Ultra-suave pianist and blues crooner Charles Brown first found renown as a contemporary of Nat "King" Cole. Recording with Johnny Moore and the Three Blazers, Brown wrote and recorded "Merry Christmas Baby," "Drifting Blues," "Black Night," "Fool's Paradise," and "Please Come Home for Christmas." In recent years Brown has experienced a renaissance, culminating in his latest sultry smash, "These Blues" on Verve.

Few figures have been as central to the evolution of R&B and rock and roll as Johnny Otis, the legendary band leader cum talent scout who "discovered" Little Esther, Etta James, the Coasters, Hank Ballard, Big Mama Thornton, Little Willie John, Jackie Wilson, and others. Otis penned such classics as "Every Beat of My Heart" and "Willie and the Hand Jive."

The line-up continues, including Swingtime's biggest star, Tulsa-born, Oakland legend Lowell Fulson, who scored more than 15 Top Ten Hits for the label, including his #1 Hit "Blue Shadows"; Kansas City piano master and fabled band leader Jay McShann (Charlie Parker got his start in his band); Arkansas-bred blues shouter Jimmy Witherspoon (who fronted McShann's band for Swingtime); St. Louis-bred guitarist Jimmy McCracklin (who became a California blues giant recording for Bob Geddins in Oakland and and scored a rock'nŐroll hit with "The Walk"); and perennial Swingtime saxophonist Earl Brown.