Rock Rhythm Doo Wop

What unites these 26 tracks? They're all black vocal group sides from 1960-1970, originally released on the Galaxy, Fantasy, 4-J, Riverside, and Specialty labels. That might be a fragile thread to tie a compilation around, but basically it's a way for Fantasy, which now distributes Specialty, to round up a bunch of doo wop, R&B, and soul rarities that it has license to. It's an agreeable though not great listen, illustrating in a modest way the transitional links between doo wop and soul music.

For anyone in their mid-teens in the mid-5Os, and into music, it had to be rock'n'roll - American rock'n roll. There was no British equivalent to the sound. In the UK, it was Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, The Platters, Alan Freed, Radio Luxembourg, Voice Of America. If the right people get to know about this and hear the quality, this will sell and sell.

Depending on the personal state of mind: rain can be perceived as unpleasantly wet or wonderfully refreshing. At all times and across all genres, composers and musicians have been dealing with rain. Bear Family Records delivers a wonderfully relaxed CD compilation that spreads good cheer in rain as well as sunshine with songs like Raindrops, Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head, Just Walking In The Rain, It Might As Well Rain Until September or Crying In The Rain. Stylistically, we cover a wide range from R&B, soul and blues to country, doo-wop and pop.