​With ‘Rock And Roll Vixens, Vol. 1', the Koko-Mojo label focuses on the recordings of African-American female singers from the early 1950s to the mid 1960s. These were the heyday of the blues, rhythm & blues and early soul, but also recordings by women's groups that guaranteed harmony vocals were very popular.
Keeping in mind the Koko-Mojo slogan ‘No Fillers, Just Killers’, we can only conclude that this has once again been 100% successful.

​The next artist to be featured in the ‘Rock’ series is Frank Virtue. Frank could only score once, namely with the song ‘Guitar Boogie Shuffle’, which allowed him to reach the Top 10. On this compilation you get two extra 'guitar boogies', namely an early version of the Esquire Boys from 1953 and 'Guitar Boogie Twist' from 1960. More important and more interesting is that this collector gives a nice picture of the musical evolution that Frank went through in various settings. From rhyhtm & blues to rock and roll he eventually became a master of instrumental guitar songs.
Well-known, less well-known and obscure recordings that Frank recorded in various settings for both small and budget labels put his virtuoso guitar work in the spotlight. Extensive information about Frank's career, his chronological discography, supplemented with illustrations and rare photo material can be found in the 36-page colorful booklet written by Chicago music journalist Bill Dahl. Recommended!

​With ‘Pass The Gin’, already the eleventh volume in the ‘Southern Bred’ series, we continue our search for Texan R&B Rockers. And there are a lot of famous and lesser known artists and their songs to discover. We are immediately treated to a heavy R & B rock song by H.B. Barnum with ‘Don't Cha Know’. Barnum was part of The Dootones in the late 1950's.
We close with a classic undertone. The instrumental ‘Nut Rocker’ of Jack B Nimble and The Quicks is based on Tchaikovsky's ‘Nutcracker Suite’. The song is also known in the version of B. Bumble and The Stingers.
Beyond all this beauty, volume 11 of the stunning ‘Southern Bred’ series hides a host of other gems. Like all previous volumes, number 11 is an absolute must.

​The third commandment of those Ten Commandments of rock and roll says ‘Become Self-Sufficient, Get A Job’, in other words, get a job, so that you can make a living for yourself. Mark Armstrong collected another 30 amazing songs around this fact. How can you obey this command? Well, without money, it gets damn hard to obey this.
How to approach it or not, these rhythm & blues, rock & roll and doo-wop tracks offer enough inspiration. Now it's up to you!

​You probably don't know the name Billy Strange, yet chances are you've heard him and he might even be in your record collection as a companion to your favorite artists. Besides this work as a session musician, he also recorded under his own name.
What is striking is that Strange cannot be pinned down to one music genre. Whether he was hired for swinging rhythm & blues and rock and roll, a light jazzy feel, country, cowboy songs or pop, Billy always carries out his task with an enormous dose of talent and craftsmanship.
With ‘Climb Aboard The Hell Train’, compiler dee jay Mark Armstrong not only pays tribute to Billy Strange, but also makes Strange's work more public.

Volume 8 in the ‘Boss Black Rockers’ series continues with high quality recordings that characterize the series. Rhythm & blues and rock 'n roll at a high level. To be continued!

​Little or say nothing is known biographically about Big Bob Kornegay. Hence the subtitle of this album, namely ‘28 Rockers, Blues & Ballads From The Mystery Man Of R & B’. And yet he managed to make a lot of nice recordings through his bass voice. On this album we hear it in various settings. What characterized Big Bob was the fact that he could not be pinned to one genre.
Uptempo rhythm & blues, blues ballads and some doo-wop were all among his vocal possibilities.
For whom Big Bob Kornegay is unknown, this compilation is definitely recommended. Bet you made a discovery with it?

​Last year, Atomicat launched the ‘Rock 'n Roll Kittens’ series with volume 1 subtitled ‘Friction Heat’. 'Rockin' House Cowgirl'(vol. 2),'Shakin 'The Blues' (vol. 3), 'Rock And Roll To Save My Soul' (vol. 4) followed and volume 5 'Forbidden Fruit' was just released. The forbidden fruits are handed out to the ladies in 24 tracks. Tracks that all contain a high sax content, which quickly results in impressive, swinging and rocking rhythm & blues.
That the women could stand their ground and sometimes left the opposite sex far behind them musically, can be heard on this ‘Forbidden Fruit’. Nice album, also for men by the way!

​In addition to Adams' hits ‘Shake A Hand’, ‘I'll Be True’ and ‘Hurts Me To My Heart’, this compilation includes all of her recordings she made for the Herald label, as well as her early Atlantic songs. It’s a fact that Faye Adams certainly paved the way for the ‘Queen Of Soul’, Aretha Franklin. Nice compilation!

​On this album, the Jasmine label brings together 30 tracks that showcase Sears' talent in the 50s. This compilation contains both recordings with his own orchestra, as well as recordings where Big Al put himself at the service of others, such as Jay Hawkins, Jimmy Witherspoon or Joe Turner. Great recordings that have not lost any of their charm in this time. Excellent rhythm & blues, with or without a soul, jazzy or rock-n-roll side.

​Matt 'Guitar' Murphy was best known for his role in the two films by The Blues Brothers. At that time, Murphy had already had a serious career as a session musician with greats such as Memphis Slim, Junior Parker, Chuck Berry, Otis Rush and Muddy Waters. On this album you get 28 rhythm & blues tracks, which Matt 'Guitar' Murphy, recorded by their side between 1952 and 1961.

​‘Mojo Man’ Little Victor starts with ‘Doctor Velvet’ the new ‘Dancefloor Killers’ series. A series, which contains ‘the cream of the crop’ of danceable music. This first album brings together 24 well-known and less known tracks from the heyday of rhythm & blues, blues and rock and roll. Extremely danceable music and highly recommended!

​Little Victor again serves 28 awesome tracks by famous and lesser-known black rockers, before the genre was transformed into rock and roll by white artists. Again a formidable mix and just like the previous releases in this series, volume 7 ‘Wow Wow Baby’ is again an absolute must. Enjoy these 28 exciting danceable tracks!

​The series 'Southern Bred', consisting of 10 CDs, gave a nice picture of the early rhythm & blues in various regions. With this album we make another trip to Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana and New Orleans, the hotbeds of the genre.
For those unfamiliar with the music genre cited above and the accompanying performers, this album provides a nice stepping stone to the full 10-part ‘Southern Bred’ series.

​An album that will regularly be found in the cd player of fans of rhythm & blues, blues, swing blues, jump blues and soul during the holidays. All 28 tracks on this album always have some link with American roots music. Play loud and start the party!

​Initially he was part of mainly gospel-inspired groups. In 1959 Tarheel Slim took a tour de force with the release of the single ‘Wildcat Tamer’ with the flipside ‘Number 9 Train’, a 45 RPM with two A sides as it turned out. On this magnificent collector you can listen to the evolution that Tarheel Slim went through in chronological order.

​It is not a must to only insert this album into the cd player during Christmas. The danceable and relaxed atmosphere of the mix of nostalgic swing, jazz, rhythm & blues and crooner songs, recorded between 1940 and 1967, ensures listening pleasure all year round. Bear Family’s ‘Headin’ For The Christmas Ball’ is a wonderful holiday collector.

​Goree Carter can certainly be seen as a second T-Bone Walker. His blues has, just like that of his great example, a wonderful light jazzy twist and his guitar playing clearly betrays the hand of the master. Formidable blues, rhythm & blues and budding rock & roll. A must!

​'Rockin' Soul Party, vol. 2' is, just like volume 1, a sublime disc. Rhythm & blues and rocking soul complement each other very well. Ray Charles, Jimmy Reed, Little Junior Parker, Esther Phillips, Ike and Tina Turner, Irma Thomas, The Shirelles and Booker T. and the MG's are just a few of the toppers who, in addition to some less known artists, make nice weather. Highly recommended!

​Born in Portsmouth, Virginia on January 30, 1928, Ruth Brown emerged as Rhythm & Blues Queen in the 1950s. A title that she deserved, but that actually did her a little bit too short, because in addition to her jazzy rhythm & blues style, she later also performed well in the then emerging rock and roll, teenager ballads, soul and gospel. All her well-known songs are on this compilation. But there is more! You will also find beautiful rare recordings of her, such as her live recordings  packaged as bonus tracks during the 'Rhythm and Blues Revue', which you will get on CD for the first time here. 'Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean' is definitely recommended. 

​Sam Joyner's blues and Rhythm & Blues are often framed with exciting New Orleans tunes. With the swinging track "Sam Joyner In Tha Hause" we are building another party, before we extinguish the lights with the slow blues "When You Need A Friend". The release 'When U Need A Friend' is an excellent album!

​Little Richard named Billy Wright as his greatest source of inspiration, which is also evident from the here collected A and B sides of all the singles Billy Wright recorded for Savoy between 1949 and 1954. Formidable blues and rhythm & blues by someone who, despite his talent, could not connect with the well known artists of the genres.

​Again, what a hell of an album released by the KokoMojo label. Exciting rhythm & blues, blues and soul in 30 tracks, including a large number of world-famous songs. Moreover, all amazingly well remastered, giving you a sublime sound quality.
Although this' Rockin 'Soul Party' never mentions that it is volume 1, I can't get rid of the opinion, and I secretly hope that the label will not leave it at this first album.

​Volume 8, like its predecessors, is an album to cherish. A lot of famous names, supplemented with some tasteful surprises, provide 28 atmospheric and exciting Texas rhythm & blues tracks. In addition, compiler Mark Armstrong reports that with ‘Got A Big Fine Baby’ volume 9 soon will be released. We are already looking forward to it with great interest!

Elvis had a great love and admiration for the black blues and rhythm and blues artists. Their songs were often the reason for Presley to completely customize them in his version. But his vocal performance has also been greatly influenced by them. The 30 songs by black artists brought together here also prove that the originals should not be inferior to Elvis' versions. Recommended!