At one time a highly popular singer in the R&B/Blues field, Lil Green is almost forgotten now, with nary a collection of her material available, so this two disc, 51 song anthology fills a needed gap. She’s best known for her song “Why Don’t You Do Right?” which was later popularized by Peggy Lee, as well as “Romance In The Dark”, a tune reworked by Billie Holiday. Likewise, “Romance in the Dark” was covered by both Dinah Washington and Nina Simone, showing the range of influence in her wake.
Her early material here has her swinging hard on “Knockin’ Myself Out” and “Just Rocking”, and she fronts her own orchestra for some raucous material like “Rock Me Baby” and “Daddy, Daddy Blues”. She was also able to tone it down a bit, sounding impressive on “That Old Feeling” and “Them There Eyes”, but for the most part she’s got a glimmer in her eye, as on “Aggravatin’ Papa” and “Blowtop Blues”. She could dish it own on a blue plate special.