3 Words is the debut studio album of British pop singer Cheryl Cole, released 23 October 2009 on Fascination Records. It serves as Cole's first solo release following a break from Girls Aloud after seven years and five studio albums. Cole collaborated largely with Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am, with notable contributions from American producers Syience and Wayne Wilkins, Danish production team Soulshock & Karlin, Fraser T. Smith and singer-songwriter Taio Cruz, among others.

I TOLD YOU SO is a collection of tunes by composer/arranger Bill Holman as performed by Count Basie and his Orchestra. Even though the album was recorded in 1976, toward the end of Basie's career, the energy and level of musicianship is high. Holman's compositions are lively and complex, as the opener, "Tree Frog," with its ever-escalating dialogue between brass and saxophones, aptly demonstrates.

"In 1962, the Count Basie Orchestra was at the height of its considerable Atomic powers - ashouting,whispering,gleeful,bluesy,singing,swinging giant of an aggregation,nowhere better heard in its fullness than here". - Chris Sheridan (from the liner notes)

Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank, Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He played flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra, on various recording sessions including The Zodiac : Cosmic Sounds, and occasionally in live performances (as with The L.A. Four) until he gave it up later in his career to focus exclusively on the alto saxophone. He also recorded one album playing only tenor saxophone.

Cream were a 1960s British blues-rock band and supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker. Goodbye (also called Goodbye Cream) is their final original album. Released in 1969, it consisted of three studio recordings and three live performances. It was the band's only album to reach number 1 in the UK Album Chart. It reached number 2 in the US Album Chart.

It's Only Rock 'n' Roll is an album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1974. It would be the last Rolling Stones album for guitarist Mick Taylor and the songwriting and recording of the album's title track would have a connection to Taylor's eventual replacement, Ronnie Wood. The album has a more firm rock sound than their previous album, the more funk and soul-inspired Goats Head Soup. The album reached number one on the United States charts and number two in the United Kingdom.

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page (guitar), Robert Plant (vocals, harmonica), John Paul Jones (bass guitar, keyboards, mandolin) and John Bonham (drums). With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands, helping to pioneer the genre.

Shakespears Sister is a synth-pop-rock band formed by former Bananarama singer-songwriter Siobhan Fahey in 1988. Sacred Heart is their debut album. Released in 1989 on FFRR Records, the album peaked at no.9 in the UK and was certified Gold by the BPI in October 1989 for sales of over 100,000 copies.

Mabel Louise Smith (May 1, 1924 – January 23, 1972), known professionally as Big Maybelle, was an American R&B singer and pianist. Her 1956 hit single "Candy" received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.

Big Joe Turner (born Joseph Vernon Turner Jr., May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus,"Rock and roll would have never happened without him."Although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and Roll",Turner's career as a performer stretched from the 1920s into the 1980s.

Big Bill Broonzy (26 June 1898 – 14 August 1958) was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played Country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences. In the 1950s a return to his traditional folk-blues roots made him one of the leading figures of the emerging American folk music revival and an international star. His long and varied career marks him as one of the key figures in the development of blues music in the 20th century.

Blue Öyster Cult is an American rock band formed in New York in 1967 and still active in 2009. The group is especially well known for songs including "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Astronomy", "Godzilla", "Burnin' for You" and "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll." They have sold over 14 million albums worldwide, including 7 million in the US alone.

Formed and headed by composer/guitarist extraordinaire Steve Morse (KANSAS) in 1975, the Dixie Dregs are a jazz fusion band. They are a bunch of extremely talented musicians whose intricate style has a definite MAHAVISHNU flavour plus an off-beat, weird sense of humour and whose mostly instrumental music fuses jazz, southern rock, bluegrass and classical forms in an often unique, virtuosic style.

The band's debut album The Legacy (1987) still holds up as a fine example of hook-laden thrash music. Songs like "Over the Wall" and "The Haunting" balance barreling thrash beats and caustic screams with tuneful guitar licks and semi-melodic vocals. The Legacy is a classic album and perhaps the best Testament release ever.

Big Bill Broonzy (26 June 1898 – 14 August 1958) was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played Country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences. In the 1950s a return to his traditional folk-blues roots made him one of the leading figures of the emerging American folk music revival and an international star. His long and varied career marks him as one of the key figures in the development of blues music in the 20th century.