Memphis Country Blues
Various Artists
17 selections by the bluesmen who defined a unique sound. The songs on this
CD are the "creme de la creme" of the musical talent that made Memphis the
home of the blues.
Tin Pan Alley Blues
Various Artists
After W. C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues," New York City's Tin Pan Alley jumped on
the blues bandwagon. This disc collects 18 sides from 1915 - 1925 by
vaudeville stars and early blues and jazz performers. The selections on this CD
are a cross section of performances by both black and white recording artists.
They are as fresh today as they were when you could buy them at your local
record shop for about 75 cents.
Riverboat Shuffle
Various Artists
Mississippi steamboats are part of American legend; that legend was captured
in the songs heard in this collection. Fortunately, the music still survives.
Travel back with us to a more simple time when cotton was king and life on the
river was a neverending adventure. So sit back, have a mint julep and enjoy
this celebration of life on the Mighty Mississippi during the first half of the
twentieth century.
Memphis Town
Various Artists
Everyone who loves the blues knows Beale Street and the legacy of Memphis.
This is a sample of the many musical styles that evolved in the area, with songs
named after or inspired by the town.
Rags to Rhythms
Various Artists
Rags to Rhythms is a collection of rags, two-steps, cake walks and marches
recorded between 1907 and 1926. Unfortunately, this music is probably the
most neglected of the jazz and blues idioms, even though it is one of the most
important contributions to American pop music.
Rock & Roll Sermon
Various Artists
If you're not familiar with sanctified music with blues and
dazzling guitars, pumping piano, and true-testifying, then Rock & Roll Sermon
is something to experience.
Blue Ladies
Various Artists
This compilation includes the great female blues singers of the classic blues era.
Oriental Illusions
Various Artists
America's fascination with the Orient at the start of
the twentieth century fostered the beginning of "Chinamania." The average American knew
very little about the mysterious Far East, but that was about to change. Songwriters began
to pen songs about China and this continued well into the 1930s. This compilation contains
historical performances that show the influence China had on Western music.
W. C. Handy's Memphis Blues
Band
W.C. Handy
Everybody knows W. C. Handy as "The Father of the Blues," but the original
recordings by his Memphis Blues Band have never been previously reissued!
Marvelous
Ted Weems & His Orchestra
Ted Weems (1901-1963) led one of the
more long-lived dance orchestras in
America. Weems showed an uncanny
ability to adapt his sound to fit the most popular trends. When vocal refrain
became a fashionable addition to big band music, Weems was ready with the
adept Parker Gibbs at the microphone. Marvelous includes Weems' most
popular and swinging numbers.
Swinging Down The Lane
Isham Jones & His Orchestra
Besides having a successful recording career, Jones also
had a talent for writing. His catalog included such songs as: Spain, It Had to be
You and The China Dall. This collection contains recordings of Isham Jones and
His Orchestra between 1923 - 1930.
Red Hot & Blue
Dewey Phillips
If 50s radio was defined by the unique personalities of the likes of Alan Freed and Wolfman Jack, Dewey Phillips hails as King of the unique.
State of Tennessee Blues
The Memphis Jug Band
Eighteen songs are featured on this CD by Memphis' premier jug band (1927-1929).
Liet. James Europe's 369th U.S. Infantry
James Reese Europe
James Reese Europe was the world's most accomplished
African-American bandleader before 1920. He was
internationally famous as the founder of New York's Clef Club and as music director for
Vernon and Irene Castle. During World War I, he organized the all-black 369th U.S. Infantry
"Hell Fighters" Band. They fought in the trenches, introduced that new music "Jazz" to the
Continent, and were acclaimed in France and America as the greatest-ever regimental band.
In May, 1919, the "Hell Fighters" were on the last leg of their triumphal U.S. Victory Concert
Tour when Europe was murdered at age 39. All twenty-four recordings he made for Pathe in
the last two months of his life are collected on this CD as well as 44 pages of liner notes
and rare photographs.
