VA - That'll Flat ... Git It! Vol. 23: Rockabilly From The Vaults Of Columbia Records (2006)

CD with 44-page booklet. Back in 1992, we decided that Rockabilly sounded good on CD, so we had the idea that we should create the all-time definitive Rockabilly series. Above all, Rockabilly was music recorded for 45RPM singles, so we designed a Rockabilly series label-by-label instead of artist-by-artist, and we compiled it for listening pleasure. Just the great stuff, plus a few super rarities. Every CD would be for the most part a 30 song jukebox of the finest Rockabilly ever recorded for all the great labels. We sourced the very best sounding tapes and took them to the best mastering engineers, and then we took the packaging to a new level. We adopted the catchphrase of the first Rockabilly dee-jay, Dewey Phillips, THAT'LL FLAT GIT IT, and we hired Bill Millar, who'd compiled the still-classic label-oriented Rockabilly LPs in the 1970s and 1980s, to write the notes. We looked for previously unpublished photos, and tried to find all the artists who'd never been found before. The result is a truly definitive series that now runs to over TWENTY-FIVE volumes.

Regarding this one, after two volumes drawn from the American Columbia label, you'd think Bear Family would be running low on good stuff - but not so! In addition to established rockabilly stars like Billy 'Crash' Craddock, the Collins Kids, Johnny Horton, and Ronnie Self, this CD adds a few non-rockabillies, making a very creditable stab at the shaking music (like pop star Jimmy Boyd and country stars Billy Walker, Mel Tillis, John D. Loudermilk, Carl Story, and Marty Robbins). This set also contains some of the rarest, most sought-after rockabilly from hitherto unknown artists, like Jaycee Hill, the Skee Brothers, Chuck Murphy, Leon Smith, and Eddie Zack.