The Rock N' Roll Era: 1960 - TIME-LIFE MUSIC COLLECTION - OUT-OF-PRINT 22 Classic Tracks by the Original Artists: 1. Save the Last Dance for Me -- The Drifters 2. Finger Poppin' Time -- Hank Ballard & The Midnighters 3. Walk—Don't Run -- The Ventures 4. Last Date -- Floyd Cramer 5. He Will Break Your Heart -- Jerry Butler 6. A Thousand Stars -- Kathy Young & The Innocents 7. Only the Lonely -- Roy Orbison 8. Good Timin' -- Jimmy Jones 9. Sweet Nothin's -- Brenda Lee 10. Walking to New Orleans -- Fats Domino 11. Alley-Oop -- The Holywood Argyles 12. Handy Man -- Jimmy Jones 13. Lonely Blue Boy -- Conway Twitty 14. Angel Baby -- Rosie & The Originals 15. Cathy's Clown -- The Everly Brothers 16. Lets Go, Lets Go, Lets Go -- Hank Ballard & The Midnighters 17. Calendar Girl -- Neil Sedaka 18. Stay -- Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs 19. New Orleans -- Gary U.S. Bonds 20. You Talk Too Much -- Joe E. Jones 21. Let the Little Girl Dance -- Billy Bland 22. Image of a Girl -- The Safaris

All the classics

I became aware of music at the age of 2, thanks in part to an 11 year old neighbor who would give me her old 45's when she was done with them, and 3 older brothers who listened to KFWB in Los Angeles. The main reason I bought this is because of Rosie and the Originals 'Angel Baby' and Kathy Young and the Innocents 'A Thousand Stars'. The former rough, the latter polished. The drummer seems to lose his place in the middle of Angel Baby but then gets back on track. This was one of John Lennon's favorite songs. He had it in his Jukebox and he covered it on his Rock 'n Roll album. A Thousand Stars is a flat out lullaby, well it was to me. Then there's the Drifters and one of their Golden hits. Plus the 2 hits by Jimmy Jones 'Handy Man' and Good Timing'. Jerry Butler warns you that 'He will break Heart ' plus a few great instrumentals. It brings back memories and represents a wonderful era in the story of Rock 'n Roll!

Between the era of Elvis and the era of the Beatles there was a lost era of rock and roll. Back in the Seventies I remember rock critics like Dave Marsh saying that this era was not appreciated. But there are many lost classics on this amazing CD. There's all kinds of rock and roll, the crude, frat-rock fun of "Alley Oop" and the rhythm and blues shouting of "New Orleans" and the doo-wop exuberance of "Stay." There's the bluesy good humor of Fats Domino, "Walking To New Orleans." There's the unbelievably soulful and powerful twisting grooves of not one but two numbers by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters. There's Jerry Butler's "He Will Break Your Heart" and Roy Orbison's "Only the Lonely" for the truly romantic.Not even Neil Sedaka can spoil a year like 1960!

Recently I, seemingly, have endlessly gone back to my early musical roots in reviewing various compilations of a Time-Life classic rock series that goes under the general title The Rock `n' Roll Era. And while time and ear have eroded the sparkle of some of the lesser tunes it still seems obvious that those years, say 1955-58, really did form the musical jail break-out for my generation, the generation of '68, who had just started to tune into music.And we, we small-time punk (in the old-fashioned sense of that word), we hardly wet behind the ears elementary school kids, and that is all we were for those who are now claiming otherwise, listened our ears off. Those were strange times indeed in that be-bop 1950s night when stuff happened, kid's stuff, but still stuff like a friend of mine, not my grammar school best friend "wild man" Billie who I will talk about some other time, who claimed, with a straight face to the girls, that he was Elvis' long lost son. Did the girls do the math on that one? Or, maybe, they like us more brazen boys were hoping, hoping and praying, that it was true despite the numbers, so they too could be washed by that flamed-out night.Well, this I know, boy and girl alike tuned in on our transistor radios (small battery- operated radios that we could put in our pockets, and hide from snooping parental ears, at will) to listen to music that from about day one, at least in my household was not considered "refined" enough for young, young pious you'll never get to heaven listening to that devil music and you had better say about eight zillion Hail Marys to get right Catholic, ears. Ya right, Ma, like Patti Page or Bob (not Bing, not the Bing of Brother, Can You Spare A Dime? anyway) Crosby and The Bobcats were supposed to satisfy our jail-break cravings.And we had our own little world, or as some hip sociologist trying to explain that Zeitgeist today might say, our own sub-group cultural expression. I have already talked about the pre 7/11 mom and pop corner variety store hangout with the tee-shirted, engineered-booted, cigarette (unfiltered) hanging from the lips, Coke, big sized glass Coke bottle at the side, pinball wizard guys thing. And about the pizza parlor juke box coin devouring, hold the onions I might get lucky tonight, dreamy girl might come in the door thing. And, of course, the soda fountain, and...ditto, dreamy girl coming through the door thing, natch. Needless to say you know more about middle school and high school dance stuff, including hot tip " inside" stuff about manly preparations for those civil wars out in the working class neighborhood night, than you could ever possibly want to know, and, hell, you were there anyway (or at ones like them).But the crème de la crème to beat all was the teen night club. Easy concept, and something that could only have been thought up by someone in cahoots with our parents (or maybe it was them alone, although could they have been that smart). Open a "ballroom" (in reality some old VFW, Knight of Columbus, Elks, etc. hall that was either going to waste or was ready for the demolition ball), bring in live music on Friday and Saturday night with some rocking band (but not too rocking, not Elvis swiveling at the hips to the gates of hell rocking, no way), serve the kids drinks..., oops, sodas (Coke Pepsi, Grape and Orange Nehi, Hires Root Beer, etc.), and have them out of there by midnight, unscathed. All supervised, and make no mistake these things were supervised, by something like the equivalent of the elite troops of the 101st Airborne Rangers.And we bought it, and bought into it hard. And, if you had that set-up where you lived, you bought it too. And why? Come on now, have you been paying attention? Girls, tons of girls (or boys, as the case may be). See, even doubting Thomas-type parents gave their okay on this one because of that elite troops of the 101st Airborne factor. So, some down and the heels, tee-shirted, engineer- booted Jimmy or Johnny Speedo from the wrong side of the tracks, all boozed up and ready to "hot rod" with that `boss"'57 Chevy that he just painted to spec, is no going to blow into the joint and carry Mary Lou or Peggy Sue away, never to be seen again. No way. That stuff happened, sure, but that was on the side. This is not what drove that scene for the few years while we were still getting wise to the ways of the world The girls (and guys) were plentiful and friendly in that guarded, backed up by 101st Airborne way (damn it). And we had our ...sodas (I won't list the brands again, okay). But, and know this true, we blasted on the music. The music that is on this compilation, no question. And I will tell you some of the stick outs:Save The Last Dance For Me, The Drifters (oh, sweet baby, that I have had my eye on all night, please, please, James Brown, please save that last one for me); Only The Lonely, Roy Orbison (for some reason the girls loved covers of this one ); Alley Oop, The Hollywood Argyles (a good goofy song to break up the sexual tension that always filled the air, early and late, at these things as the mating ritual worked its mysterious ways); Handy Man, Jimmy Jones( a personal favorite, as I kept telling every girl, and maybe a few guys as well, that I was that very handy man that the gals had been waiting, waiting up on those lonely week day nights for. Egad!); Stay, Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs (nice harmonics and good feeling); New Orleans, Joe Jones (great dance number as the twist and other exotic dances started to break into the early 1960s consciousness); and, Let The Little Girl Dance, Billy Bland (yes, let her dance, hesitant, saying no at first mother, please, please, no I will not invoke James Brown on this one, please).

Our CD like this one had been cracked and we were so excited to find a used one online -- has lots of our favorites on it!!

This was a CD I wanted. It played fine. Would order agin from this seller if he had another CD I wanted

Lots of good sounding oldies

I love oldies and it relax me when I listen to it in the way I use to listen 30 years ago.

I like the compliations of "time life".All are includes the original hit versions,and in stereo when necessary .All the songs are in a clear and bright sound quality,a big advantage comparing many other companies.That's why i collect most of their issues of the 50's and 60's.

good cd the company is great to choise from allways use