Saturn Singles Vol. 2: 1959-1962

Double vinyl LP pressing. Herman Poole Blount, better known to the world as Sun Ra, lived more musical lives in his 79 years on this planet (and others) than seems possible. In the '30s he was the most rigorous bandleader in Birmingham, heading the Sonny Blount Orchestra and filling every waking moment with music or philosophical discussions; by the '40s he had moved to Chicago and performed with luminaries such as Wynonie Harris, Fletcher Henderson, and Coleman Hawkins. By the '50s he had changed his name to Sun Ra and began performing with longtime Arkestra bandmates John Gilmore and Marshall Allen. Sun Ra started his own label, El Saturn (or Saturn), to release his own recordings as well as those featuring the Arkestra backing local R&B and doo-wop groups. This second volume of the collected Sun Ra singles focuses on Yochanan (aka The Space Age Vocalist) - a wild and wildly original street performer from Chicago whom Sun Ra befriended (or an alias of Sun Ra's) - along with some other amazing Sun Ra sides (and tracks by Little Mack), spanning 1959-1962.