ROBERT JOHNSON THE FIRST BLUES SINGER IN HISTORY TO SELLOUT TO GOAT LUCIFER.

Roy Orbison Biography and Album Guide: In Dreams

Roy Orbison was one of the early greats of rock and roll music, who is now best remembered for his hit song, “Pretty Woman.” In the fifties and early sixties, however, Orbison had a slew of hits and was one of the most successful of the early rockers.

Orbison was born in Vernon, Texas, in 1936. By the late fifties, Orbison had become a member of Sun Records’ legendary roster of musicians, which included Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins. Sun Records had just recently lost Elvis Presley. Like Cash and Perkins, Orbison was a rockabilly performer in his earliest incarnation, recording the rockabilly classics “Ooby Dooby,” “Trying to Get to You,” and “Go! Go! Go!”

By the Sixties, Orbison was recording for Monument and added pop ballads to his repertoire with the hits, “Only the Lonely,” “Running Scared,” and “Crying.” In 1964, Orbison would record his biggest hit, “Pretty Woman.”

Orbison would continue to record singles for the remainder of the sixties and seventies but would not score another major hit. Orbison would become a member of The Travelling Willburys in the early eighties along with Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, and Tom Petty.

Orbison’s best albums include “Crying” (1962), “In Dreams” (1963), “Orbisongs” (1965), “Cry Softly Lonely One” (1967), “Roy Orbison’s Many Moods” (1969), and “Mystery Girl” (1989).

Sam and Dave: Soul Men

Sam and Dave are perhaps the finest vocal duo in the history of soul music. The duo was part of Stax Records’ fine roster of soul recording artists. Sam Moore was born in Miami, Florida, in 1935, while his partner, Dave Prater, was born in Ocilla, Georgia, in 1937. The two men joined forces and formed Sam and Dave in 1961. At Stax Records, the duo was supported on recordings by the Stax house band, Booker T and the MG’s, and was often provided with stellar songs by the songwriting team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter.

After the duo had recorded a series of unsuccessful singles for Roulette Records, Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records sent them to Memphis, Tennessee, to try their luck with Stax. Between 1965 and 1968, Sam & Dave would establish themselves as the most exciting duo in soul music, scoring big hits with tunes such as “Hold On! I’m Comin’,” “Soul Man,” “Soothe Me,” “You Got Me Hummin’,” and “I Thank You.”

By the late sixties, the duo’s waning commercial success and increasing infighting led to Sam & Dave splitting up in 1970.

Prater and Moore embarked on ill-fated solo careers before the first of many Sam & Dave reunions. The 1980 film, “The Blues Brothers,” which featured the Sam and Dave hits “Soul Man” and “Soothe Me,” regenerated interest in the duo, but continuing conflict prevented the men from taking full advantage of their second chance at success.

During the Eighties, Prater actually hired another singer to pose as “Sam,” and together they toured the country as Sam & Dave, much to the frustration of Sam Moore. David Prater sadly died in a car accident in Georgia in 1988, at the age of 50.

The duo recorded several superb albums for Atlantic/Stax, including “Hold On, I’m Comin’” (1966), “Double Dynamite” (1966), “Soul Men” (1967), and “I Thank You” (1968).

Leon Redbone Album Guide

Leon Redbone is one of the most unique musical performers of the last 40 years. He is one of the few current performers of ragtime music, although he is generally classified as a folk/blues singer. Redbone was born in Cyprus in 1949 and appeared in the early Seventies as something of a musical curio of mysterious origin.

In 1975, Redbone recorded his debut album, the delightful and utterly original “On the Track,” an album of cover songs that were in some cases more than 50 years old. The album is a collection of blues, jazz, and ragtime standards sung in Redbone’s signature deep nasal baritone. In 1977, the album “Double Time” appeared, featuring more blues and ragtime classics, including Blind Blake’s “Diddy Wah Diddy.”

                                         As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

Joe Walsh: Life's Been Good

Singer/songwriter/guitarist Joe Walsh embarked on his solo career following the release of The James Gang’s “Thirds” album. Walsh had led the James Gang through the initial phase of the band’s career, in which they recorded three brilliant albums with Walsh as frontman. Clearly, Walsh had a stellar history to live up to. He came out of the gate under the guise of “Barnstormer,” a death-defying, stunt-performing pilot of early 20th-century America. Walsh’s barnstormer persona would be featured on the album covers of his first three solo albums.

His debut album, “Barnstorm” (1972), was a mix of the hard rock that Walsh had become famous for with the James Gang, with ballads and more progressive-rockish selections with an emphasis on keyboards. The album was a solid effort that included the semi-hit rocker, “Turn to Stone.” Walsh’s sophomore solo effort, “The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get” (1973), was a stronger showing that featured more of Walsh’s signature hard rock, including the big hit, “Rocky Mountain Way,” and another fine rock gem, “Meadows.” Walsh’s third solo outing, “So What,” was another solid hard rock collection.

In 1976, the live album “You Can’t Argue with a Sick Mind” was released, featuring live renditions of material from his previous three solo albums, including an epic 18-minute version of Rocky Mountain Way.

By this time, Walsh had joined the Eagles and been included on their mega-successful “Hotel California” album. Following the release of the Hotel California album, Walsh went back to record perhaps his best solo effort, the often comedic “But Seriously, Folks,” a fine collection of songs which includes some impressive instrumentals and perhaps his best solo recording, the satirical “Life’s Been Good.”

Johnny Otis: R&B Pioneer

Otis was one of the most important artists in R&B history. He was a bandleader, promoter, vocalist, club owner, drummer, and producer, and he helped launch the careers of such R&B legends as Johnny Ace, The Robins, Little Esther, Etta James and many others. These singers recorded with his band and toured as part of his entourage. 

Most of Johnny Otis’ records were released as the “Johnny Otis Quintette” or “The Johnny Otis Show. Otis’s biggest hit was, “Willie and the Hand Jive,” a song which has been covered by scores of other artists.

That song and others are best heard on the compilation albums, “The Original Johnny Otis Show” (1978), and a number of other compilations of early rock and roll such as the terrific compilation featuring Otis and many others, “Loud, Fast and Out of Control: The Wild Sounds of ‘50s Rock” (1999).