Mississippi native guitarist Elmore James played an immeasurable role in defining the modern concept of applying a bottleneck across the strings of a guitar and his vocals were equally distinctive. Sunset Blvd. has announced a new collection of James’ Hits & Rarities offering a look at James’ later career, offering 36 classic songs from his last era of recording for Harlem producer Bobby Robinson in Chicago, New York and New Orleans. It’s available in two-CD and two-LP configurations.

Spanning 1959-1963, the set offers an overview of Elmore’s releases on the Fire and Enjoy labels. The collection’s opening track “The Sky Is Crying,” cut with Elmore and his trusty Windy City band, the Broomdusters, revived his career when it became a major R&B hit in 1960. This version of his “It Hurts Me Too” also went onto the charts posthumously in 1965. 

Elmore died unexpectedly of a heart attack in May of 1963 at age 45, providing an unfortunate sudden end to an amazing career. He left these seminal recordings behind to influence and educate future generations of Blues and Blues-Rock guitarists.