who helped to shape 1950s rock'n'roll and whose most memorable compositions included Don't Be Cruel, All Shook Up, Fever and Great Balls of Fire.  (less)

venues of the scene every weekend for all-night parties, driven by high octane Soul music from the previous decade up to the present day. The four volumes of this series trace the history of the scene via four of the greatest clubs on the circuit, and in the course of this, they present the most definitive, best researched and most authoritatively annotated survey of Northern Soul ever released on CD in the UK. Features Paul Anka, Dean Courtney, Spiral Staircase, Otis Blackwell and many others. Sony/BMG. 2007.  (less)

phenomenon since Frank Sinatra after kicking up a fuss on Milton Berle's and Steve Allen's TV variety shows. In the studio, Presley's first recordings for RCA drew from the same pool of rhythm & blues tunes that he'd been interpreting at Sun Records. 1956 was the year Presley sang great songs by Otis Blackwell ("Don't Be Cruel," "Paralyzed," "Ready Teddy") and the Leiber-Stoller team ("Hound Dog," "Love Me"). He also essentially swiped Carl Perkins's "Blue Suede Shoes" and tried to do the same with such other contemporary hits as "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy" and "Shake, Rattle, and Roll." Note that on the same day he recorded the galvanizing "Heartbreak Hotel," Presley also cut a most Sun-like (and wholly appropriate) "Money Honey." The compilation ...  (less)

biggest pop phenomenon since Frank Sinatra by kicking up a fuss as a red-hot regular on TV variety shows. In the studio, Presley's first recordings for RCA drew from the same pool of rhythm & blues tunes that he'd been interpreting at Sun Records. 1956 was the year Presley sang great songs by Otis Blackwell ("Don't Be Cruel," "Paralyzed," "Ready Teddy") and the Leiber-Stoller team ("Hound Dog," "Love Me"). He also essentially swiped Carl Perkins's "Blue Suede Shoes," and tried to do the same with such other contemporary hits as "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy" and "Shake, Rattle, and Roll." Note that on the same day he recorded the galvanizing "Heartbreak Hotel," Presley also cut a most Sun-like (and wholly appropriate) "Money Honey." The compilation ...  (less)

'S No Joke, a paranoia-disco rap from the guy you didn't want to meet sitting next to you at the bar, and Rock 'n' Roll Jackson, one of the lesser-known Knights of the Round Table. Also, a previously unrecorded song from Otis Blackwell, writer of many Elvis Presley hits, Everybody's Buddy.  (less)