Varetta Dillard – Mercy Mr. Percy – The Singles Collection 1951-61 – 2CD

Varetta Dillard was an R&B, blues and soul singer, born In Harlem in 1933, and who defied a crippling congenital bone condition, which impaired her walking throughout her life, to become a singer and win talent contests at the Apollo Theatre in 1951 at the age of 18 which earnt her a contract with Savoy Records. She went on to have three Top 10 hits in the US R&B charts and made great records across two decades before joining gospel groups and working as a music therapist with chronically ill children. This 56-track 2-CD collection comprises most of her A&B sides on the Savoy, Groove, RCA, Triumph and Cub labels from this era. It features her hits with “Easy Easy Baby”, “Mercy Mr. Percy” and “Johnny Has Gone”, the last-named a tribute to the recently-deceased R&B singer Johnny Ace. She was a great interpreter of R&B material by the top composers of the day who provided her with songs, like Rudolph Toombs, Otis Blackwell, Rose Marie McCoy, Charles Singleton, Clyde Otis and Jesse Stone, and this collection offers a substantial overview of her career and a great showcase for her distinctive style as a performer.

Track Listing:

CD1: 1. Love And Wine -   2. Please Come Back To Me -   3. Please Tell Me Why -   4. Hurry Up -   5. Easy, Easy, Easy Baby -   6. Letter In The Blues -   7. Here In My Heart -   8. I’m Yours -   9. Them There Eyes -   10. You Are Gone -   11. I Cried And Cried -   12. Double Crossing Daddy -   13. Three Lies -   14. Getting Ready For My Daddy -   15. Mercy, Mr. Percy -   16. No Kinda Good No How -   17. I Love You -   18. I Love You Just The Same -   19. I Ain’t Gonna Tell -   20. (That’s The Way) My Mind Is Working -   21. Love -   22. Send Me Some Money -   23. Johnny Has Gone -   24. So Many Ways -   25. You’re The Answer To My Prayer -   26. Promise Mr Thomas

CD2: 1. I Can’t Stop Now -   2. I’ll Never Forget You -   3. Darling, Listen To The Words Of This Song -   4. Mama Don Want (What Papa Don’t Want) -   5. Gonna Tell My Daddy -   6. Cherry Blossom -   7. Got You On My Mind -   8. Skinny Jimmy -   9. I Miss You Jimmy -   10. If You Want Be My Baby -   11. One More Time -   12. I Can’t Help Myself -   13. Pray For Me Mother -  14. Leave A Happy Fool Alone -  15. Time Was -   16. I Got A Lot Of Love -   17. Undecided -   18. That’s Why I Cry -    19. Star Of Fortune -   20. The Rules Of Love -   21. What’ll I Do -   22. Just Multiply -   23. Good Gravy Baby -   24. Scorched -   25. Teaser -   26. I Know I’m Good For You -   27. A Little Bitty Tear -   28. Mercy Mr. Percy -   29. You Better Come Home -   30. I Don’t know What It Is But I Like It -