Various Artists - The Bobby Robinson Story (JSP 4 cd boxset, early R&B)

Bobby Robinson 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 Ahmet Ertegun for a time at Atlantic Records before he began to establish a series of his own independent labels, which would go on to include Red Robin Records (established in 1952), Whirlin’ Disc Records (1956), Fury Records (1957), Everlast Records (1957), Fire Records (1959), and Enjoy Records (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 Robinson 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.