Albums That Deserve Another Listen

Roscoe Shelton - The Best Of Roscoe Shelton (Sunset Blvd Records 7 08535 79082 2)

Tracklist:

01. Strain On My Heart
02. My Best Friend
03. Worry
04. Love Is The Key
05. I'm Tryin' To Quit
06. Love Comes And Goes
07. Master Mind
08. Keep Your Mind On Me
09. Wedding Cake
10. The Fire Still Burns
11. My Eyes (I Can Cry If I Want To)
12. I Know Your Heart Has Been Broken
13. Easy Going Fellow
14. Roll With The Punch
15. Who Walks In (When I Walk Out)
16. You're Living Too Fast
17. Soon As Darkness Falls
18. A Man's Love
19. I'm In Way Too Deep
20. Tonight's My Night
21. Running For My Life
22. There's A Heartbreak Somewhere
23. I Can't Stand To Be Without You
24. I Want To Keep You (If You Want To Stay)
25. You Ought To Take Time Out For Your Love
26. I'm Ready (To Love You Now)
27. You're The Dream
28. I'm Still The Man

This bountiful 28-track compilation of Roscoe's SS7 years offers the most in-depth examination yet of a soul music pioneer's most productive period, his mellifluous voice never failing to thrill. Nashville soul at its finest.

Nashville is famous for the tremendous contribution to the history of country music, 'Music City' also housed a flourishing Rhythm and Blues community in the post-war period. John Richbourg, a leading DJ at Nashville's 50,000-watt R&B station WLAC, was an influential, driving force in this scene, especially since he joined Sound Stage 7 Records as a producer in the mid 60s. Richbourg created groundbreaking hits for the best soul singers of the label, among others for Roscoe Shelton from Lynchburg, Tennessee. Shelton began with The Fairfield Four and The Skylarks as a gospel singer, before a long-lasting change in 1958 at the behest of Ernie Young, owner of Excello Records. Roscoe made seven singles for Excello by 1961, but he took the most important step when he signed with Sims Records, where he cracked the national R&B charts with Strain On My Heart in 1965. After switching to Sound Stage 7 the following year, Shelton landed another hit with Easy Going Fellow and made more recordings for SS7 until 1968, then retired from the show business. This comprehensive compilation with 28 tracks from Roscoe's years at SS7 offers the deepest collection of this soul pioneer in it's most productive time.