Jimmy Wakely was one of the last of the “singing cowboys”, personalities who combined their appearances in western movies with recording country and western records and appearing on radio and TV on shows like the Grand Ole Opry. His career in both media started in the late ‘30s, introduced to the big-time by Gene Autry and from 1939 to ’59 he appeared in around 60 films. He was equally prolific on record, making his first records for Decca in the early ‘40s, and having moved to Capitol in the Mid-‘40s recording for them through into the ‘60s. This great-value 84-track 3-CD set comprises selected A & B sides from the most successful era of his career, which encompassed all his fifteen country and pop hits as a solo artists and also the nine pop and country hits he had recording duets with the pop artist Margaret Whiting at the start of the 1950s, all of which made the Top 10 – we feature at least one side from the majority of his releases during these years. His thirteen Top 10 country hits featured here include the No. 1s “One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart)”, “I Love You So Much It Hurts” as well as his No. 1 with Margaret Whiting “Slippin’ Around”. He was a versatile artist, his style enabling him to transcend the genres with ease, and this is a fine showcase for a major contributor to this particular genre.
