20 Original Winners - Vol. 4
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Album Summary
Released in 1964 on the Wand Records label, '20 Original Winners - Vol. 4' was a various artists compilation that gathered some of the most electrifying R&B and soul recordings of the era under one roof. Like so many of these budget-friendly anthology packages of the early-to-mid 1960s, the album was designed to give record buyers a generous helping of the music that was lighting up jukeboxes and dance floors across America. The compilation format was a savvy commercial move by the label, capitalizing on the surging popularity of R&B with mainstream audiences at a moment when the music was crossing over in ways nobody had quite predicted.
Reception
- As a budget compilation rather than a standalone artist album, '20 Original Winners - Vol. 4' was not formally reviewed by major music publications of the day, and no specific chart positions for the album itself have been documented.
- The collection would have found its audience through record shops, department stores, and mail-order outlets — channels that catered to fans hungry for value-packed R&B content at an accessible price point.
- Critical assessment of these Wand Records compilation series has generally focused on their archival value in preserving a cross-section of early 1960s R&B rather than on any individual volume's reception.
Significance
- Compilations like this one played a meaningful role in democratizing access to Black American music, putting two dozen rhythm-and-blues recordings into the hands of listeners who might not have purchased each single individually.
- The album stands as a snapshot of a pivotal transitional moment in R&B history — a time when gospel fervor, blues grit, and pop ambition were being woven together into the sound that would become the backbone of soul music.
- Wand Records' various-artists series helped document the breadth of early 1960s R&B talent at a time when the music industry's infrastructure for preserving and celebrating Black music was still catching up to the art form's cultural reach.
Tracklist
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A1 Gee Whiz —
2:15
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A2 What Kind Of Love Is This —
2:06
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A3 Uptown —
2:18
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A4 Crying In The Chapel —
1:51
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A5 Shimmy Shimmy Koko Bop —
2:08
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A6 Do Re Mi —
2:05
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A7 Happy Happy Birthday Baby —
2:15
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A8 Heart And Soul —
3:30
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A9 Long Lonely Nights —
2:50
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A10 I Shot Mr.Lee —
2:10
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B1 Reveille Rock —
2:25
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B2 My True Love —
2:45
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B3 Sixteen Candles —
2:51
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B4 I Love My Baby —
1:48
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B5 Bo Diddley —
2:30
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B6 Stranded In The Jungle —
3:03
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B7 Darling Listen To The Words Of This Song —
2:54
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B8 In My Diary —
2:35
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B9 Seven Little Girls Sitting In The Back Seat —
2:15
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B10 Wheels —
1:54
Artist Details
Here's the thing about Various, baby — this artist burst onto the 1980s rock scene like a force of nature, blending raw energy with a sound that was somehow both timeless and perfectly of its era. Various carved out a reputation for delivering tracks that hit you right in the chest, the kind of music that made you pull over your car just to let the song breathe. With a catalog that speaks for itself, Various remains one of the most compelling figures to come out of that decade of big hair, bigger riffs, and even bigger feelings.
