Boswell Sisters - Collection 1925-36 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The Boswell Sisters inauspiciously launched their recording career in New Orleans, their hometown, on March 22, 1925. Early local appearances featured Connie, the eldest, on cello, Helvetia (Vet) on violin, and Martha at the piano, but the city's Jazz environment made Connie and Vet switch to saxophone and banjo, respectively. At first, the singing was almost incidental, but it became their ticket to national attention five years later when they moved to New York and became a fixture on radio shows. The Boswell Sisters were notable for their tight harmony as well as their unique ability to modulate pitch and give familiar songs a new melodic twist. They were the cutting edge that inspired future groups, including the Andrews Sisters, who began their own career by emulating them, even down to their Southern accent. The exuberant sisters recorded a string of hits in the 1930s, sometimes teaming up with fellow vocalists, such as Bing Crosby and the Mills Brothers. Instrumental accompaniments are by some of the days most popular musicians and bands, including the Dorsey Brothers, Don Redman, Red Nichols, and Benny Goodman. Considering their popularity and impact, the sisters had a relatively brief run, disbanding in 1936 when Martha and Vet married outside of the music industry and decided to give priority to family life. Connie, however, continued and enjoyed a successful solo career. This boxed set contains the entire Boswell Sisters output of commercially released recordings- a remarkable set of performances that paved the way for the vocal trio genre. It also includes a bonus DVD featuring more extraordinary performances.

The Fontane Sisters were a family vocal trio who worked on radio, and made early recordings for the Musicraft tag around 1946, before joining Perry Como's radio show, which led to a recording contract with RCA, for whom they had a number of big hits, including duets with Perry Como. They moved to the Dot tag in 1954, and immediately had major successes with cover versions of big hits from the R&B charts, most notably a pop No. 1 with their version of The Charms' InchHearts Of StoneInch, and a No. 3 with a cover of Boyd Bennett's InchSeventeenInch. This great-value 60-track 2-CD collection features all their 44 entries in the Billboard and Cash Box charts, including their two No. 1s with Perry Como Inch'A' You're AdorableInch and InchHoop-De-DooInch, plus selected A & B sides from their singles for Musicraft, RCA and Dot from the era. Although they were very much part of the middle-of-the-road pop scene of the late '40s and early '50s, their versatility was such that from their beginnings in the immediate post-war years, they were able to sustain their chart career into the rock 'n' roll era. They are a group who, despite their numerous chart successes, have not been accorded the recognition they merit as artists who had the staying power and talent to ride the waves of the music business during the turbulent era of the mid-'50s. This overview of their active career as recording artists provides an entertaining insight into that talent.

Jazz-meets-country in an impossibly hot session, ca. 1959! A platter of lightning-fast picking and impeccable taste from the legendary George Barnes! Chicago's George Barnes led a storied career as bandleader and session guitarist, including roles with national radio and television orchestras during the post-war days when electric guitar was being heard more frequently as a central instrument. His Gibson ES-300 had a singular sound that established his presence and persona among other players, and was heard on many hit records of the '50s and '60s including Connie Francis' InchLipstick on Your Collar.Inch Country Jazz is a 1957 collection of originals and public domain songs reworked in the guitarist's style and sound, originally issued on the budget labels Colortone and Brigade. Listen as one of the early guitar gods turns tune after tune into six-string magic, working a collection of familiar songs into a truly new and exciting experience, presented here in it's original mono mix. The description on the back of the original album reads InchA wonderful collection of Western favorites that everyone will love-and played in the traditional Western style.Inch The front cover features a more accurate explanation InchGreat guitar solos in modern country jazz styleInch-as if Inchmodern country jazzInch was an established category-though, if anyone could establish a new species of music, it was George. Country Jazz was not designed to explore a new iteration of country music, but when George added his own twist of jazz to these rockabilly-tinged tunes the resulting influence was unmistakable. These arrangements of traditional folk and country songs represent the enjoyment George got out of crossing musical genres. He could (and would) play anything-which made him invaluable in the studios of Chicago and New York City, but also meant he defied categorization, inadvertently