Various Artists - Greatest Country Hits Of 1959 / Various - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Mike Lunsford - Super Hits [COMPACT DISCS] date 02/15/2013

This continues the series which we re-established a couple of years ago and which comprises selected annual collections of the biggest US country hits of each year. This great-value 120-track collection fills in a gap in the series for 1957, replacing a 2-CD version which was previously as ADDCD3029, but which is now no longer available. The Country & Western charts published in Billboard during 1957 were restricted to 15 places, and this collection comprises every record which appeared in the Best Sellers, Most Played by Disc Jockeys, and Most Played in Juke Boxes charts during the year. Because of the brevity of the recordings, we were able to include not only those records which had already charted and peaked during 1956, but also those which were listed as Inchtag-alongInch B sides. For reasons of space we have omitted a few tracks which charted in the lower reaches of the airplay chart and which peaked in 1958, so appear in that collection. The charts were a fascinating mixture of material as the established traditional country stars like Eddy Arnold, Webb Pierce, Ray Price and Kitty Wells found themselves fighting for elbow room with not only new crossover acts like Marty Robbins and Johnny Cash but with the big rock 'n' roll hits of the era which crossed into the country and R&B charts. With an in-depth 10-000+ word booklet with background notes on every record, it gives a solid overview of the most popular country music of the year.

This continues the series which we re-established a couple of years ago and which comprises selected annual collections of the biggest US country hits of each year. This great value100-track 4-CD collection goes back to the start of the 1950s, when the relevant Billboard chart was called the Best Selling Retail Folk (Country & Western) Records, and apart from a few weeks at the start of the year, when there was a Top 15, was restricted to a published Top 10. The collection comprises many of the records which appeared in the chart during the year. Although there were many records which harked back to the styles of traditional hillbilly and western swing music, many of the artists featured were those who had established themselves during the late 1940s and would enjoy prolific hit-making careers during the '50s until the business changed significantly in the wake of the rock 'n' roll explosion. Artists like Hank Williams, Eddy Arnold, Red Foley, Ernest Tubb and Tennessee Ernie Ford are therefore well represented along with many artists whose musical legacy is less well-known these days, as well as pop artists like Margaret Whiting and Kay Starr making forays into the genre through duets with country stars, which makes it a fascinating snapshot of the business as a new decade dawned. With an in-depth 10,000+ word booklet with background notes on every record, it gives a solid overview of the most popular country music of the year.