The Bobby Robinson Story: Selected Sides 1951-1960

may not be a household name, but his influence is subtly pervasive in the 21st century. Born in South Carolina, he moved to New York City after serving in the Army during World War II, where he opened a record shop in Harlem. Branching out into record production, he worked with for a time at before he began to establish a series of his own independent labels, which would go on to include (established in 1952), (1956), (1957), (1959), and (1962), and later he worked as an early hip-hop producer in New York in the 1970s and 1980s. This expansive four-disc box set collects some of the early sides produced and released through his various labels between 1951 and 1960, and it's quite an archival treasure trove of blues, R&B, and doo wop. ~ Steve Leggett