Best Of King Curtis (Audp)

Limited edition 180gm vinyl LP pressing. King Curtis was the greatest R&B instrumentalist of all time, period. And it's not much of a contest. The saxophonist played on hundreds of the most hallowed recording sessions of all time, everything from the Coasters' "Yakety Yak" to John Lennon's Imagine album. But Curtis wasn't just a superstar sideman; he also was responsible for some of the greatest Pop/R&B instrumental albums of all time. Often overshadowed by the brilliance of his session work and his long players, however, is the fact that Curtis was actually quite a successful singles artist as well, notching 25 Pop and 10 R&B hits during his storied career, many of which are gathered here on the excellent 1968 ATCO compilation The Best Of King Curtis including "Harper Valley P.T.A.," "Ode To Billy Joe," "Soul Serenade" and "Memphis Soul Stew."