• Track Listing

Jasmine's extensive revisitation of the catalogue of Woolworth's famous Embassy label continues to provide a wealth of great music for lovers of late 50s/early 60s pop. Once reviled by record buyers as being no more than cheap knock-off soundalikes, collector opinion has changed in the last couple of decades and Embassy 45s are now as avidly collected as both the original versions and cover versions on major mainstream labels. Rightly so, too, as they are at least as good as the latter and perhaps even more so considering the quick turnaround conditions under which they were made. We've already brought you collections featuring two of Embassy's leading ladies, in Maureen Evans and Jean Campbell. This month it's the turn of Barbara Kay, the label's 'Kay Barry' whose complete recordings from 1960 to 1962 are joined by all the remaining Maureen Evans recordings that there was not room to fit onto our earlier "Embassies And Orioles" set. Like her label mates Barbara was a quick study, and able to cover anything and anyone from Helen Shapiro to actress Dorothy Provine and even Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons! Years of experience as a band singer made her able to adapt easily to any and every musical situation, as you will hear here. Maureen's selections are every bit as good as those we've brought you previously, and there's a bonus on hand in her duet recording of 'Goodness Gracious Me' with beloved radio DJ Brian Matthew playing Peter Sellers to her Sophia Loren! Their inclusion here means that every one of Maureen's Embassy recordings are now available on Jasmine. As always, the best available sources have been used in the preparation of the audio for this collection, with annotation that tells not only the story of the artists it features but also of the Embassy label itself.