The Tommy Ridgley Collection 1949-61

New Orleans was the source of some of the best and most influential R&B during the ‘50s, and along with names like Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Smiley Lewis and Roy Brown, Tommy Ridgley was one of the artists most closely associated with the music of Crescent City during that time, his reputation and popularity belying his lack of national chart hits, and he was a fixture on the New Orleans club scene until his death in 1999. This great value 54-track 2-CD collection brings together his recordings for the Imperial, Decca, Atlantic, Herald during the ‘50s plus 10 tracks he recorded for the Ric label in the early ‘60s, covering the first two decades of his recording career. They chart his progression from late ‘40s blues through R&B to the heyday of rock ‘n roll, and amply demonstrate why he earned the nickname “King Of The Stroll”. This expanded and updated anthology supersedes other Tommy Ridgley compilations on the market and will be welcomed by collectors seeking a more comprehensive overview of the key era in his career.