Why Don't You Do Right - The Career Collection 1940-51

Lil Green was one of leading female American blues and R&B singers and songwriters of the 1940s, with a a sensuous and sinuous soprano voice, and a fine sense of phrasing and timing that made her one of the most distinctive blues song stylists of her day. Born in Mississippi, she was brought up with the music of the Delta, and performed in the juke joints there in her teens before heading to Chicago where she did all her recording. This 51-track 2-CD collection comprises just about all the A & B sides of her career releases on Bluebird, Victor, Aladdin and Atlantic labels. It includes her Top 10 R&B hit “Let’s Be Friends” and her classic songs “Romance In The Dark” and “Why Don’t You Do Right”, with compositions from Big Bill Broonzy, Joe McCoy and other writers alongside her self-penned material and her versions of many well-known blues and jazz standards. It features performances with Champion Jack Dupree, Big Bill Broonzy, Ransom Knowling, Simeon Henry, Budd Johnson and other noted musicians from the Chicago scene. While not being an absolutely complete or definitive anthology, this collection offers a substantial proportion of here career recordings, and is a fine showcase for her highly individual style.