X5 Music Group, the digital label lauded as "trailblazers" by the Wall Street Journal for their groundbreaking "Digital 2.0" business model, has just released 'Plantation Records: The Singles Set' series, six albums of remastered material from eclectic country music label Plantation Records. The series includes more than 30 singles, from country legends and long-forgotten gems alike, that have never been released digitally (120 total tracks).
One single previously unheard digitally that is featured on 'Plantation Records: The Singles Set' includes Webb Pierce's "Good Lord Giveth And Uncle Sam Taketh Away," a 1975 hit on Billboard's Country Songs chart (#57). The flamboyant Pierce is still regarded as one of honky-tonk's all-time greats, with more charted hits in the 1950s than any other country artist. Listen here:
http://bit.ly/KMC76NAnother curious song on the series is Linda Martell's 1969 hit "Color Him Father" (#14 on Billboard's Country Songs chart), a testament to the iconoclasm of Plantation's catalog: Martell was the first African-American woman to perform at the Grand Ole Opry and one of the few black women to ever chart in the country world. Listen here:
http://bit.ly/KgW88pThe storied Plantation Records, led by founder Shelby Singleton (who also purchased the legendary Sun Records), were determined not to play ball with the rigid, formulaic country music of the late 60s and 70s. Plantation released music from countless legends including Hank Locklin, Jimmie Davis, Carol Channing, and Jimmy C. Newman throughout the 1960s and 70s. It is perhaps best-known for the Jeannie C. Riley single "Harper Valley P.T.A.," which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and US Country Singles charts in 1968.
"In creating custom digital products from the catalog licensed from Sun Entertainment, we were pleasantly surprised to find some great tracks from the Plantation Records catalog that have never been released digitally," says Scott Ambrose Reilly, North American C.E.O of X5 Music Group. "There are so many gems in the Sun Entertainment catalog, many of which have only been heard on vinyl or collector's box sets. X5's model is all about helping people discover music they will enjoy, and we know people would appreciate these singles if properly presented to them."
Click to purchase 'Plantation Records: The Singles Set' Series on
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The unearthing of these singles from Plantation Records demonstrates X5's profitable "Digital 2.0" business model, which focuses on the marketing of back catalog music and the creation of custom compilations, radically shifting the way digital music is packaged, sold, and enjoyed.
After emerging as a leader in the classical genre and dominating the US classical charts since 2009, X5 has expanded its reach to other genres, recently signing licensing deals with influential labels such as Cooking Vinyl, Welk Music Group, and OneRPM.
The following 'Plantation Records: The Singles Set' tracks have never been released digitally:
David Wilkins - "Maggie (Had a Bear Behind)"
Becki Bluefield - "Dear Ann Landers"
David Wilkins - "Irving"
Dee Mullins - "Guilt Box"
Ray Pillow - "Slice of Life"
Lawton Williams - "Preacher And The Movie"
Harlow Wilcox - "Cripple Cricket"
Dee Mullins - "Next Face I See (Will Be Jesus)
Lawton Williams - "Ballad Of Morgan"
Ben Story - "Let That Big Plane Carry You (Airplane Song)"
David Wilkins - "She Hates To Be Alone"
Little Jimmy Dempsey - "We've Only Just Begun"
Rex Allen Jr. - "Uncle Boogar Red And Byrdie Nelle"
Johnny Credit - "Hello I'm Johnny Credit"
Don Powell - "Swing Low Sweet Sherry"
Sonny Hall - "Howard Hughes Is Alive And Well"
Jackie Burns - "D.O.A. O.D."
John Wesley Ryles - "Two Shadows On The Wall"
Rita Remington - "I've Never Been This Far Before"
Rusty Adams - "Hippie From Mississippi"
James O'Gwynn - "Gotebo"
Rita Remington - "Welcome Home"
Lois Ann Struck - "Thank You"
Rita Remington - "Days Of Autumn Gold"
James O'Gwynn - "Singing In The Jungle"
Rusty Adams - " If Jesus Played The Guitar"
Rita Remington - "How Can I See Through These Tears In My Eyes"
Big John Wilson - "Hey Buddy Part 1"
Rita Remington - "We Tried"
Webb Pierce - "Good Lord Giveth And Uncle Sam Taketh Away"
Ben Davidson Hewitt - "Border City Call Girl"
James O'Gwynn - "One Night Gone"
Rita Remington - "We Tried"
