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They may not be household names, but the husband and wife songwriting team of Felice & Boudleaux Bryant rank among the most successful pop composers of the post-war era, with some of their songs providing iconic landmarks in pop history. They are best-known for the string of hits they wrote to kick-start the career of the Everly Brothers, their compositions of that crucial mini-era including “Bye Bye Love”, “Wake Up Little Susie”, “All I have To Do Is Dream”, “Bird Dog”, “Devoted To You” and others. Boudleaux was a classically-trained violinist who took up jazz, and started writing with his wife Felice after their whirlwind marriage in 1945. After years of trying, they sold their first song to publishers Acuff-Rose, and it was a hit in 1949 for Little Jimmy Dickens, after which they concentrated mainly on the country market, writing classics like “Hey Joe”, “How's the World Treating You” and “Midnight” to score huge hits before breaking into the pop arena to achieve success on both sides of the Atlantic, as artists of all kinds homed in on their material, including Buddy Holly who recorded their song “Raining In My Heart”. This great-value 54-track 2-CD set comprises every US and UK chart entry achieved by artists performing their songs through to 1962. It’s not only a testimony to their remarkable talent, but a fascinating trawl across the pop music landscape of the era, featuring a remarkable and impressive range of stars.
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