Description
DESCRIPTION
This continues the strand of R&B and country collections associated with Acrobat's highly popular "America's Greatest Hits" series, this one focusing on the top R&B records in the US Billboard charts during 1961. This great value 113-track 4-CD anthology includes, with the exception of certain records which are unavailable for inclusion due to copyright restrictions, just about every record which peaked in the Billboard R&B Top 15 during that year. By this time, the R&B scene had evolved considerably as the rock 'n roll scene had matured and Tin Pan Alley had marketed it's teen-oriented offshoots, and there was an exciting feel to the charts, with substantial crossover into the pop charts through artists like Ben E. King, Ray Charles, Brook Benton, The Miracles, Aretha Franklin and The Marvelettes. There was also a significant weight of other records from the increasingly powerful Motown, Tamla and other labels producing material which would have a significant influence on emerging talent across the pond in the UK, like The Beatles, who absorbed some of the songs in this anthology into their repertoire, sowing the seeds of the British invasion which was soon to transform the pop landscape once more. With the blurring of the boundaries between the genres, the more traditional blues and R&B artists whose music had helped lay the groundwork for rock found it harder to reach the top positions in the R&B chart, and the foundations of the soul boom of the late '60s and 70s was clearly in evidence in many of the hits included here. As with all these collections, it provides a window onto a dynamic and exciting musical environment, and includes a number of unfamiliar names and recordings of which even enthusiasts of the genre may not
Jerry Butler - He Will Break Your Heart
Floyd Cramer - Last Date
Bert Kaempfert & His Orch. - Wonderland By Night
Brook Benton - Fools Rush in (Where Angels Fear to Tread)
Kathy Young & the Innocents - a Thousand Stars
Johnny Horton - North to Alaska
Bobby Bland - Cry Cry Cry
Miracles - Shop Around
James Booker - Gonzo
Ray Charles - Ruby
Nina Simone - Trouble in Mind
Etta & Harvey - Spoonful
Ike & Tina Turner - I Idolize You
Little Junior Parker - Stand By Me
Drifters - I Count the Tears
Marv Johnson - Happy Days
The Innocents - Gee Whiz
Jimmy Reed - Close Together
Ronnie Love & His Orch. - Chills and Fever
Rosie & the Originals - Angel Baby
Ferrante & Teicher - Exodus
Ray Charles & His Orch. - Them That Got
The Capris - There's a Moon Out Tonight
Maxine Brown - All in My Mind
Roy Hamilton - You Can Have Her
Aretha Franklin - Won't Be Long
Mary Wells - Bye Bye Baby
Jackie Wilson - the Tear of the Year
Fats Domino - What a Price
Lawrence Welk - Calcutta
Chubby Checker - Pony Time
Etta James - at Last
Carla Thomas - Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)
Brook Benton - Think Twice
Bobby Bland - I Pity the Fool
James Brown - Bewildered
Marcels - Blue Moon
Brook Benton - for My Baby
The Vibrations - the Watusi
Ben E. King - Spanish Harlem
Ray Charles - One Mint Julep
Etta James - Trust in Me
Ernie K-Doe - Mother-In-Law
Jerry Butler - Find Another Girl
Jorgen Ingmann & His Guitar - Apache
Jackie Wilson - Please Tell Me Why
The Miracles - Ain't It Baby
Drifters - Some Kind of Wonderful
Clarence "Frogman" Henry - But I Do
Gene McDaniels - a Hundred Pounds of Clay
Del Shannon - Runaway
Shep & the Limelites - Daddy's Home
Joe Barry - I'm a Fool to Care
Maxine Brown - Funny
Junior Parker - Driving Wheel
Ben E. King - Stand By Me
Cleftones - Heart and Soul
Regents - Barbara Ann
Jimmy Reed - Big Boss Man
Etta James - Fool That I Am
James Brown - I Don't Mind
Elvis Presley - I Feel So Bad
Pips - Every Beat of My Heart
Clarence 'Frogman' Henry - You Always Hurt the One You Love
Bobby Lewis - Tossin' and Turnin'
Dee Clark - Raindrops
Ray Charles - I've Got News for You
Jackie Wilson - I'm Comin' on Back to You
Brook Benton - the Boll Weevil Song
The Drifters - Please Stay
Gary "U. S." Bonds - Quarter to Three
B. B. King - Peace of Mind
Chris Kenner - I Like It Like That (Part I)
Spinners - That's What Girls Are Made for
Damita Joe - I'll Be There
Mar-Keys - Last Night
Gary U.S. Bonds - School Is Out
Bobby Bland - Don't Cry No More
Mary Wells - I Don't Want to Take a Chance
The Chanters - No, No, No
Jerry Butler - I'm a Telling You
The Sensations Featuring Yvonne - Music, Music, Music
Jive Five - My True Story
Fats Domino - Let the Four Winds Blow
Ben E. King - Amor
James Brown - Baby, You're Right
Bull Moose Jackson - I Love You Yes I Do
Ike & Tina Turner - It's Gonna Work Out Fine
Jimmy Reed - Bright Lights, Big City
Bobby Lewis - One Track Mind
Brook Benton - Frankie and Johnny
Ray Charles - Hit the Road Jack
Chantels - Look in My Eyes
Jarmels - a Little Bit of Soap
Etta James - Don't Cry, Baby
The Stereos - I Really Love You
Dovells - Bristol Stomp
Lee Dorsey - Ya Ya
Drifters - Sweets for My Sweet
Marvelettes - Please Mr. Postman
Dion - Runaround Sue
Aretha Franklin - Operation Heartbreak
Little Junior Parker - in the Dark
Gene McDaniels - Tower of Strength
Jimmy McCracklin - Just Got to Know
Sims Twins - Soothe Me
Chubby Checker - the Fly
Dinah Washington - September in the Rain
Solomon Burke - Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)
The Miracles - Everybody's Gotta Pay Some Dues
Bobby Bland - Turn on Your Love Light
Crystals - There's No Other (Like My Baby)
Impressions - Gypsy Woman
