful What About You from their first session for RCA in January 1949 and ends with their last Decca recording You'll Never Get A Better Chance Than This from March 1962 , a year before Anglin's tragic 1963 death in a car crash the same day he was to attend Patsy Cline's funeral.
Here's a new Jasmine 2CD compilation that will stir a memory or two in the minds of all long-term lovers of what used to be called 'Country And Western'.
At times, the line between country and rock & roll was very thin indeed, but Bear Family's two-volume, 2014 set The Hillbillies: They Tried to Rock presents a familiar story from a different angle: it showcases country singers trying to combat the rising tide of rock & roll. Plenty of the early rock & rollers came up through some manner of country circuit – the Sun stable in particular was riddled with these types – but once Elvis Presley started a streak of monster hits in 1956, major country stars and upstart hillbillies alike tried to ride that wave.
AVID Roots here presents two classic Champion Jack Dupree albums plus, including original LP liner notes on a finely re-mastered and low priced double CD. 'Blues From The Gutter' and 'Champion Jack's Natural & Soulful Blues' from 1958 and 1959 respectively are complimented by a host of Singles from the 1940's and 50's, many of which are finding their way onto CD for the very first time courtesy of AVID! We kick things off with Jack's first two albums, 'Blues From The Gutter' recorded in New York in 1958 and considered by many to be his finest work to that point and perhaps his finest work ever! We follow this with an album dear to British blues enthusiasts hearts and recorded in 1959 in London using such stalwart British bluesmen as Alexis Korner and Jack Fallon……'Champion Jack's Natural & Soulful Blues'. Concluding side one and onto side two we have a selection of Jack's singles recorded in the 40's and 50's for such diverse labels as Continental, Red Robin, King and Groove & Vik. Unlike many bluesmen born around the early 1900's Champion Jack Dupree went on to have a very long and full life, travelling extensively around Europe and recording for many different labels as witnessed on this fine double CD. He finally settled in Germany where he died in 1992 having recorded over 40 albums!
With 158 hits on 10 CDs, the 'Golden Age of Country' is the most comprehensive collection ever devoted to country music of the 1950s and '60s. We've brought together all the major C&W stars and their hits from the two most important decades in the genre's history. It's a dream collection for any fan of classic country music.
This collection brings together the most influential country and western artists from country music’s golden age. Pioneering artists combined traditional mountain music with new instruments and sounds – launching their songs onto the national scene. Enjoy this unique collection of country’s original hits and hit makers. This one-of-a-kind set is the most comprehensive country music collection ever devoted to the classic hits of the ’50s and ’60s.