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Language available : english
For better or worse, Tommy Steele was Britain's first homegrown rock & roll star. Even at the time, and certainly with the passage of it, listeners might have been forgiven for wondering if he was truly a rock & roll singer in the first place, or just an all-around entertainer who happened to put a few ersatz rock & roll songs in the charts on his way to stage and screen success. As a document of his most notable efforts as a recording artist, however, The World of Tommy Steele has just about all of them. Concentrating exclusively on 1956-1963 recordings, the 21 songs include all of his Top 30 hits, among them his first chart single, 1956's "Rock with the Caveman" -- a legitimate contender for the first ever British rock hit -- and its follow-up cover of Guy Mitchell's "Singing the Blues," which topped the U.K. charts (as did the original!). Steele never rocked too hard on either these or his other most rock & roll-oriented hits (like his cover of Freddie Cannon's "Tallahassee Lassie," included here), and more often than not sounded far closer to a show tune or variety singer influenced by teen pop than he did to Cliff Richard, let alone Elvis Presley. It's understandable that historians these days would rather regard Richard's late-'50s recordings as the true starting point of British rock & roll; after all, some of these cuts feature musical-oriented material with no relationship to rock whatsoever. But Steele does sing with competence and oodles of good cheer on these tracks, if little raunch, even on his straightforward cover of Ritchie Valens' "Come on Let's Go." At least the 1962 track "Hit Record" (which wasn't one) shows a sense of humor about the industry crassness that launched talents such as himself to nearly instant stardom.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
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Lionel Bart, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele, ComposerLyricist - Michael Pratt, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele and the Steelmen, MainArtist
℗ 1957 Decca Music Group Limited
Melvin Endsley, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele, Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Tommy Steele and the Steelmen, MainArtist
℗ 1956 Decca Music Group Limited
Knee Deep In The Blues (Melvin Endsley)
Melvin Endsley, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele and the Steelmen, MainArtist
℗ 1957 Decca Music Group Limited
Lionel Bart, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele, ComposerLyricist - Mike Pratt, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele and the Steelmen, MainArtist
℗ 1957 Decca Music Group Limited
Bob Merrill, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele, MainArtist - Harry Robinson and his Orchestra, MainArtist
℗ 1960 Decca Music Group Limited
Bob Hilliard, ComposerLyricist - David Mann, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele and the Steelmen, MainArtist
℗ 1958 Decca Music Group Limited
Tommy Steele, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele and the Steelmen, MainArtist
℗ 1957 Decca Music Group Limited
Lionel Bart, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele, ComposerLyricist - Michael Pratt, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele and the Steelmen, MainArtist
℗ 1958 Decca Music Group Limited
Lionel Bart, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele, ComposerLyricist - Michael Pratt, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele and the Steelmen, MainArtist
℗ 1957 Decca Music Group Limited
Lionel Bart, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Michael Pratt, ComposerLyricist - Frank Chacksfield, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1963 Decca Music Group Limited
Frank C. Slay Jr., ComposerLyricist - Bob Crewe, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Frederick A. Picariello, ComposerLyricist - Roland Shaw & His Orchestra, MainArtist
℗ 1959 Decca Music Group Limited
Tommy Steele, MainArtist - Roland Shaw, ComposerLyricist - Roland Shaw & His Orchestra, MainArtist - Stevens SA Beecher, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1959 Decca Music Group Limited
RITCHIE VALENS, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Roland Shaw, Producer - Roland Shaw & His Orchestra, MainArtist
℗ 1958 Decca Music Group Limited
Lionel Bart, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele and the Steelmen, MainArtist
℗ 1957 Decca Music Group Limited
Tommy Steele, MainArtist - Roland Shaw, MainArtist - Sandy Baron, ComposerLyricist - Marcus H. Barkan, ComposerLyricist - George Paxton, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1961 Decca Music Group Limited
Lionel Bart, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Michael Pratt, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1958 Decca Music Group Limited
Tommy Steele, MainArtist - John Keating, Musical Director - Sibelius Williams, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1962 Decca Music Group Limited
Tommy Steele, MainArtist - David William Heneker, ComposerLyricist - John Keating, Musical Director
℗ 1963 Decca Music Group Limited
Tommy Steele, MainArtist - David William Heneker, ComposerLyricist - Roland Shaw, Musical Director
℗ 1963 Decca Music Group Limited
Lionel Bart, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Steele, MainArtist - Mike Pratt, ComposerLyricist - Stanley Black, MainArtist - Jimmy Bennett, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1959 Decca Music Group Limited
R.P. Weston, ComposerLyricist - Harry Robinson, MainArtist - Tommy Steele, MainArtist - Harry Champion, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1960 Decca Music Group Limited
Albumbeschreibung
For better or worse, Tommy Steele was Britain's first homegrown rock & roll star. Even at the time, and certainly with the passage of it, listeners might have been forgiven for wondering if he was truly a rock & roll singer in the first place, or just an all-around entertainer who happened to put a few ersatz rock & roll songs in the charts on his way to stage and screen success. As a document of his most notable efforts as a recording artist, however, The World of Tommy Steele has just about all of them. Concentrating exclusively on 1956-1963 recordings, the 21 songs include all of his Top 30 hits, among them his first chart single, 1956's "Rock with the Caveman" -- a legitimate contender for the first ever British rock hit -- and its follow-up cover of Guy Mitchell's "Singing the Blues," which topped the U.K. charts (as did the original!). Steele never rocked too hard on either these or his other most rock & roll-oriented hits (like his cover of Freddie Cannon's "Tallahassee Lassie," included here), and more often than not sounded far closer to a show tune or variety singer influenced by teen pop than he did to Cliff Richard, let alone Elvis Presley. It's understandable that historians these days would rather regard Richard's late-'50s recordings as the true starting point of British rock & roll; after all, some of these cuts feature musical-oriented material with no relationship to rock whatsoever. But Steele does sing with competence and oodles of good cheer on these tracks, if little raunch, even on his straightforward cover of Ritchie Valens' "Come on Let's Go." At least the 1962 track "Hit Record" (which wasn't one) shows a sense of humor about the industry crassness that launched talents such as himself to nearly instant stardom.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 21 track(s)
- Total length: 00:49:09
- Main artists: Tommy Steele
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: UMC (Universal Music Catalogue)
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 2009 Decca Music Group Limited This Compilation ℗ 2009 Decca Music Group Limited
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