An underrated singer who managed to fuse country, gospel and rhythm and blues, Joe Tex is best known in the UK for his major 1977 hit Ain’t Gonna Bump No More. To many that makes him a bona fide one hit wonder, but soul fans had long taken Joe Tex to their hearts, as had their American counterparts, where he had racked up a succession of major pop hits during the 1960s and 70s. Whilst much of Joe’s later, post 1965 material has been regularly packaged for greatest hits, best-ofs and other assorted compilations, his earlier work has been largely overlooked. Although there is nothing as immediately compelling as Ain’t Gonna Bump No More, nor his earlier hits such as Hold What You’ve Got, there are still some very interesting items to be found. Baby You’re Right, for example, was a near hit for Joe but ended up providing James Brown (Joe’s nemesis) with a major hit, further fuelling an already fractious relationship between the two performers! This twenty track compilation covers Joe’s very first single release, 1955’s Come On In This House to 1962’s I Let Her Get Away, featuring several that predate the rap era by a good two decades.

1. Come In This House
2. My Biggest Mistake
3. She's Mine
4. Get Way Back
5. I Want To Have A Talk With You
6. Cut It Out
7. Open The Door
8. You Little Baby Face Thing
9. Charlie Brown Got Expelled
10. Don't Hold It Against Me
11. Boys Will Be Boys
12. All I Could Do Was Cry, Part 1
13. I'll Never Break Your Heart, Part 1
14. Goodbye My Love
15. Baby, You're Right
16. What Should I Do
17. One Giant Step
18. Popeye Johnny
19. Meet Me In Church
20. I Let Her Get Away