Bobby Marchan - This Is The Life: New Orleans Rock & Soul, 1954-1962

The flamboyant, ultra-extraordinary Bobby Marchan (born Oscar James Gibson) was an outstanding R&B/Soul?singer, songwriter, bandleader, MC and female impersonator, who enjoyed successes both solo and as the occasional singer with Huey "Piano" Smith & The Clowns. This compilation is drawn from Marchan's solo recordings for Johnny Vincent's Ace and Bobby Robinson's Fire labels between 1954-62, and feature some of the earliest examples of Soul music on record, most notably his dramatic 1960 R&B #1 'There's Something On Your Mind (parts 1 & 2)'. His first Ace 45rpm 'Give A Helping Hand'/'Pity Poor Me' (1954), included herein, was issued as Bobby Fields, as he was signed to another label at the time. Other collectables in this set include 'Chickee Wah-Wah', 'I'll Never Let You Go', 'You Can't Stop Her', 'You're Still My Baby' and 'Things I Used To Do'. This is the first time that this remarkable, Soul-drenched body of work has been thus compiled.