Live The Life I Sing About

Description

The recent Jasmine compilations, featuring Earl Gaines, Shy Guy Douglas and Gene Allison, have highlighted Nashville's thriving R&B scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although Nashville is still primarily known for country music, "Music City USA" has always been a true hotbed of rhythm and blues, then soul, and a popular destination for touring African-American artists. Inevitably, the city produced great names, and our journey through its musical history brings us to Larry Birdsong. A handsome boy with a strong personality, considered by his peers to be one of the most gifted singers of his time, Larry was a major figure locally, but never quite achieved the national success that Messrs. Gaines and Allison sometimes enjoyed. Listening to what you will find here, you will wonder why. Besides Nashville, Larry recorded in New Orleans, Memphis and Chicago - and you can hear the result of those recordings in this compilation - but he never broke through. He mastered ballads as well as rock tracks, and recorded into the golden age of soul, but his records stubbornly refused to conquer the national market. This compilation presents - for the first time on CD and in their complete chronological order - all of Larry's singles, A and B sides, from 1956 to late 1962. You will discover some of the best black music from the Southern United States, from the pivotal period between R&B, rock 'n' roll and the early stirrings of soul. And if you want to hear more in the same style, you are in the right place.