This, the final CD in the trilogy, concludes the Todd Rhodes story with his final recordings for King Records from 1952-54. The loss of the band's star vocalist, LaVern Baker, in 1953 to Atlantic... more

Johnny Otis told us [songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller] to come down to his garage in the back of his house, where he used to rehearse. He wanted us to listen to his people and see if we... more

Lloyd himself admitted that he was a sham as a blueman. His parents had treated him well and he had been brought up in a loving home, wanting for nothing. He would joke that he never tried to sing... more

A talented singer and guitarist who recorded for a handful of legendary mid-West record labels in the 1950s, John Brim - accompanied by his musician wife Grace - made some of the most indispensable... more

For the first year or two of it's existence, the Cincinnati-based King Records issued only country music. It was label owner Syd Nathan's friendship with the black swing band leader Lucky Millinder... more

The period covered by this CD was the beginning of the end as far as Amos Milburn's chart career was concerned. The 1952/53 recording dates were the last commercially successful series of sessions... more

This 22 track compilation features blues legend Jimmy McCracklin performing the songs "Miss Mattie Left Me," "Mean Mistreated Lover," "Highway 101," "Baby Don't You Want To Go," "Achin' Heart,"... more

I played for Lil Green for two years as her guitar player. I wrote some songs for her, like "My Mellow Man," "Country Boy," "Give Your Mama One Smile" and some more that I fixed up for her. I wasn't... more

This CD reissues the complete recordings (except for those yet unissued) that Crawford waxed for Checker Records in 1953/54 as Sugar Boy & his Cane Cutters.

A deeply personal songwriter, all of Floyd Jones' songs recorded traumatic events in his own life; whether it was his despair at the recession in "Ain't Times Hard", anger over unemployment in... more

This CD, the first to present the classic R&B recordings of Larry Darnell, includes all the Regal recordings from 1949 to 1951 followed by the very first Okeh session.

Vocal with orchestra. From Aristocrat, Chess and Peacock sides.

The sides are Mercury, Apollo, Sunny, JOB, Airway, and Regal.

From AAFS, Chess, Testament, 20th Century and Aristocrat sides.

Underrated as a vocalist, Little Walter Jacobs' singing talent was always bound to be outshined by his more evident skills as a virtuoso blues harp player. Arguably the most influential and... more

The turn of the decade of the fifties was a halcyon time for women R&B singers; the late 1940s had seen the rise of important stylists such as Dinah Washington, Ella Johnson and Annie Laurie, and... more

This CD continues with the long 1942 recording session that would be Lil Green's last with Big Bill Broonzy, and includes several classics written by Joe McCoy, as well as Broonzy's influential "Keep... more

A fine blues singer who would no doubt have fared better during the classic blues boom of the 1920s and 1930s, Lil Green was apparently born too late to take advantage of her lineage from Bessie... more

He rocketed to stardom with his smooth urban blues—but would be dead at 25 after a shocking backstage shooting. He did make his mark, though, and here's the proof: all his hits—My Song; Cross My... more