Why

Although they only hit the pop charts twice under their own name, in 1955 with "Burn That Candle" and in 1957 with "Why," the Cues, in their guise as the premier session R&B backup vocal group of the era, put their imprint on dozens of hits by other artists, including sides by Nat King Cole, Ruth Brown, Big Joe Turner, LaVern Baker, Charlie White, Carmen Taylor, Ivory Joe Hunter, and many others. Led by Ollie Jones, the Cues were simply the best at giving a record a bright vocal sound, and there are several examples of that here in this collection of their singles from Capitol Records (there is a handful of sides from the Lamp, Jubilee, and Groove imprints as well), including both "Burn That Candle" and "Why," the lovely "You're on My Mind," and an uplifting, atmospheric version of "Ol' Man River." At the moment, this is the best set of Cues material on the market, and as usual, Bear Family Records provides top-notch annotation for each track.