Jerry Vale - Singles Collection 1953-62 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Al Martino was one of the illustrious coterie of Italian-American crooners who played such a huge part in popular music during the post-war decades and which included the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Tony Bennett, Frankie Laine, Tony Martin and others. Encouraged by family friend, another great Italian-American singer, Mario Lanza, he became a singer after service in WWII, performing in clubs and making obscure records for Jubilee, before winning the highly influential InchArthur Godfrey's Talent ScoutsInch TV show, leading to a recording contract for the independent BBS tag and a debut single with InchHere In My HeartInch, soon picked up by Capitol. It was a No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic - it was No. 1 in the very first UK record sales chart - and launched a career as recording artist, cabaret performer, TV personality and movie actor, appearing in the InchThe GodfatherInch trilogy of films through to 1990. This great value 54-track 2-CD set comprises selected A & B sides from his singles released on Capitol & 20th Century Fox during this era, and features all his US and UK chart entries during this era, including the No. 1 hit InchHere In My HeartInch along with the Top 10 hits InchTake My HeartInch, InchNowInch, InchRachelInch, InchWantedInch and InchThe Story Of TinaInch. It's an entertaining overview of his first decade as a chart performer, and a fine showcase for his talent as an interpreter of top class repertoire from across the pop and easy listening spectrum.

Julius La Rosa was a traditional pop singer typical of the style prevalent in the early '50s who came to fame on the all-powerful Arthur Godfrey's radio and TV shows, on which he was a regular performer from 1951 to '53. Godfrey's musical director launched the Cadence tag in 1953, and La Rosa was the first artist signed to the tag, making an immediate impact as two of his first three releases InchAnywhere I WanderInch and InchEh CumpariInch gave him Top 5 US pop hits. He was controversially fired from Godfrey's shows in 1953, but continued as a popular and successful radio and TV performer through the '50s as the pop landscape changed dramatically, continuing to have chart entries up to 1958, including a Top 20 UK hit that year with InchToreroInch. This great-value 57-track collection comprises most of the A & B sides of his singles for Cadence and for RCA after he left Cadence in 1955, plus selected A & B sides for the Roulette and Kapp labels between 1958 and 1962, and naturally includes all his career hits in the pop charts, which in addition to those already mentioned include the Top 20 entries InchDomaniInch, InchSuddenly There's A ValleyInch and InchLipstick & Candy & Rubbersole ShoesInch. It represents a substantial proportion of his chart-focused output during the core era of his career, and provides an admirable showcase for his smooth and sophisticated vocal style which made him such a popular media personality.

Blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Earl King, a native of New Orleans, was one of the coterie of influential artists who helped create the distinctive style of R&B which characterised the music of the Crescent City, and which, along with the work of other New Orleans artists like Fats Domino and Allen Toussaint provided one of the musical bedrocks for the soul and R&B boom of the '60s. This 41-track 2-CD comprises the A and B sides of just about all of his releases as a solo artist during this first decade of his career, from his debut for the Savoy tag in 1953, and including his subsequent releases during this era on the Specialty, Ace, Vin, Rex and Imperial imprints through to 1962, after which there was a hiatus in his recording activities until later in the 60s. It includes his R&B hits InchThose Lonely, Lonely NightsInch and InchAlways a First TimeInch, and his classic and much-covered songs InchCome OnInch and InchTrick BagInch - InchCome OnInch was later recorded by Jimi Hendrix on his InchElectric LadylandInch album, and other songs of his were covered by the likes of Lee Dorsey, Robert Palmer, The Neville Brothers and Dr. John. This anthology represents a thorough overview of his output during this time, and is a highly entertaining showcase for his distinctive brand of up-front New Orleans R&B