Without Chet Atkins, country music may never have crossed over into the pop charts in the '50s and '60s. Although he recorded hundreds of solo records, Atkins' largest influence came as a session musician and a record producer. During the '50s and '60s, he helped create the Nashville sound, a style of country music that owed nearly as much to pop as it did to honky tonks. This is a wonderful multi-disc boxed set retrospective of Atkins's earliest recordings. Casual fans will be surprised to hear that Chet was originally marketed as a vocalist/guitarist, much the same as then popular Merle Travis was on Capitol. His eventual move over to strict instrumentals doesn't come until the end of this box set, with guest vocalists flitting in and out of the picture, but Atkins's guitar is solid throughout.

Many great hits of sweet Connie were included in the country charts. And when the fresh voice of one of the most successful female pop vocalists of the century interprets some country classics of the fifties and sixties, the result is outstanding. Enjoy Connie's version of immortal hits like "I walk the line", "Bye bye love", "Peace in the valley", "Tennessee waltz" and more.

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In the era of the sound bite, when songs are used to hawk everything from shampoo, soap, and cars to wine coolers, dating services, and Viagra, it is easy to lose sight of the more noble utilitarian use songs can have, and this haunting collection of 20th century labor songs calling for fairness, dignity, and a just wage is a compelling document of the power of songs to unite and enable...

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This important collection of folk songs from the Chicano movement, which began in the Southwest in the mid-'60s and continues today, covers 30 years of history. The heulga (strike) songs, moviemento (anthems), and the corridos (narrative songs of heroism and valor) come out of many forms including the conjunto sounds of the Texas-Mexico border. None of these tunes were recorded for commercial or critical purposes but rather as documents of struggle and inspiration. (...) Rolas de Aztlán is an original and necessary document of essential American musical history.

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Born and Raised, the new album from Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician John Mayer. The first single, "Shadow Days," Billboard calls "a gentle and shimmering confluence of mellow Southern rock".

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2012 release from this Country side-project led by Norah Jones. Material for the album was taken from the Willies' live repertoire, and by passing around ideas drawn from disparate sources. The selections include more surprising choices, like the trucker classic 'Diesel Smoke, Dangerous Curves' and 'Foul Owl On The Prowl,' from the soundtrack to In The Heat Of The Night. Alongside the more obscure songs, though, For the Good Times also includes some of the best-known songs in the history of Country music, like Dolly Parton's 'Jolene' and the title track, written by Kris Kristofferson and made famous by such singers as Ray Price and Al Green.

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Heroes is the eagerly-awaited album of new songs and re-imagined classics performed by Willie Nelson, America's legendary outlaw country music avatar. Heroes is essential Willie Nelson, a seamless collection of top-flight pop-country songs. It includes a cover of Coldplay’s “The Scientist” which recently debuted to great acclaim as the soundtrack to an animated short film commercial during the US Super Bowl. There are also covers from the 30s and 40s and new songs by Willie, his sons, Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson, and "Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die", a new track featuring special guests Snoop Dogg, Kris Kristofferson and Jamey Johnson.

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Commemorating Randy's 25 years as a recording artist, Anniversary Celebration includes a series of duets and re-recordings of classic hits and new songs. Guests on the album include Brad Paisley, Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney, Josh Turner, Alan Jackson, Don Henley, Tim McGraw, Shelby Lynn, Carrie Underwood, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, George Jones, Lorrie Morgan, Ray Price, Gene Watson and many others.

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How she could sing! At 17 she was dating Elvis, and when he told her she should switch to rock 'n' roll, she did! Then the fireworks started. All the great rockin' sides are here: the early Deccas, and all the Capitol recordings up to 1962. Fujiyama Mama, Mean Mean Man, Party, I Gotta Know... etc. The country hits are here too, like Right Or Wrong and In The Middle Of A Heartache, as well as the original Silver Threads And Golden Needles, and the original version of the song she wrote for Buck Owens, Kickin' Our Hearts Around. Listen for the dynamite guitar of Roy Clark, plus Al Downing and the Poe Cats, and the Los Angeles session cats...

Here, complete for the first time, are all Brenda's early recordings from 1956 until 1963. These include Sweet Nothin's, I'm Sorry, Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree, I Want To Be Wanted, Emotions, Dum-Dum and Break It To Me Gently. The early albums are complete as well. Most of these titles have been unavailable for years!

I ve always hoped I would stay around long enough to get to make a record of Jerry Jeff Walker songs. He s the guy I saw at 19 and decided to try to be like. His are the first songs I learned. He is the reason we put a gypsy flag on stage. It s kind of a tribute record but not the kind of record in which I record my favorite Jerry Jeff Walker songs because I don t have favorites. We just went into a studio with another hero of mine, Don Was. We played about 30 of Walker s songs randomly, without forethought, and let the performance of the songs dictate the way the record was taking shape and which songs would make it.

"The Very Best of The Country Years" picks up from the point where Wanda made a seamless transition from country- inflected pop and rock to straight country. It contains a few more early rockers, all of her important country hits (there were over 20 in number), and several superlative LP tracks, a fabulous combination that showcases all the varied talents of this remarkable artist. This is the long-awaited companion volume to Ace’s best-selling "Queen of Rockabilly" collection.

Eddie Bond was a pioneer singer and guitar player of American Rockabilly music. In the mid 1950s, Bond recorded for Mercury Records and toured with Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Warren Smith and others. He is most infamous for having rejected the then 18-year-old Elvis Presley, who was auditioning for Bond's band. It was shortly thereafter that Presley recorded his first single at Sun Records. Bond's contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

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...The sticker that came affixed to the disc contains a quote that proclaims this to be one of the best albums of all time. While that is a stretch, there's no denying that the quote below that one -- "Quietly devastating" -- is 100 percent accurate.

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The legendary Brenda Lee's first two LPs recorded for US Decca when she was just 15 and 16, are paired (in stereo) on this CD. "Grandma, What Great Songs You Sang!" was a largely experimental set comprising songs from an earlier age. "Miss Dynamite" (known simply as "Brenda Lee" in the USA) shows how quickly she was able to establish her own recording persona given the right material. Both LP were produced by Owen Bradley and this 2 on 1 CD reissue has been mastered from the original stereo recordings.