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
3 Bert Kaempfert & His Orch. - Wonderland By Night
4 Brook Benton - Fools Rush in (Where Angels Fear to Tread)
5 Kathy Young & the Innocents - a Thousand Stars
6 Johnny Horton - North to Alaska
7 Bobby Bland - Cry Cry Cry
8 Miracles - Shop Around
9 James Booker - Gonzo
10 Ray Charles - Ruby
11 Nina Simone - Trouble in Mind
12 Etta & Harvey - Spoonful
13 Ike & Tina Turner - I Idolize You
14 Little Junior Parker - Stand By Me
15 Drifters - I Count the Tears
16 Marv Johnson - Happy Days
17 The Innocents - Gee Whiz
18 Jimmy Reed - Close Together
19 Ronnie Love & His Orch. - Chills and Fever
20 Rosie & the Originals - Angel Baby
21 Ferrante & Teicher - Exodus
22 Ray Charles & His Orch. - Them That Got
23 The Capris - There's a Moon Out Tonight
24 Maxine Brown - All in My Mind
25 Roy Hamilton - You Can Have Her
26 Aretha Franklin - Won't Be Long
27 Mary Wells - Bye Bye Baby
- Disc 2 -
1 Jackie Wilson - the Tear of the Year
2 Fats Domino - What a Price
3 Lawrence Welk - Calcutta
4 Chubby Checker - Pony Time
5 Etta James - at Last
6 Carla Thomas - Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)
7 Brook Benton - Think Twice
8 Bobby Bland - I Pity the Fool
9 James Brown - Bewildered
10 Marcels - Blue Moon
11 Brook Benton - for My Baby
12 The Vibrations - the Watusi
13 Ben E. King - Spanish Harlem
14 Ray Charles - One Mint Julep
15 Etta James - Trust in Me
16 Ernie K-Doe - Mother-In-Law
17 Jerry Butler - Find Another Girl
18 Jorgen Ingmann & His Guitar - Apache
19 Jackie Wilson - Please Tell Me Why
20 The Miracles - Ain't It Baby
21 Drifters - Some Kind of Wonderful
22 Clarence "Frogman" Henry - But I Do
23 Gene McDaniels - a Hundred Pounds of Clay
24 Del Shannon - Runaway
25 Shep & the Limelites - Daddy's Home
26 Joe Barry - I'm a Fool to Care
27 Maxine Brown - Funny
28 Junior Parker - Driving Wheel
- Disc 3 -
1 Ben E. King - Stand By Me
2 Cleftones - Heart and Soul
3 Regents - Barbara Ann
4 Jimmy Reed - Big Boss Man
5 Etta James - Fool That I Am
6 James Brown - I Don't Mind
7 Elvis Presley - I Feel So Bad
8 Pips - Every Beat of My Heart
9 Clarence 'Frogman' Henry - You Always Hurt the One You Love
10 Bobby Lewis - Tossin' and Turnin'
11 Dee Clark - Raindrops
12 Ray Charles - I've Got News for You
13 Jackie Wilson - I'm Comin' on Back to You
14 Brook Benton - the Boll Weevil Song
15 The Drifters - Please Stay
16 Gary "U. S." Bonds - Quarter to Three
17 B. B. King - Peace of Mind
18 Chris Kenner - I Like It Like That (Part I)
19 Spinners - That's What Girls Are Made for
20 Damita Joe - I'll Be There
21 Mar-Keys - Last Night
22 Gary U.S. Bonds - School Is Out
23 Bobby Bland - Don't Cry No More
24 Mary Wells - I Don't Want to Take a Chance
25 The Chanters - No, No, No
26 Jerry Butler - I'm a Telling You
27 The Sensations Featuring Yvonne - Music, Music, Music
28 Jive Five - My True Story
29 Fats Domino - Let the Four Winds Blow
30 Ben E. King - Amor
31 James Brown - Baby, You're Right
32 Bull Moose Jackson - I Love You Yes I Do
33 Ike & Tina Turner - It's Gonna Work Out Fine
34 Jimmy Reed - Bright Lights, Big City
35 Bobby Lewis - One Track Mind
36 Brook Benton - Frankie and Johnny
37 Ray Charles - Hit the Road Jack
38 Chantels - Look in My Eyes
39 Jarmels - a Little Bit of Soap
40 Etta James - Don't Cry, Baby
41 The Stereos - I Really Love You
42 Dovells - Bristol Stomp
43 Lee Dorsey - Ya Ya
44 Drifters - Sweets for My Sweet
45 Marvelettes - Please Mr. Postman
46 Dion - Runaround Sue
47 Aretha Franklin - Operation Heartbreak
48 Little Junior Parker - in the Dark
49 Gene McDaniels - Tower of Strength
50 Jimmy McCracklin - Just Got to Know
51 Sims Twins - Soothe Me
52 Chubby Checker - the Fly
53 Dinah Washington - September in the Rain
54 Solomon Burke - Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)
55 The Miracles - Everybody's Gotta Pay Some Dues
56 Bobby Bland - Turn on Your Love Light
57 Crystals - There's No Other (Like My Baby)
58 Impressions - Gypsy Woman
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