If you've only heard George Jones in later years, when he was the king of the heartbreaking ballad, you'll find plenty here to discover – as his early recordings for Starday Records are something else entirely – and almost have George hitting a rockabilly mode at times! This set's got some of Jones' best early singles for the Texas label, plus some overlooked gems – wrapped together to offer a wonderfully vibrant picture of a superstar in the making – already a singer with a voice that few folks could match, equally well-suited to catchy upbeat numbers and some of the more heartfelt tracks that offset things nicely. Titles include "Accidentally On Purpose", "Tall Tall Trees", "No Money In This Deal", "Too Much Water", "If I Don't Love You", "Why Baby Why", "Eskimo Pie", "How Come It", "Accidentally On Purpose", "Hold Everything", "Maybe Little Baby", "Rock It", "Mexican Boogie", "Gonna Come Get You", "Taggin Along", "That's The Way I Feel", and "You Gotta Be My Baby". CD

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About as close as you'll get to a debut album from the great Dave Dudley – as the set takes his classic title track, mixes it with a few other indie singles – and adds in a few other truck-themed tunes from the Starday catalog for good measure! Dudley's got one of our favorite voices ever in country music – and his landmark "Six Days On The Road" set a whole new standard for road-based tunes – a winning track about a pill-popping, cop-dodging trucker heading home at the end of a long run! Dave sings some other great ones here – including "Last Day In The Mines", "Where Do I Go From Here", "It's Gotta Be That Way", "Cry Baby", and "Taxi Cab Driver" – and the set also features the instrumentals "Lee Highway Swing" by Chubby Wise, and "Hot Rod Guitar" and "Big Rig Guitar" by Joe Maphis. CD

A much-needed look at the early years of Roger Miller – the chart-topping country star of the mid 60s, best known for a few key hits – but actually a well-traveled journeyman who spent cut many records before hitting the big time! Most of the work here is from the prime years of Starday Records – where Roger was able to step out initially as a bit of a rocker – still country overall, but maybe with a rockabilly edge at times – on material that has a bit less of the jokes of later years, but which could have stood more than strongly enough on its own. There's also a few even-earlier tracks for Decca – other obscure material that has an even younger Miller really sounding great – again with maybe a bit less of the distinction of his hits, but still pretty wonderful and very different than the mainstream pack of the time. Bear Family serves the whole thing up with plenty of notes that get to the heart of these overlooked years – and titles include the great "Jason Fleming", plus "Country Girl", "My Pillow", "Poor Little John", "A Man Like Me", "The Tip Of My Fingers", "Playboy", "Hot Rod Lincoln", "I Wish I Could Fall In Love Today", "I Ain't Never", "Under Your Spell Again", and a nice take on "Who Shot Sam". CD

Stringbean may look a bit silly on the cover, but he's a dead serious banjo player – one of the greats of his generation, and an artist who's sometimes overlooked on his instrument, because of a penchant for humor in his live performances! And although some of the songs here have a bit of wit at the start, once things get going, Stringbean's in that great mix of old time styles that the Starday Records label was hitting hard in the 60s – one of the few strong outlets for more country-flavored work on banjo, at a time when so many of the folk revival kids wanted things steered a bit more their way! Needless to say, you probably never would have caught Stringbean headlining a club in the Village – but that difference is what makes a record like this so great to discover – as you'll hear on titles that include "Birdie", "Don't Bob Your Hair Girls", "Herdin Cattle", "Keep My Skillet Good & Greasy", "Give Me Back My Five Dollars", and "Wake Up Little Betty". CD

Nobody put together a truck driving country record better than the Starday/Nashville label in the 60s – and this sweet little set is a perfect tribute to their talents! The set's full of cool, groovy, truck-themed tunes from the indie underground of the time – not the polished pop work of the big labels, but close-to-the-ground cuts from a company who really gave a lot of new ideas a chance – ideas, in this case, that had a lot to do with the rising role of the truck driver, and all the complications of interstate travel! There's plenty of nicely obscure tunes here – and maybe a few that you'll know from other collections, but which are more than appreciated in this company too. Titles include "When I Come Drivin Through" by The Willis Brothers, "Big Mack" by Johnny Bond, "Truck Drivin Son Of A Gun" by Red Sovine, "Convoy In The Sky" by The Willis Brothers, "The Gear Jammer & The Hobo" by Red Sovine, "That's Truck Drivin" by Slim Jacobs, "Man Behind The Wheel" by George Morgan, and "Thunder On The Road" by Johnny Bond. CD

That's a mighty classy truck stop on the cover of this album – and the set's a mighty classy batch of trucker-themed tunes from the catalog of Starday Records! These aren't the shlocky truck country tunes of the 70s, but instead some great material from the postwar years – a time when the interstates were really opening up, and the role of the truck was about to surpass the role of the train. The tunes here all mark the new challenges of the time, sometimes with a good deal of humor – and titles include "Gears" by Johnny Bond, "Man Behind The Wheel" by George Morgan, "Long Haul Weekend" by The Willis Brothers, "Big Footed Dan" by Benny Martin, "Big Rig Guitar" by Joe Maphis, "Truck Driving Buddy" by Frankie Miller, "Sleeper Cab Blues" by Tom O'Neal, and "Pinball Machine" by Lonnie Irving. CD

A great live set from this legendary duo – as great here as on their records for King and Starday! CD