LOS ANGELES (MCA Nashville/ UMe Records) - The largest single-CD "best of" albums ever issued for three of country music's most legendary acts are set to join The Definitive Collection series. Each of The Definitive Collection albums for Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn, the Statler Brothers, and Bill Monroe And His Bluegrass Boys - all Country
Music Hall Of Famers - feature more than 20 original hit recordings digitally remastered and in packages with classic photos and extensive liner notes. Each will be released April 19, 2005.
Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn - The Definitive Collection (MCA Nashville/UMe) presents 24 selections - a track from every album together from 1971-1988 and all of their charting duets, including their 14 Top 10s and five No 1s: "After The Fire Is Gone," "Feelins'," "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man," "Lead Me On" and "As Soon As I Hang Up The Phone."
Conway and Lynn were the greatest duo in country history. For 12 consecutive years, 1971-1982, they were nominated as Vocal Duo of the Year by the Country Music Association (CMA) and won four years running (1972-1975). Of their several albums together, two were named the CMA's Album of the Year.
1971's "After The Fire Is Gone" was followed by the other chart-toppers plus the Top 10s "The Letter," "I Can't Love You Enough," "From Seven Till Ten," "You Know Just What I'd Do," "It's True Love," "You're The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly," "It's True Love," "Lovin' What Your Lovin' Does To Me" and "I Still Believe In Waltzes."
Statler Brothers - The Definitive Collection (Mercury/UMe) offers "Wall"-to-"Wall" Statlers with 25 of the biggest hits - 23 Top 10s - from the most honored vocal group in country history. Spanning 1965-1989, The Definitive Collection celebrates the 40th anniversary year of their first hit.
Applying the traditional format of the gospel harmony quartet to secular material, the Statlers were named the CMA's Group of the Year nine times. Their rise began in 1965 with "Flowers On The Wall," which earned two Grammys. 1970's Top 10 "Bed Of Rose's" led to charters "Do You Remember These?," the Grammy-winning "The Class Of '57," "I'll Go To My Grave Loving You," "Thank God I've Got You," "I Was There" and No 1 "Do You Know You Are My Sunshine?"
The '80s brought No 1s "Elizabeth," "My Only Love" and "Too Much On My Heart" and Top 10s "I'll Even Love You Better Than I Did Then," "Don't Wait On Me," "You'll Be Back (Every Night In My Dreams)," "Guilty," "Atlanta Blue," "One Takes The Blame," "Sweeter And Sweeter," "Count On Me," "Forever," "I'll Be The One," "Hello Mary Lou" and "More Than A Name On A Wall."
Bill Monroe And His Blue Grass Boys - The Definitive Collection (MCA Nashville/UMe) features 22 classics from the Father of Bluegrass from 1950-1981, from "New Mule Skinner Blues" to "My Last Days On Earth," with his re-recording of his timeless "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" in between.
Also heard are the gems "Uncle Pen," "In The Pines," "Footprints In The Snow," "Kentucky Waltz," "Molly & Tenbrooks," "Roanoke" and covers of "I'm Working On A Building," "Jimmie Brown, The Newsboy," "Roll On Buddy Roll On," "When The Cactus Is In Bloom" and Hank Williams' "I Saw The Light."
Bluegrass is one of the few genres whose development can be traced to one man and Monroe is that man. He then taught it to generations of Blue Grass Boys, from Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs to Vassar Clements. Along with influencing contemporary stars such as Vince Gill, Allison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, and the Dixie Chicks, Monroe was rediscovered by a new generation thanks to the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou?".
