Here's a very reasonable compromise between the pricey Mosaic box and EMI's incomplete single-disc treatment of Milburn's Aladdin legacy: a three-disc, 66-song package that's heavy on boogies and blues and slightly deficient in the ballad department (to that end, his smash "Bewildered" was left off). Everything that is aboard is top-drawer, though - the booze odes, many a party rocker, and a plethora of the double-entendre blues that Milburn reveled in during his early years.

Britain's Got Talent stars The Jive Aces are the UK's # 1 jive and swing band. Renowned for their high energy show, they put Simon Cowell "in a really good mood" and were the first band to reach the BGT semi-finals. They've headlined The Albert Hall, played 30 countries, worked with Van Morrison and played for The Queen. This latest album, the band’s 12th, marks the 20th Anniversary of this line up. "Diggin' The Roots Vol. 1: Rockin' Rhythm & Blues” is inspired by the early influences that generated that initial enthusiasm and lit the flame that started the Jive Aces off on their musical journey. Such influences include Big Joe Turner, Louis Jordan, Ruth Brown and the great Louis Prima who was the single biggest influence on the band.

Twenty-five tracks from her prime, recorded for Modern in the 1940s and '50s, including her hits "That's My Desire" and "Out of the Blue," as well as "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere." While Brooks was an important figure of the L.A. 1940s R&B scene, latter-day listeners may find this rather tame. Vocally she owed much more to pop-jazz stylings than gritty R&B influences. Her most durable and influential performances were her instrumental ones at the piano bench, especially on the pounding "Swingin' the Boogie," which leads off this collection.

Rap is considered today's modern urban music, but its roots reach far into the past as this provocative project shows. The rapping technique has been present in many American musical genres, for 100 years or more, including early rural music, both black and white, religious songs, blues, ragtime, vaudeville, and hokum. This album features rap precursors by such legendary figures in American music as Blind Willie Johnson, Pine Top Smith, Memphis Jug Band, Butterbeans and Susie, Seven Foot Dilly & his Dill Pickles, Dixieland Jug Blowers, Jimmie Davis, Blind Willie McTell and more! A highly entertaining and provocative exploration into early American musical history.