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RHYTHM & BLUES, SOUL & DOO-WOP

Bobby Hall -> The Hurricanes
 

BOBBY HALL & THE KINGS
THE HALOS
ROY HAMILTON
CLAY HAMMOND/ Z.Z. HILL
THE HARPTONES
THURSTON HARRIS
WYNONIE HARRIS
COUNT "RED" HASTINGS
SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS
THE HEARTBEATS
THE HEARTS
BOBBY HENDRICKS
THE HESITATIONS
THE HI-LITES/THE CASTALEERS
AL HIBBLER
 
JOE HICKS/ JIMMY HUGHES
CHUCK HIGGINS
WILLIE HIGHTOWER
LORENZO HOLDEN
JIMMY HOLIDAY
LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY
THE HOLLYWOOD FLAMES
THE HOLLYWOOD SAXONS
THE HOLMES BROTHERS
JOE HOUSTON
CAMILLE HOWARD
TOMMY HUNT
HERBERT & RUFUS HUNTER
IVORY JOE HUNTER
THE HURRICANES
 

 
BOBBY HALL & THE KINGS Famous Groove 971013 Bobby Hall And The Kings ● CD $18.98
29 tracks from excellent and under-rated Baltimore, MD group.

 
THE HALOS Collectables 5580 Package ● CD $13.98
16 tracks, 38 min., recommended
Their 1962 album on Warwick is very rare indeed, so if you've been yearning to hear the Halos output in a manner that your spouse would regard as fiscally responsible, this is your chance. Most tracks are upbeat, with at least something of the gritty feel of their one hit, the title track here. Other cuts include Zoom Zoom Zoom, Mean Old World, Crazy Bells, L-O-V-E, For Your Precious Love (a rare ballad), What'd I Say, If I Had Known, and Oh What a Night. Sound quality, notes, and cover art are all to Collectables new, higher standards. (DH)

 
ROY HAMILTON Collectables 5150 Golden Classics ● CD $11.98

 
ROY HAMILTON Collectables 8823 Anthology ● CD $26.98
2 CD set - 36 tracks.

 
CLAY HAMMOND/ Z.Z. HILL Kent CDKEND 188 Southern Soul Brothers ● CD $18.98
CLAY HAMMOND: Do Right Woman/ I Got A Letter This Morning/ I'll Make It Up To You/ I'm Gonna Be Sweeter/ I'm So Glad You're Mine/ Love Made The Whole World Multiply/ My Jealous Girl/ My Sweet Baby Is Coming Home/ Something Better/ Suzy Do It Better Than You/ Take Your Time/ The Good Side Of My Girl/ Togetherness/ You Brought It All On Yourself/ You Messed Up My Mind/ You Threw Out Your Lifeline/ Z.Z. HILL: Don't Make Promises (you Can't Keep)/ Everybody Needs Somebody/ Gimme Gimme/ I'm Gonna Love You/ My Girl Has Gone Away/ Please Take Me Back/ The Greatest Love/ What Am I Living For?/ Where She At/ You've Got Me Chained To Your Love

 
THE HARPTONES Collectables 5401 The Goldner Recordings 1956-57 ● CD $13.98
All you ever wanted to hear by this legendary New York street corner quintet, led by the velvet voice of Willie Winfield, excluding the ever popular Sunday Kind Of Love, Life Is But A Dream, and My Memories Of You. The Harptones conveyed a smooth pop-oriented, polished style much revered by the East Coast Doo-Wop fans. Their unique treatment of romantic ballads like The Masquerade Is Over/ The Shrine of St. Cecelia (both included) thrilled Apollo Theatre audiences in 1957. Much praise is due to Raoul Cita, the group's pianist and arranger. This album features 14 tracks recorded for George Goldner in 1956 & '57, first reissued on Murray Hill 1098. For those who like the sweet and mellow. (OLN)
THE HARPTONES: Cry Like I Cried/ Is This Really The End/ On Sunday Afternoon/ Oo Wee Baby/ Shrine of St Cecilia/ So Good, So Fine, You're Mine/ That's The Way It Goes/ That's the Way It Goes/ The Masquerade Is Over/ Three Wishes/ Until the Real Thing Comes Along/ What Did I Do Wrong/ What Is Your Secret/ When Will I Know

 
THE HARPTONES Collectables 6074 Life Is But A Dream - Very Best Of The Harptones ● CD $13.98
18 track collection of their Old Town recordings including several previsouly unissued alternate takes and accompaniments to Peggy Farmer and Ruth McFadden.

 
THE HARPTONES Relic 7021 Sunday Kind Of Love ● CD $14.98
Willie Winfield and Central Harlem's Harptones never enjoyed instant million copy sales of their records when they were issued during the 50's, yet their fame and legendary reputation are spread far and wide. Sunday Kind Of Love/ My Memories Of You (both included) are standards today in every hallway harmonist's songbook, and their style set a trend in five-part harmony. Willie's clear and impassioned voice fronted wavering harmonies on Raoul Cita's expert musical arrangements. Charts include Since I Fell For You/ I Almost Lost My Mind/ Loving A Girl Like You/ Why Should I Love You. Exhaustive sleeve notes by Don Fileti plus rare pics and trade journal clips. Twenty cuts, including live tape from a 1955 concert.If you like The Five Keys you'll like The Harptones. (OLN)
THE HARPTONES: Forever Mine/ High Flying Baby/ I Almost Lost My Mind/ I Depended On You/ I'll Never Tell/ It Wasn't Just For Laughs/ Loving A Girl Like You/ Mambo Boogie/ Mambo Boogie/ My Memories Of You/ Oobidee.. Oobdee.. Oo/ Ou Wee Baby/ Since I Fell For You/ Sunday Kind Of Love/ What Is Your Decision

 
THURSTON HARRIS Plaza 502 Little bitty Pretty One - Complete Early Recordings ● CD $18.98
35 tracks, 77 min., highly recommended
Thurston Harris began his singing career as lead singer for the Lamplighters on the Federal label, but this near maximum length disc, featuring his "complete early recordings," takes a comprehensive look at his work as a solo, beginning with his successful 1957 cover of Bobby Day's Little Bitty Pretty One and ending some seven years later. Other featured numbers include Fine Fine Frame, I'm Out to Getcha, Do What You Did, Cross My Heart, I'm Asking Forgiveness, Tears from My Heart, Runk Bunk, In the Bottom of My Heart, Send Me Some Lovin', Moonlight Cocktail, Quiet as It's Kept, and Mr. Satan. All in all, a fine and pleasantly-varied program, mixing tempos and, to some extent, styles, and featuring a nice cover photo of the artist, solid sound quality, and informative notes. (DH)

 
WYNONIE HARRIS Ace CDCHD 457 Women, Whisky And Fish Tails ● CD $18.98
21 tracks, 53 min., recommended
Well aware of the fact that there are already several Harris discs on the market, Ace wisely decided to focus their reissue on his later King sides, recorded between 1953 and 1957. This period of time falls after his period of regularly making the charts, but all of the material is strong and interesting nonetheless. And almost all of the titles are new to CD. Among them are Greyhound/ Christina/ Fish Tail Blues/ Shotgun Wedding/ Bring It Back, and I Don't Know Where to Go. Not a last gasp, but a last flash of brassy blues brilliance. All with Ace's usual high standards in sound quality, graphics, and liner notes. (DH)

 
COUNT "RED" HASTINGS Collectables 5323 With Danny Turner & Eddie Wood ● CD $11.98
CD issue of Krazy Kat 823. Big sax sound from the Gotham vaults. 10 of the 14 tracks are by Lowell Hastings, who spent most of his year as sideman and session man, including long stints with Earl Bostic, Louis Jordan (on X and Aladdin), as well as having his big tenor on dozens of King/ Deluxe sides in the late 50s. These cuts are from the only 2 sessions done under his own name. One each in '48 & '50, including his hits Begin The Beguine & Sugar Cane , plus never before issued alternates of Patches & Miner In The Diner . The set is completed by 2 each by tenor Danny Turner, previously heard on Krazy Kat/ Gotham with Panama Francis All Stars, and since '75 a member of the Basie Orchestra, and unknown Eddie Woodland.

 
SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS Bear Family BCD 15530 Spellbound 1955 - 1974 ● CD $41.98
Double CD of Screamin' Jay rantings done for Wing (8 from 1955 - 2 previously unissued), Decca (8 from 1966 - 4 previously unissued), Philips (24 from 1969) and RCA (2 from 1974). With the exception of 8 cuts from 1955, most of these 48 tracks are pretty silly (wait - green flourescent bats begin to flutter menacingly - I didn't mean it really!). Included is a 1966 remake of his monsterpiece I Put A Spell On You and from 1972 we have the demented You Put A Spell On Me. The 1955 sessions, recorded for Mercury/Wing with the Leroy Kirkland band, are generally more straight ahead R&B efforts, yielding the classic She Put The Whamee On Me. The Phillips tracks cover all bases ranging from Jay's own takes on pop ballads, blues, R&B and his epic Constipation Blues which gives new meaning to the phrase "anal retentive". The 36 page booklet features extensive notes by the Bill Millar and a host of crazed photos. (MB/FS)

 
SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS Bear Family BCD 16687 Screamin' Jay Rocks ● CD $24.98
31 tracks, 78 mins, highly recommended
Screamin' Jay Hawkins' catalog has long suffered from sloppy, second-rate collections, so having Bear Family come in and do a topnotch job like this one is a real treat. This captures the best of his '50s & '60s work, with few surprises in the track listing and only an alternate version of Knock-Kneed Nana making its first appearance here. You get all of the classics -- I Put A Spell On You/ Little Demon/ Baptize Me In Wine/ (She Put The) Whammy (On Me,)/ I Is, -- and many, many more. Plus less often compiled tracks that are fantastic, like $10,000 Lincoln Continental/ Armpit #6, and Mountain Jive, etc. The real key here is the beautiful sound and outstanding presentation. There is a thick booklet with all kinds of rare photos, plus brand new, extensive notes by Bill Millar and, on top of that, a deeply detailed Discography covering all of Screamin' Jay's recordings from 1952 - 1970. This is easily the best Screamin' Jay Hawkins compilation, even better than the great set Rhino put out about 20 years ago. Get rid of all of your other Hawkins' comps (except maybe the one recently from Rev-Ola) and get this right away (or at least before Halloween)! (JM)
SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS: $ 10,000 Lincoln Continental (take 2)/ (She Put The) Wamee (On Me)/ All Night/ Alligator Wine/ Armpit No. 6/ Baptize Me In Wine/ Do You Really Love Me/ Frenzy/ I Is/ I Put A Spell On You/ In My Front Room/ Just Don't Care/ Knock-Kneed Nana (take 7)/ Little Demon/ Little Demon (alt. take)/ Mountain Jive/ Not Anymore/ Party Doll/ Person To Person/ Please Don't Leave Me/ Strange/ Take Me Back/ Talk About Me/ There's Something Wrong With You/ This Is All/ Well I Tried/ Whammy/ What That Is/ Yellow Coat/ You Ain't Foolin' Me/ You Made Me Love You

 
SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS Collectables 5456 I Put A Spell On You ● CD $13.98

 
SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS Edsel 414 Portrait Of A Man ● CD $17.98
Reissued in the wake of Jay's recent death this is 25 track retrospective of his recording career ranging from his first solo recording of Baptize Me In Wine as Jalacy Hawkins for Timely in 1954 to 1994's Scream The Blues with Jay still shouting and screaming the blues in fine form with a blues-rock band. Along the way we hear two versions of his classic I Put A Spell On You - the original 1956 Okeh version and a crazed and very different version from 1979 with Keith Richard on guitar. We also hear the totally demented I Hear Voices from 1962, the powerful and soulful Portrait Of A Man from 1972 and more. Curiously it omits his other OKeh hit the fine Allligator Wine and fortunately (or not depending on your viewpoint) also omits Constipation Blues.

 
SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS Epic 47933 Cowfingers & Mosquito Pie ● CD $11.98
This is basically a reissue of Jay's classic "At Home With Screamin' Jay Hawkins" LP that was never reissued to the best of my knowledge, with some welcome additions. We not only get the drunken blaster I Put A Spell On You but enough Hawkins mayhem to raise the dead on Little Demon , the surrealistic tale of Screamin' Jay's Yellow Coat (amazing lyrics), a campy pseudo-Oriental Hong Kong , and nutty versions of I Love Paris and Take Me Back To My Boots & Saddle . Alligator Wine and the flip There's Something Wrong With You are added as well as another Okeh single Frenzy and the flip. And if that ain't enough to have you reaching for a glass of "Bulldog spine wine" how about 4 prime alternate takes including I Put A Spell On You and Alligator Wine ? Like snowflakes, no two Screamin' Jay screams are the same. (AE)

 
SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS Evidence 26003 Live And Crazy ● CD $12.98
11 tracks, 50 min., recommended. The title tells you all you need to know here. Recorded live in Paris in 1988 before an enthusiastic crowd, Jay peforms favorites like The Whammy/ Yellow Coat/ Alligator Wine/ I Put A Spell On You/ Constipation Blues plus rock tunes like Tutti Frutti/ Lawdy Miss Clawdy/ Ain't That A Shame. Good sound quality and an energetic performance. (PG)

 
THE HEARTBEATS/ SHEP & THE LIMELIGHTS Collectables 8805 For Collectors Only ● CD $24.98
Most of the material here was reissued years ago on Vol. 2 of Roulette's Echoes Of A Rock Era series (RE-115), but Collectables has added a generous portion of extra Heartbeats cuts from the Rama, Hull, Roulette, and Gee labels, recorded in the mid to late 1950s. Perhaps of greatest interest to collectors are the 4 unreleased tracks, Stars In The Sky/ Be Mine, Be Mine/ Tell Me/ Hydromatic Love, all uptempo rockers and somewhat atypical for a group known for its smooth sound. Also included are the fast and slow versions of People Are Talking. The Shep & The Limelites tracks, yet another reissuing of their Hull LP from 1962, include Daddy's Home/ Our Anniversary/ Three Steps From The Altar/ This I Know, and 6 others. Two CDs, 40 songs, great music, decent notes, cheap price. (JC)
THE HEARTBEATS: 500 Miles To Go/ A Thousand Miles Away/ After New Years Eve/ Be Mine, Be Mine (unreleased)/ Crazy For You/ Darling How Long/ Down On My Knees/ Everybody's Somebody's Fool/ Hands Off My Baby/ Have Rock Will Roll/ Hurry Home Baby/ Hydromatic Drive (unreleased)/ I Found A Job/ I Want To Know/ I Won't Be The Fool Anymore/ It's Allright With Me/ Lonely Lover/ Lovin' Sickness/ Oh Baby Don't/ One Day Next Year/ People Are Talking/ People Are Talking (alternate version)/ Rockin' &Rollin', Rhythm &Bluesin'/ Sometimes I Wonder/ Stars In The Sky (unreleased)/ Tell Me (unreleased)/ Wedding Bells/ When I Found You/ Your Way/ SHEP & THE LIMELIGHTS: Daddy's Home/ Gee Baby, What About You/ One Week From Today/ Our Anniversary/ Ready For Your Love/ Remember Baby/ This I Know/ Three Steps From The Altar/ What Did Daddy Do?/ Why, Why Won't You Believe Me/ SHANE SHEPPARD: Two Loving Hearts

 
THE HEARTBEATS Rhino 70952 The Best Of The Heartbeats ● CD $11.98
20 track compact disc. The best known songs of The Heartbeats recorded between 1955 and 1960 plus sides by Shep & The Limelites which was the group formed in 1961 by lead singer James Sheppard after the Heartbeats split up. 
THE HEARTBEATS: 500 Miles To Go/ A Thousand Miles Away/ After New Year's Eve/ Crazy For You/ Daddy's Home (Shep &the Limelites)/ Darling How Long/ Down On My Knees/ Everybody's Somebody's Fool/ I Found A Job/ I Want To Know/ I Won't Be the Fool Anymore/ Lonely Lover/ One Day Next Year/ People Are Talking/ Sometimes I Wonder/ Your Way/ SHEP & THE LIMELIGHTS: Our Anniversary/ Ready for your Love/ Three Steps From the Altar/ What Did Daddy Do

 
THE HEARTS J&S 955 Lonely Nights ● CD $18.98
27 tracks, 67 min., highly recommended
A gem of a collection, offering the tracks recorded by this stellar girl group for both the Baton and J & S labels. Groups members included Jeanette "Baby" Washington, Johnny Louise Richards of Johnny and Joe, and Rex Garvin, the group's bass singer and lone male. The program here opens with the group's biggest hit, Lonely Nights from 1955, then moves onto All My Love Belongs to You, Talk About Him Girlie, Until the Real Thing Comes Along, Disappointed Bride, Dancing in a Dreamworld, So Long Baby, I Want to Be Free, Thousand Years from Today, You or Me Has Got to Go, and I Couldn't Let You See Me Crying. Solid New York doo-wop, presented here with fine sound quality, brief notes, and a great vintage cover photo of the group. (DH)
THE HEARTS: All My Love Belongs To You/ Dancing In A Dreamworld/ Disappointed Bride/ Going Home To Stay/ Gone, Gone, Gone/ Goodbye, Baby/ I Couldn't Let You See Me Crying/ I Had A Guy/ I Want To Be Free/ I Want Your Love Tonight/ If I Had Known/ Like, Later Baby/ Lonely Nights/ My Love Has Gone/ Oo-Wee/ She Drives Me Crazy/ So Long Baby/ Talk About Him Girlie/ There Are So Many Ways/ There's No Love At All/ Thousand Years From Today/ Until the Real Thing Comes Along/ Where Are You Tonight/ You Needn't Tell Me, I Know/ You Or Me Has Got To Go/ You Say You Love Me/ You Weren't Home

 
BOBBY HENDRICKS Collectables 5738 Itchy Twitchy Feeling ● CD $11.98

 
THE HESITATIONS Official 56701 Let's Groove ● CD $18.98
23 tracks from late 60s by Cleveland soul group including their big hit - a wild gospel flavored treatment of Born Free. Also includes Love Is Everywhere/ I've Gotta Find Her/ Push A Little Bit Harder/ I Believe In Love/ We Can Do It/ Who Will Answer/ Somewhere, etc.

 
AL HIBBLER Blue City 818 26 Best of Al Hibbler ● CD $17.98
Selections include After The Lights Go Down (original version and hit version) / Unchained Melody/ Fat and Forty/ A Tree in the Meadow/ Honeysuckle Rose + 20.

 
THE HI-LITES/THE CASTALEERS Rhythm Records RHY 1002 The Hi-Lites Meet The Castaleers ● CD $16.98
Features 12 tracks by the Hi-Lites and 9 by the Castaleers.
THE CASTALEERS: Come Back/ I'll Be Around/ Lonely Boy/ Lonely Boy/ My Baby's All Right/ My Bull Fightin' Baby/ My HiFi Baby/ That's Why I Cry/ You're My Dream/ THE HI-LITES: Everybody's Somebody's Fool/ For Sentimental Reasons/ For Your Precious Love/ Gloria, My Darling/ I'm Fallin' In Love/ Maybe You'll Be There/ Moonlight/ Pretty Face/ To The Aisle/ Walkin' My Baby Back Home/ Zoom Zoom/ Zoop

 
JOE HICKS/ JIMMY HUGHES Stax 88011 Mighty Joe Hicks/ Something Special ● CD $17.98
22 tracks, 76 min., recommended Two albums on one CD. The first, Joe Hicks "Mighty" (originally Enterprise 1028 from 1973), is original soul 'n' blues with covers of Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out/ Rock Me Baby thrown in. He sounds best--which is pretty good--on his own The Team/ Rusty Ol' Halo Just Ain't As Strong As I Used To Be/ Did You Forget. No notes. (JC)

 
CHUCK HIGGINS Specialty 2175 Pachuko Hop ● CD $12.98

 
WILLIE HIGHTOWER Collectables 5170 Golden Classics ● CD $11.98

 
LORENZO HOLDEN Southland 26 Cry Of The Wounded Jukebox ● CD $15.98
19 tracks, 56 min., recommended
Nice surprise here - a compilation by one of the great unsung heroes of the L.A. rhythm and blues scene. Tenor saxman Holden was a musician's musician who backed Johnny Otis, Pee Wee Crayton, Willie Egans and many more. He roars out of the gate with Whipped Cream, spurred on by the guitar of Chuck Norris and Ernie Freeman's piano. Hunting with Hunter is a searing bopper, and Top Hat shows Lorenzo to be a master of original phrasing. Just Blues is one of many laid-back organ combo numbers - he was an originator of this pleasing format. Along the way we get plenty of classic bump and grind, and many unusual instrumentals, 19 winners in all. The source material is not always of the highest quality, but the musical quality more than compensates. The remarkably thorough notes are a plus, too. Essential for sax buffs. (MB)

 
JIMMY HOLIDAY Collectables 5734 How Can I Forget ● CD $11.98
12 tracks, 30 min., recommended
Thanks to Collectables, assembled here for the first time are all 12 sides that this solid soul singer and song writer cut for the Everest label between 1963 and 1965. His first hit, the great title tune here, brought Holiday a significant measure of public attention, but it was only several years later that the Minit label saw his material as worthy of an LP collection. Be that as it may, the solidly worthwhile early numbers collected here, a mixture of uptempo and ballad numbers, include How Can I Forget, Janet, Poor Boy, Allison, I Believe in Love, One More Thing, Hollywood, and Ol' Man River. Sound quality, cover art, and liner notes are all up to snuff. Not one to miss. (DH)

 
LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY Collectables 5189 Golden Classics Of The 70's ● CD $11.98

 
THE HOLLYWOOD SAXONS Famous Groove 971012 Everyday Is A Holiday ● CD $18.98
30 tracks from West Coast group who also recorded as The Portraits, Capris and other names plus the related group The Senders who also recorded as the Swallows & The Uptones. Includes the groups' minor local hit Everyday Is A Holiday plus Trying/ It's You/ My Love Is True/ I'm Your Man/ L.A. Lover/ Tears Came Rolling Down/ A Casual Kiss/ Spinning/ Everyday Is A Holiday (acapella version)/ Everybody Seems To KNow, etc.

 
THE HOLLYWOOD FLAMES Specialty 7021 The Hollywood Flames ● CD $15.98
Although some of this material has seen revival on Specialty 2166 (1988) and P-Vine CD 2155 (Best Of Ebb R&B - 1989), there's many a good cleffing to wrap your ears around. Fine lead work from David Ford of Ebbtides' sides and the late Bobby Byrd a.k.a. Bobby Day. All 27 tunes cut for Art and Lee Rupe's Specialty and Ebb labels between 1952-59. Knockout ditties include So Good/ This Heart Of Mine/ Strollin' On The Beach/ Frankenstein's Den and The Flames' finest ballad, Just For You, a weeper penned by Bobby Relf of Laurels fame. The group's basic sound is sweet, soulful, and has a strong Jesse Belvin-type smoothness. Nice pics and learned booknotes. Compiled and produced by Billy Vera. (OLN)

 
THE HOLMES BROTHERS Rounder 2124 Soul Street ● CD $16.98
12 tracks, good. The Holmes Bros. have been issued recently on a flurry of labels, but to my ear Wendell and Sherman Holmes and Popsy Dixon don't always make it. This set opens up with a down in the alley treatment of O.V. Wright's You're Gonna Make Me Cry, with impassioned vocals plus tasty steel guitar. There Goes My Everything is blessed with the nice harmony fiddles of guest Alison Krauss. The group's adoption of The Sensational Nightingales' arrangement of Walk In The Light works well for them, and is this set's most earthy and touching number. Unfortunately, most of the remainder is filler or bogged-down blues covers. (OLN)

 
JOE HOUSTON Specialty 2171 Cornbread And Cabbage Greens ● CD $12.98
Unlike many of the jazz vets of his generation, tenorist Houston didn't give a hoot for subtlety - in his frantic solos he'd choose a climactic note and wring the hell out of it, sending everyone into a rockin' frenzy. Yes friends, if you want R&B honkin', this is it in 26 slices from the John Dolphin labels, including a multitude of unreleased takes. His 78 spinners are here, including the hotter than hot Flying Home/ Rockin' & Boppin' and the classic squealer All Night Long, the mouth-watering title track as well as the jazzy Sentimental Journey. Houston had a few tricks in his bag, waxing jazz standards like Lester Leaps In/ I Cover The Waterfront with (as Billy Vera's boss notes reveal) nearly identical arranged solos on each take! The guy was consistent - these 1952 cuts are every bit as good as his sides for Modern, Imperial and others, and he's still going strong today. This will drive your neighbors crazy, but get it anyway. (MB)

 
CAMILLE HOWARD Specialty SPCD 7046 Rock Me Daddy ● CD $15.98
25 tracks, 63 min., recommended A native of Texas, Howard rose to her greatest fame as the fine boogie and blues pianist for Roy Milton's Solid Senders. But she also recorded prolifically as a solo artist for the Specialty label. The tracks here, recorded between 1947 and 1952, are a delightful mix of solid blues vocals and boogie instrumentals, a few of which are based on classical themes. Highlights include You Don't Love Me/ O Sole Mio Boogie/ I'm Blue/ Money Blues, and Song of India Boogie. This issue is the first devoted to Howard's solo output, and it is long overdue. With its fine sound, graphics, and notes - and 12 previously unissued cuts - this set is worthy of a place in any decent post-war blues collection. ( DH )

 
TOMMY HUNT Collectables 5246 Human - Golden Classics ● CD $11.98
Pittsburgh-born Tommy (Charles) Hunt sung alongside Johnnie Taylor in The Five Echoes during the early 50's, then joined The Flamingos in 1956 and sang with them on Chess and End Records. In 1961 he signed with Wand/Scepter, where he recorded two best sellers Human/ I Am A Witness (both included). Of the remaining ten songs on this CD, Your Man/ Don't Make Me Over are the two which stand out. Hunt had a very impressive style, too often wasted on poor material. He later gained reawakened success on Dynamo Records, but in 1967 chucked it all for life in Wales as an African-American Brit. Decent book notes, average sound. Duplicates English vinyl of the recent past. (OLN)

 
TOMMY HUNT Kent 145 The Biggest Man - Scepter & Dynamo Recordings, 1961-67 ● CD $18.98
TOMMY HUNT: Coming On Strong/ Didn't I Tell You/ Do You Really Love Me/ Don't Make Me Over/ Everybody's Got A Home But Me/ False Alarm/ How Can I Be Anything (without You)/ Human/ I Am A Witness/ I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself/ I Might Like It/ I'm Wondering/ It's All A Bad Dream/ It's All In The Game/ Just A Little Taste (of Your Sweet Lovin')/ Lover/ Make The Night A Little Longer/ New Neighbourhood/ Oh Lord, What Are You Doing To Me/ Parade Of Broken Hearts/ Poor Millionaire/ Promised Land/ She'll Hurt You Too/ So Lonely/ The Biggest Man/ This And Only This/ Words Can Never Tell It/ You Made A Man Out Of Me/ Your Man

 
HERBERT & RUFUS HUNTER Black Magic 9202 The Sound Of A Crying Man ● CD $15.98
21 tracks from the 60s and early 70s by two brothers from Nashville doing R&B and soul for various small labels run by Nashville music entrepreneur Ted Jarrett.

 
IVORY JOE HUNTER Collectables 6234 Ivory Joe Hunter/ The Old & The New ● CD $13.98
Two classic albums by Ivory Joe from 1957 and 1958 on one CD. Includes his hits Since I Met You Baby/ Empty Arms/ Yes I Want You plus other fine songs like It's A Doggone Crying Shame/ I Need You/ A Tear Fell/ To Lose You, etc.

 
THE HURRICANES Dipper 202 "Priceless" Recordings ● CD $17.98
28 tracks, 68 min., essential Another of the great and largely unheralded vocal groups of the 50's finally gets the digital compilation that it so richly deserves. Beginning its recording life as the Toppers of Baby Let Me Bang Your Box fame, this Henry Austin-led entourage laid down its best and its smoothest sides as the Hurricanes. Their numbers under that name include Poor Little Dancing Girl, Maybe It's All for the Best, Yours, Raining in My Heart, Dear Mother, and Fallen Angel. Also included are numbers that lead singer Austin is featured on that were released either as by Henry Alston, such as the delightful Once in a Beautiful Lifetime, and as by the Memos, such as I'm Going Home. All in all, not a disc to miss if you're a fan of the r&b vocal group sound. Sound quality is solid, as are the notes, and there's a great color photo of the group gracing the cover of the liner notes booklet. For what more could one ask? (DH)


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