Chart Toppers: R&B Hits of the 50s (1998)

About this title: Priority's Chart Toppers series is an excellent budget-line collection, offering a strong selection of 15 original hits, grouped by a specific theme and decade, on each disc. Chart Toppers: R&B Hits of the 50's combines doo wop, R&B, blues and rock & roll hits -- an eclectic bunch, to say the least, but the variety helps capture the feeling of the decade. A few of the songs haven't dated well, but for the most part, the selection of songs is terrific, albeit a little predictable. Among the highlights on the disc are Jackie Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops," James Brown's "Try Me," the Platters' ... read more

Tracks:

1. Lonely Teardrops [Carlo/Fuqua/Gordy]
2. Try Me [Brown]
3. The Great Pretender [Ram]
4. Young Blood [Leiber/Stoller/Pomu]
5. Willie and the Hand Jive [Otis]
6. Earth Angel [Belvin/Hodge/Willia]
7. Kansas City [Leiber/Stoller]
8. Sweet Little Sixteen [Berry]
9. Shake, Rattle & Roll [Calhoun]
10. Farther up the Road [Robey/Veasey]
11. It's All in the Game [Dawes/Sigman]
12. Don't You Know [Worth]
13. Three O'Clock Blues [King/Taub]
14. Personality [Price/Logan]
15. Little Star [Venosa/Picone]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.