Various Artists - 1962 R&b Hits Collection / Various Artists (CD)

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 1962. This great value 103-track 4-CD anthology includes, with a few exceptions, just about every record which peaked in the Billboard R&B Top 10 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 Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, The Crystals, The Four Seasons, Booker T & The MGs, 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 be too aware, and which will be welcome additions to their collections. It contains a 12,000+ word booklet featuring background notes on every record.

Track List:

Disc: 1

1. Unchain My Heart - Ray Charles and His Orchestra
2. The Twist - Chubby Checker
3. But on the Other Hand Baby - Ray Charles and His Orchestra
4. I Know (You Don't Love Me No More) - Barbara George
5. Poor Fool - Ike ; Tina Turner
6. If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody - James Ray
7. Peppermint Twist Pt.1 - Joey Dee and the Starliters
8. The Lion Sleeps Tonight - the Tokens
9. Lost Someone - James Brown and the Famous Flames
10. Duke of Earl - Gene Chandler
11. I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song) - the Ikettes
12. Dear Lady Twist - Gary U.S. Bonds
13. Jamie - Eddie Holland
14. Baby Don't Leave Me - Joe Henderson
15. Letter Full of Tears - Gladys Knight and the Pips
16. Cry to Me - Solomon Burke
17. Hey! Baby - Bruce Channel
18. Twistin' the Night Away - Sam Cooke
19. Let Me in - the Sensations
20. Tuff - Ace Cannon
21. Smoky Places - the Corsairs
22. Slow Twistin' - Chubby Checker
23. Something's Got a Hold on Me - Etta James
24. Soul Twist - King Curtis and the Noble Knights
25. Ain't That Loving You - Bobby Bland
26. Our Anniversary - Shep and the Limelites
27. At the Club - Ray Charles and His Orchestra

Disc: 2

1. Mashed Potato Time - Dee Dee Sharp
2. Love Letters - Ketty Lester
3. Annie Get Your Yo-Yo - Little Junior Parker
4. Tra la la la la - Ike ; Tina Turner
5. I Found a Love - the Falcons
6. The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells
7. Hide 'Nor Hair - Ray Charles and His Orchestra
8. Night Train - James Brown
9. The Town I Live in - McKinley Mitchell
10. I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles
11. Don't Play That Song (You Lied) - Ben E. King
12. Stranger on the Shore - Acker Bilk
13. Playboy - the Marvelettes
14. It Keeps Right on A-Hurtin' - Johnny Tillotson
15. Walk on the Wild Side (Part I) - Jimmy Smith
16. Snap Your Fingers - Joe Henderson
17. Having a Party - Sam Cooke
18. The Wah Watusi - the Orlons
19. Need Your Loving - Don Gardner ; Dee Dee Ford
20. You'll Lose a Good Thing - Barbara Lynn
21. Bring It on Home to Me - Sam Cooke
22. Roses Are Red (My Love) - Bobby Vinton
23. Ahab, the Arab - Ray Stevens
24. Party Lights - Claudine Clark
25. The Locomotion - Little Eva

Disc: 3

1. Stop the Wedding - Etta James
2. Beechwood 4-5789 - the Marvelettes
3. Lookin' for a Love - the Valentinos
4. You Don't Know Me - Ray Charles
5. Rinky Dink - Dave 'Baby' Cortez
6. Green Onions - Booker T. And the M.G.'s
7. You Beat Me to the Punch - Mary Wells
8. Sheila - Tommy Roe
9. Sherry - the Four Seasons
10. Lie to Me - Brook Benton
11. Stormy Monday Blues - Bobby Bland
12. Yield Not to Temptation - Bobby 'Blue' Bland
13. Don't You Worry - Don Gardner ; Dee Dee Ford
14. Do You Love Me - the Contours
15. Ramblin' Rose - Nat King Cole
16. Patches - Dickey Lee
17. Someday, Someway - the Marvelettes
18. Monster Mash - Bobby 'Boris' Pickett and the Crypt Kickers
19. Sweet Sixteen Bars - Earl Grant
20. I've Got a Woman (Part 1) - Jimmy McGriff
21. Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye
22. Anna (Go to Him) - Arthur Alexander
23. I'll Bring It Home to You - Carla Thomas
24. Big Girls Don't Cry - the Four Seasons
25. He's a Rebel - the Crystals

Disc: 4

1. Nothing Can Change This Love - Sam Cooke
2. Somebody Have Mercy - Sam Cooke
3. Return to Sender - Elvis Presley
4. Release Me - Little Esther
5. Don't Hang Up - the Orlons
6. Keep Your Hands Off My Baby - Little Eva
7. Ride! - Dee Dee Sharp
8. You Are My Sunshine - Ray Charles
9. Limbo Rock - Chubby Checker
10. Hotel Happiness - Brook Benton
11. My Man - He's a Lovin' Man - Betty Lavette
12. See See Rider - Lavern Baker
13. Tell Him - the Exciters
14. Strange I Know - the Marvelettes
15. Chains - the Cookies
16. Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah - Bob B. Soxx ; the Blue Jeans
17. Telstar - the Tornadoes
18. Two Lovers - Mary Wells
19. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes - Bobby Vee
20. Don't Make Me Over - Dionne Warwick
21. Mama Didn't Lie - Jan Bradley
22. You've Really Got a Hold on Me - the Miracles
23. Loop de Loop - Johnny Thunder
24. Call on Me - Bobby Bland
25. Hey, Paula - Paul ; Paula
26. Walk Right in - the Rooftop Singers