A sound heard across mountains in Europe and the Americas, the yodel was incorporated to give an earthy sound to folk music in its recorded form. In America there are many acts whose music was enhanced by the yodel, and 22 such songs are contained in this set available through Nostalgia Music. Hank Williams, Slim …

In difficult times, spirits need cheering up and smiles put on normally frowning faces, pained at more news from far away. No clearer was this evident than between 1939 and 1945, the Second World War in full swing and each week bringing new battles and new casualties. As the last combatants left who fought approach …

One of the darlings of the musical landscape of the late-1950s and early-1960s, 2013 marks the 50th year since Patsy Cline’s death in a jet crash. For those who have not yet discovered the power of a superb voice of American country music, this set of 25 of her best tracks is a decent place …

Jonny Brick writes about the ways that ‘the product’, then (part 1) and now (part 2), has been sold in similar and different ways in the recorded-sound era Since the first recording techniques made it possible for ephemeral sounds to be transferred to a physical object, there have always been people attempting to make a …

Jonny Brick continues his exploration into how far music consumption has changed since the 1950s With the advent of cheap recording facilities, the last twenty years have certainly democratised the process of making and then distributing your music. Recordable CDs, larger home processing units, the MySpace mp3 era and, latterly, the click-to-buy legitimised downloading of …

Take a saunter down the Avenue of Memories, in a time fast being forgotten in this Digital Era. Before computers became common in people’s homes and the family would splinter off into their own worlds, Daddy, Mummy, Kids and their Toys would all sit by the radio and hear the latest popular tunes. If they …

Young people could still be called up for Armed services, Elvis Presley had not yet started his run of less-well-received films and future young punks and glam stars were still in nappies. The Fifties are thought of today as monochrome, but nothing could be further from the colourful truth. The 23 tracks on this compilation, …

In Britain in 1953, street parties were held across the isles to celebrate the Queen’s Coronation. Along with sounds of shouting kids and parents toasting the day, the music of the day swept the air. 24 such tracks have their place today during any indoor or outdoor party, and are all slower songs to help …