The Complete Mercury & Columbia Singles As & Bs 1955-62

Jimmy Dean was a country singer and radio and TV personality and actor whose primary claim to musical fame came with the iconic landmark 1961 crossover pop/country hit “Big Bad John”, although he had many other significant hits over the years. Born in Texas, he became a professional entertainer after leaving the USAF in the late ‘40s, and graduated to being a popular performer on various radio shows, and with his band The Texas Wildcats made some recordings in the early ‘50s. When he was hosting the popular Washington, D.C. radio program ‘Town and Country Time’, he was signed by Mercury in 1955, making a number of records with them without a hit until signing to Columbia in 1957, scoring his debut hit “Deep Blue Sea” with his first Columbia release. It was with his unique narrative recitation “Big Bad John” that he came to true national and international prominence, making No. 1 in the US pop and country charts and reaching No. 2 in the UK. Other hits in similar style followed, notably “Dear Ivan” and “P.T. 109”, the latter a tribute to John F. Kennedy’s legendary wartime exploits. This great-value 51-track 2-CD set comprises all his A and B sides on the Mercury and Columbia labels during this key era of his career, and features all his eleven hits during these years, as well as some early Mercury titles which are otherwise unavailable on CD.