George Sylvester aka Red Callender was born in Haynesville, Virginia, on March 6, 1916. His family moved to New York, where he immersed himself in the local scene, particularly in Harlem. Moving to Los Angeles in 1936 he found work, if not much renown, along Central Avenue, the city’s jazz focal point. Recognized as being among the city’s top bassists and arrangers of the 1940s and 50s, he played and recorded as a sideman with such greats as Lester Young, Nat King Cole, Erroll Garner, Charlie Parker, Benny Carter and Art Tatum. Outside the jazz scene, Red was also one of the leaders in the early Rhythm and Blues years, recording for almost all L.A.’s independent labels. Finally, he signed for the blues and R&B department of RCA Victor. During 1951 and 1952 he recorded sixteen tunes as leader of both a sextet and fourtette; two groups of great musicians including some of the finest recordings of guitarist Chuck Norris. All these fine, long forgotten recordings, restored from the master tapes appear here for the first time on CD, including six previously unreleased tracks that will fill a gap in Red Callender s long and successful career.

Long before his success with The Sir Douglas Quintet in the mid-1960s, Doug Sahm had been cutting tough R&B records starting in his early teens. Very much a child prodigy, Doug was proficient on five musical instruments and cut his first record, aged 14, billed as Little Doug & The Bandits. This compilation anthologizes his early recording career, from 1955 to 1962, across a half-dozen record labels. Many of these sides were popular local jukebox and radio hits, in and around Texas and includes collectors' items like Crazy Daisy' (Warrior), Why, Why, Why (Harlem), and Crazy, Crazy Feelin', Two Hearts In Love and Little Angel (Renner). This is the most comprehensive collection of Sahm's pre-Sir Doug recordings ever assembled; much of this material is unavailable elsewhere and a dozen of these sides have never previously appeared on CD.                                                                                                         

Something of a mystery figure, Allen Bunn aka Alden Bunn, aka Tarheel Slim also recorded as a member of The Selah Singers, The Four Barons, The Jubilators, The Larks, The Wheels and The Lovers (among countless more) He left behind an extraordinary legacy of recorded work. Although he remains best known for the blistering Wildcat Tamer/Number 9 Train, one of the all-time great double-sided Rockabilly 45s, he was one of the most versatile and prolific artists of his era, as a singer, guitarist, bandleader and songwriter, across virtually the entire musical spectrum, touching on Gospel, Blues, DooWop, R&B, Rockabilly, Soul and Pop. This compilation presents a definitive look at his career between 1950-62 and includes all his major successes. 

As with many blues guitarists, Pee Wee was influenced by T-Bone Walker. However, unlike many other T-Bone followers, he managed to imbue his style with considerably more original elements, which gave him an enviable chart run in the late 1940s. This 2-CD set includes his singles recorded for Gru V Tone, Modern (recorded in Hollywood), Imperial and VeeJay between 1947 & 1957. Considering how influential his guitar techniques became, Pee Wee Crayton is a generally underappreciated talent. 

Tampa Red was one of the greatest of all Chicago bluesmen and a huge influence over subsequent generations of Chicago based blues musicians. This collection spans the six-year period from 1947 to 1953 and features all of his biggest hits including When Things Go Wrong With You and Sweet Little Angel. His influence on the 50's era musicians such as Muddy Waters, Johnny Jones and Eddie Taylor cannot be underestimated and these recordings show the way.  Twelve of the 27 tracks are on the Ace label double CD of this RCA material. 

Jimmy Witherspoon was one of the most popular and influential blues vocalists of the 20th century. Unlike many of his contemporaries he was simply a vocalist, playing no instruments. His powerful voice and affinity with jazz and jazz players helped his career enormously, affording him success on Billboard's R&B charts.  This compilation covers his chart hits and popular jukebox releases from The Supreme, Swingtime and Chess labels. 

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