Search - Various Artists :: Smoke That Cigarette: Pleasure to Burn

30 vintage cigarette-related recordings from the 1940s & '50s, an unprecedented combination of hillbilly and pop music, including ultra-rare tracks. CD also includes original cigarette ads from the Golden Age of radio and the package contains fully illustrated notes on society's changing views towards cigarette smoking.As long as people have smoked cigarettes, they have written and sung songs about them. And few things have changed as dramatically as our attitudes towards smoking and smokers. Those changing attitudes are reflected in the unique collection of Smoking Songs we present here. It's a pretty amazing cross section at that, drawn mostly from the 1940s and '50s with an emphasis on hillbilly and pop music. No matter how you slice it, this is the first time that Frank Sinatra, Rev. J. M. Gates and Little Jimmy Dickens have appeared on the same compilation. And you can throw in Patsy Cline and Homer & Jethro for good measure. And what could bring them together as easily as cigarettes?Sit back and listen as smoking and cigarettes changed from telling the world how sexy and sophisticated you are to... well, let's just say to something less than socially desirable. Back a half a century ago that cigarette turned you into a cool, hard-boiled chick magnet. The woman? Smoking made her an alluring creature of mystery, as smoke swirled all around her. The cigarettes? They started out as sleek and romantic phallic symbols, and ended up being toxic and deadly - colloquially referred to as 'cancer sticks.'All this happened almost overnight, and there is no shortage of music to document it. In addition to 30 wonderful tracks, we include some vintage cigarette ads from the Golden Age of radio. Remember, nine out of 10 doctors agree that smoking is good for you. Whether you want to be John Wayne, Marlon Brando or Frank Sinatra, the quickest path to ultra-cool is that pack of smokes in your hand. And here are the songs to prove it. Many of these tracks are quite rare, including Peggy Lee's original version of her classic tune, Don't Smoke In Bed, or the extraordinary 1939 recording of Rev. J. M. Gates' sermon about the evils of a Smoking Woman In The Street. This memorable collection also includes humorous and informative notes on society's changing views towards cigarette smoking by music historian Hank Davis, accompanied by an assortment of smoky vintage images.