A bit blues, a bit jazz – and a singer with a style unto her own – the amazing Big Maybelle, one of the greatest artists to record for Okeh Records in the 50s! This well-done collection pulls together every single Maybelle recorded for the R&B powerhouse back in the day – a motherlode of great work that easily puts her right up there with Lavern Baker or Ruth Brown as one of the great female singers of the 50s. The package features a whopping 26 tracks in all – including many bits that get lost between the tracks in some of the too-sifted collections of her work from the time. Titles include "Maybelle's Blues", "New Kind Of Mambo", "Hair Dressin Women", "My Big Mistake", "Ain't No Use", "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show", "So Good To My Baby", "Gabbin Blues", "You'll Never Know", "The Other Night", and "Such A Cutie". CD

The complete Okeh label recordings of Billy Butler – Jerry Butler's lesser-known brother, but an even more grooving artist on the Chicago soul scene of the 60s! Billy's work at Okeh is easily some of the best of the all-great imprint – tracks that step, slide, and groove along in a flurry of tight-edged Chi-soul rhythms – nearly all of which are produced by the legendary Carl Davis, with arrangements from Johnny Pate and Riley Hampton! Billy's in the lead on vocals, but nearly all numbers have a strong harmony soul component too – support from The Four Enchanters or Chanters – in a mode that echoes The Impressions' style of the time somewhat, but which also carries more of the Butler-family emotive quality, thanks to the stronger lead. This is the first time all this material has ever been brought together so well – and the package features great notes and a number of previously unissued titles as well – including some rare versions and instrumentals that are sure to get some play from Northern Soul listeners. Titles include "Found True Love", "Lady Love", "Gotta Get Away", "Can't Live Without Her", "Right Track", "Boston Monkey", "Does It Matter", "Fighting A Losing Battle", "To Be Or Not To Be", "Singing The Blues", and "You're Gonna Be Sorry". CD

60s Chicago soul doesn't get any better than this – a sublime debut from the legendary Walter Jackson – done in a smoothly sophisticated style that set a whole new standard for the genre! The record steps off nicely from some of the earliest work by Jerry Butler and The Impressions – blending Chicago soul with more adult-styled orchestrations from Riley Hampton – at a level that has Jackson sitting beautifully across a number of different modes at once – still appealing to the kids with the uptown groovers on the set, but also reaching to an older crowd with the beautiful ballads and heartbreaking love songs. The sound is incredible – easily one of the most fully realized full-length soul records on the Okeh label – and titles include "What Would You Do", "There Goes That Song Again", "I Don't Want To Suffer", "That's What Mama Say", and "It's All Over". CD adds in 10 more bonus tracks – most of which are previously unissued – making for an amazing collection that's one of the first time that Jackson's work at Okeh is finally getting its due! Bonus titles include "The Heartbreak Road", "Anything Can Happen", "Blue Rose", "Starting Tomorrow", "Don't Play With Love", "It's Hard To Believe", "You Gotta Give", and "Tell The World". CD

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An excellent collection of obscure jazz and R&B instrumental sides from the great Okeh label of the 50s – including some excellent stormers from Chicago! Little Johnny Griffin checks in with "For Dancers Only", "Flyin Home", and "Chicago Riffin", and the first two cuts feature vocals by Babs Gonzales! Other tracks include "Money Is Honey" and "I Want A Big Butter & Egg Man" by Mary Ann McCall; "Dig This Menu Please" and "Red's Mambo", two fantastic R&B tunes from trumpeter Red Rodney; and "Smooth Sailin", "Walkin Home", and "Whispering", all by Arnett Cobb, and included here with some other nice tunes that rank with some of Cobb's best work. (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Essential 2LP set of rare R&B material from the legendary Okeh label – known to many as one of the 50's best labels for the genre! Sure, you'll find a few hits on here – like Screamin Jay Hawkins' "I Put A Spell On Your" – but the real nice bits are the obscurer tracks, like "Please Say You Want Me" by The Schoolboys, "Dumplins" by Doc Bagby, "Peanuts" by Little Joe, "Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)" by The Treneirs, and "Baby You're My Only Love", a real early one from Billy Stewart. Great stuff throughout, and a nice set of notes. LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing collection – a wealth of rare R&B from the 50s years of Okeh Records – most of it only ever on 78s before, issued here in a really wonderful package! The set includes rare work from Andre Williams, Pearl Traylor, Red Rodney, Lloyd Fatman, The Shufflers, Larry Darnell, Sammy Cotton, Cliff King Solomon, Chuck Willis, Jumpin Joe Williams, Titus Turner, The Treneirs, Chris Powell, and many others! Loads of tracks – 78 cuts in all – some previously unissued, too! CD

Killer work from one of the best 60s soul talents of the Windy City! Major Lance was one of Chicago's first big soul stars – crossing over big on the charts with huge hits for the Okeh label during the early and mid 60s – thanks to some great tunes penned by Curtis Mayfield, and stellar production from the legendary Carl Davis! In a way, Lance's sound was a key culmination of the modes that had been bubbling under in the hometown indies like Vee Jay and Chess – taken slightly to the next level, and brought more into the mainstream by Okeh. Many of the arrangements here are by the massive Johnnie Pate – who gives the record the same sort of brilliance as the best 60s Impressions work on ABC – and the titles include "Ain't No Soul", "Investigate", "Um Um Um Um Um Um", "The Monkey Time", "Wait Till I Get You In My Arms", "Delilah", "Rhythm", "Hey Little Girl", "It's The Beat", "The Matador", "Ain't It A Shame", "You Don't Want Me No More", "You Belong To Me My Love", and "Sometimes I Wonder". CD

One of the few great sides cut for Okeh by the legendary Vibrations – and one of the hardest! The group has a nice strong Northern sound on most of the cuts, with storming vocals that alternate harmony parts and raw hard solos. Uptempo groovers include "End Up Crying", "Talkin 'Bout Love", "Watusi Time", "Ain't Love That Way", and "Sloop Dance". LP, Vinyl record album

A really breakout moment for The Artistics – and the start of a really sublime run with the great Brunswick Records! The group had already broken a bit on Okeh a few years before – securing a top spot on the Chicago scene with their bouncy northern soul groove – a love of rhythm that made them as much a favorite on dancefloors as they were with fans of harmony soul. But on this sweet set, things come together even better than before – thanks to strong leads by singer Marvin Smith, who brings a real sense of personality to the group's harmonies – and wonderful Brunswick studio help that includes Sonny Sanders arrangements and Carl Davis production. The whole thing's wonderful – and tracks include the hit "I'm Gonna Miss You", plus "On & On", "Sweeter Than Sugar", "Hope We Have", "Girl I Need You", "You're Wonderful", and "Love Song". CD features a great bonus track – "The Chase Is On". CD

A really big, really unusual collection of work from the legendary Screamin Jay Hawkins – one that's probably a lot more "rarities" than "hits" in the title – as the set features material recorded for a variety of different small labels, over a pretty large span of time! The track list is a nice complement to some of the more mainstream collections of Screamin Jay's work – as the titles here still have that raw R&B power that made Hawkins such an amazing force in music, from the early R&B years on up through the underground of soul in the 60s and 70s – with a range here that's a nice change from some of his overplayed spooky classics. 2CD set features 29 tracks in all – and titles include "Portrait Of A Man", "Just Don't Care", "Armpit No 6", "Please Try To Understand", "I Is", "Baptize Me In Wine", "Nitty Gritty", "Pauline", "$10,000 Lincoln Continental", "What A Price I Must Pay", "Live Love Or Die", "Well I Tried", and "I Hear Voices" – plus two unusual takes on "I Put A Spell On You", one recorded before the famous 50s version on Okeh, the other from 1973. CD

The first of six "comeback" albums that this great Chicago soul singer cut during his second wave of recording during the late 70s! Walter had originally done some amazing work with the great Carl Davis at the Okeh label during the mid 60s – and this album marks a return to their collaboration – this time at Davis' own Chi-Sound subsidiary of 20th Century Records. Jackson here takes all the smooth sophistication of his early days, and transforms himself into an adult singer of soul songs – taking a route similar to that travelled by singers like Jerry Butler or Lou Rawls at the same time. Like Rawls, the style doesn't always work – but when it does, it's great. Titles include "Love Is Lovelier", "Words", "Too Shy To Say", "Please Pardon Me (You Remind Me Of A Friend)", "Love Woke Me Up This Morning", and a remake of "Welcome Home". LP, Vinyl record album

It's an unfortunate fact that within a few years of stating the reincarnation-oriented title of this record, Walter would sadly have passed away, making the issue of "coming back as a song" even more pertinent. This record's one of his best of the Chisound years – and features a modern soul updating of Walter's Iceman style – done here with help from Riley Hampton, who worked on most of Walter's best work at Okeh. The record's got a nice Teddy Pendergrass sort of sound, with a good sophisticated male vocal approach – and includes the cuts "If You Walked Away", "Stay A While With me", "I've Never Been To Me", "What Would You Do", and a remake of "It's All Over". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet smooth soul from Walter Jackson – recording here in his later years, with a style that's a lot more modern than his classic 60s recordings for Okeh, but still surprisingly nice, and a great evolution of his "Iceman" soul sound! The set features Eugene Record's great title cut, "Tell Me Where It Hurts", plus a version of Stevie Wonder's "If It's Magic", a remake of "At Last" – and the tunes "What If I Walked Out On You", "When I See You", and "Living Without You". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful and underappreciated 70s soul from Ted Taylor from his stint with Ronn Records – great series of singles and slew of excellent unissued tracks! Ted was a huge talent with a soaring voice, better remembered for his earlier work at Okeh, but still in incredible form and served well by the 70s style southern soul sound! It includes some early 70s singles that would have sounded at home on Hi Records, some mid 70s duets with Little Johnny Taylor, and a treasure trove of newly unearthed numbers. Titles include4 "Farewell", "Call The House Doctor", "Sweet Lovin' Pair", "A Lick And A Promise", "Why Do I Have To Suffer", "Got To Have A Woman", "She's Got A Munchy Tunchy" "Cry It Out Baby", "Funky Ghetto" and more with Little Johnny Taylor, "Cummins Prison Farm", "Let Me Fix Up Your Feelings" and more. 24 tracks in all. CD

Amazing early work from The Treniers – a hip vocal combo that wound up to be one of the raunchiest in 50s R&B! The set goes farther than any other collection of the group's early work that we've seen – in that it features a whopping 26 tracks, pulled both from their recordings for the Mercury and Okeh label – spanning years that run from 1947 to 1953, and which show them as incredibly witty, goofy, and hard-rocking even during their first years in the studio! The titles alone should give you a great idea of the playful feel of the tracks – and they include "Plenty Of Money", "Poon-Tang", "Rockin Is Our Bizness", "Hi-Yo Silver", "Rock Bottom", "I'm Going Back To My Convertible Cadillac", "Go Go Go", "Why Did You Get So High Shorty", "It's A Quiet Town", and "Oooh! Looka There Ain't She Pretty". CD

Hard grooving early work by The Vibrations – recorded before their sides at Okeh, with a style of rough-hewn soul that's very much in keeping with their hit "The Watusi". The album's got plenty of great numbers, very much in a Chicago dance mode of the 60s – and titles include "People Say", "Wallflower", "So Blue", "Doing The Slop", "Serenade Of The Bells", "People Say", and "Cave Man". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful look at the later years of Chicago soul – a collection that brings together work from Chi-Sound Records, the imprint formed by producer Carl Davis after years of working with Windy City artists on labels like Okeh and Brunswick! Both Davis and the Chicago scene were reaching a new level of sophistication by the time Chi-Sound got its start – and the label took a keen cue from the Philly scene, and had its artists move into a broader range of work than just chart-bound singles – much more adult-oriented material that reflected the maturity of the artists, and the growth of an older middle class market for contemporary soul. As you'll hear on this set, Davis had a great way with a smooth tune – taking many older artists and allowing them to either re-record classic hits, or move towards material they wouldn't have been allowed to touch in earlier years. And as before, Davis also had a good ear for up-and-comers too – and exposed a few key acts on Chi-Sound during the short time the imprint was around. Titles on Volume 2 include "Maybe I'm Mistaken" and "Come To My Party" by The Impressions, "Hot On A Thing" and "Oh Girl" by The Chi-Lites, "Does She Have A Friend" and "Tomorrow I May Not Feel The Same" by Gene Chandler, "Passionate Breezes" and "I Touched A Dream" by The Dells, "It's All Over" and "And If I Had" by Walter Jackson, "Especially For You" by Manchild, and "I Still Love You" by Windy City. CD

A great selection of older Motown numbers – with a few newer tracks from the 70s! The selection of tunes is a bit strange – given that the film was film set in Chicago in the mid 60's, whick makes you think the kids would have been listening to Chicago tunes on local labels like Okeh, Brunswick, and other labels – but overall, it's still a decent set. The original tunes are pretty great – like the instrumental "2 Pigs and a Hog", which was an old sample back in the 80's – and the tracks "Haulin", "Sweet First Love", "Cold Blooded", and "Three AM", which feature music by Freddie Perren. Other older tunes include "Stop In The Name of Love" by The Supremes, "Baby Love" by The Supremes, "Fingertips" by Stevie Wonder, "My Girl" by The Temptations, "Reach Out I'll Be There" by Four Tops, "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday" by GC Cameron, "Beechwood 45789" by The Marvelettes, and "Ooo Baby Baby" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal soul from one of Chicago's greatest labels in the 60s – the One-Der-Ful/Mar-V-Lus imprints, plus tracks from related Toddlin Town too – home to some of the best indie work at the time! The quality here is right up there with the best you'd hear from Chess, Okeh, or Brunswick in the 60s – no surprise, since the pair of labels shared lots of similar talents with the bigger companies – as well as session men, songwriters, and producers too! The full scope of Chicago soul is really covered here – upbeat groovers for the dancefloor, heartfelt ballads with great harmonies, and some of the harder-edged bluesy numbers that really helped put One-Der-Ful on the map! There's also some key early examples of funk – proof that in the 60s, Chicago was one of the hippest scenes in the world – and the set comes with 2 CDs, nestled in a hardback booklet of notes and photos – with a whopping 50 tracks in all. Titles include "Tired Of Being Lonely" by The Sharpees, "Without You" by The Ulti-Mations, "That's How It Is" by Otis Clay, "Keep On Dancin" by Alvin Cash, "The Funky Judge" by Bull & The Matadors, "I Get A Groove" by Thomas East & The Fabulous Playboys, "Damper Down" by Bobby Davis, "The Town I Live In" by McKinley Mitchell, "Come Back Home" by Beny Turner, "Master Key" by Harold Burrage, "If I Could Live My Life All Over" by Dorothy Prince, "You Told A Lie" by Johnny Sayles, "New Girl" by The Accents, and "Don't You Worry" by Joe & Mack. CD