The history of American popular music is full of enough unexpected second acts to silence F. Scott Fitzgerald forever, and W.C. Schalda is a fascinating example of an artist who has been given a second chance at a successful career. In the early '60s, Schalda (then known as Billy Schalda) was part of a doo wop group named the Montereys, who cut a pair of singles, one of which, "Step Right Up" b/w "Face in the Crowd," would fetch three-figure prices from vocal group collectors decades after the fact. Parenthood and other grown-up responsibilities led to Schalda giving up music as a career, but his three sons picked up the music bug from their dad and ended up working with acts like Charles Bradley & the Extraordinaires, Paul & the Tall Trees, and the Budos Band. Now W.C. Schalda and his sons Paul Schalda, Carmine Schalda, and William Schalda, Jr. have formed a vocal group known as the Sha La Das, with Dad on lead vocals, and they've stepped forward with their first album, 2018's Love in the Wind.

Founded by highly successful songwriter Les Reed in 1968, the Chapter One label had a five- year run before eventually succumbing to the law of diminishing chart returns. Despite scoring a handful of hits (step forward Gerry Monroe and, er, Leeds United F. C.), their most enduring releases have turned out to be a swathe of singles that met with little success at the time, but which are now in great demand amongst collectors of late 60s/early 70s UK psychedelic pop and associated genres.

"Bad" is the seventh studio album by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, released on August 31, 1987 in the United States by Epic Records and internationally by CBS Records. It was released nearly five years after Jackson's previous solo studio album, "Thriller" (1982). Bad was written and recorded over the span of over three and a half years. The lyrical themes include media bias, paranoia, racial profiling, romance, self-improvement and world peace. The album cemented Jackson's status as one of the most successful artists of the 1980s.

Of the many centennial tributes to Ellington, this one offers a stance that is marginally authentic, claiming to give a glimpse of what Ellington would've sounded like had he been a pop artist, which he was not. George Duke produced this session with three different big bands: one from L.A., another in Chicago, and the third is "Kashif's Biggest Band." There are many outstanding legit jazz artists playing in these big bands though, and they lend a certain amount of traditional feel within this overtly watered-down Ellington-ian effort.

Not That Kind is the debut studio album by American singer Anastacia. It was released on June 16, 2000, by Epic Records and Daylight Records. The album features production by Sam Watters, Louis Biancaniello, Ric Wake, Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken, Rickey Minor, and The Shadowmen. Not That Kind failed to make an impact in the United States, where it peaked at number 168 on the Billboard 200. Nevertheless, it was commercially successful overseas, reaching the top 10 on the majority of the charts in Europe and Oceania. By May 2002, the album had sold over seven million copies worldwide.

Recognized most for his keyboard work but also a composer, producer, arranger, and vocoder-armed vocalist, Brandon Coleman is among the flock of jazz-rooted musicians hatched out of Los Angeles during the early 2000s. The musician is connected with virtually all West Coast luminaries of his generation – Kamasi Washington, Ryan Porter, Miles Mosley, Thundercat, and so on – and has ventured stylistically afield with Babyface and Anthony Hamilton among those who have sought his talent. Moreover, Coleman is likely the lone link from smooth jazz stalwart Boney James to polyglot experimentalist Flying Lotus, the latter of whom featured him on Until the Quiet Comes and You're Dead!, and issued Resistance on his Brainfeeder label. This is actually Coleman's second album as a leader. His first, Self Taught, received a low-key release in 2011 and a few years later was reissued in Japan. Like it, Resistance enables Coleman to indulge in his affinity for late-'70s/early-'80s electronic funk from a jazz perspective. As a teenager, around the time he started learning to play, his head was spun by Herbie Hancock's vocoder-ized Sunlight, and that work, as well as other openhearted moments of the master's catalog from Man-Child through Lite Me Up, informs the material here. Considering Coleman's rare spotlight, truckload of stockpiled gear (20 instruments, just for himself), and accommodation of fellow instrumentalists and background singers numbering in the dozens (including many L.A. players), Resistance is extraordinarily condensed.

Playcrater Too is a 2008 CD by San Francisco's DJ B.Cause, who combines different mixes, remixes and exclusive versions for his own CD. This features 31 morsels of excellence.

2018 debut album, by prodigious keys player, composer and producer Joe Armon-Jones, is buoyant, celebratory and welcoming. With a background in jazz, he draws from influences in dub, hip-hop and soul. Different traditions are infused and commingled together. Soulful brass arrangements are colored with carefully-tuned atmospherics; individual flashes of brilliance are bound into the album's bigger picture. He's part of London's young, jazz-influenced music scene. Drawn from that same close-knit circle, the album features the likes of Moses Boyd, Nubya Garcia and Oscar Jerome. It's playing with those - along with Ezra Collective, which he co-founded, and touring with the likes of Ata Kak and Pharoahe Monch - which has honed his playing and grown his ideas. It's made for a record with an unmistakable depth. He draws on deep musical understanding, making music which is warm and has a feeling of joy. A document of his vision for bringing together his different influences, it's also a testament to hard-earned, head-turning musical virtuosity.

Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo composed of the husband-and-wife team of Ike Turner and Tina Turner. The duo was once considered "one of the hottest, most durable, and potentially most explosive of all R&B ensembles".

Even though their vocal ability was as good as many, if not supreme, this Camden, NJ-based vocal quartet did not threaten the chart action of any of their competitors. This album is, however, home to the Ebonys' most popular single, "It's Forever." With its serene intro, the foursome harmonize their way to the verse where the lead vocals, both baritone and falsetto, bring enhancing deliveries to an already outstanding track. The single peaked at #14 on the R&B charts after 13 weeks. The second single was "I Believe."

"The performances featured on this compilation celebrate Jimi Hendrix's unique spirit and remarkable catalog in a symphonic context," writes annotator John McDermott of an album "featuring Sting, Carlos Santana, Brian Hay, John McLaughlin, Taj Mahal, Eric Schenkman, Steve Lukather, Paul Rodgers, Buddy Miles, Bootsy Collins, Tony Williams, Stanley Clarke, Robben Ford, Sass Jordan, Cozy Powell, Corey Glover, Hiram Bullock, Toots Thielemans, Bernie Worrell, Doug Pinnick, Dave Abbruzzese, Billy Cox, Noel Redding, and Steve Vai with the London Metropolitan Orchestra." The real force behind this Hendrix tribute album is producer/engineer Eddie Kramer, who engineered Hendrix's original albums. Unlike other tribute albums, in which a group of cover songs are collected from established artists, In from the Storm features performances by one-time ensembles put together specially by Kramer, usually featuring the London Metropolitan Orchestra.

"Live at the London Palladium" is a live double album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released March 15, 1977, on Tamla Records. Recording sessions took place live at several concerts at the London Palladium in London, England, in October 1976, with the exception of the hit single "Got to Give It Up", which was recorded at Gaye's Los Angeles studio Marvin's Room on January 31, 1977. Live at the London Palladium features intimate performances by Gaye of many of his career highlights, including early hits for Motown and recent material from his previous three studio albums. As with his previous live album, Marvin Gaye Live!, production of the record was handled entirely by Gaye, except for the studio portion, "Got to Give It Up", which was managed by Art Stewart.

In the early 70's a band named Catalyst was formed in the heart of Philadelphia. The core of the group was Odean Pope, Sherman Ferguson, Eddie Green and Al Johnson (who was replaced by Tyrone Brown after their first album). The band drew from a wide range of musical styles; jazz, funk, R&B, avant garde and fusion all found their way into the creative sonic tapestry of Catalyst. With the given talents of Catalyst they could have and should have been bigger but sadly they found themselves with little promotion or recognition outside the proximity of Philadelphia. Thankfully Catalyst were able to leave behind four extraordinary recordings that will appeal to both jazz heads and those in the hip hop community.

• 101 Hits No.1 Dad carefully compiled across 5 CDs, presenting some of the finest repertoire ever available at this price point. Featuring the greatest rock, pop and soul anthems guaranteed to be a certified hit with all dads this Father’s Day. Including the likes of Thin Lizzy, The Jam, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Status Quo and many more… •

The Anthology 1961-1977 is a compilation album of songs by Curtis Mayfield when he was with the Impressions and when he was solo. Of the 40 tracks, 30 are from Mayfield's time with the Impressions. The album includes liner notes written by Robert Pruter. In 2003, the album was ranked number 178 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.