Tony Joe White says he always saw the friends he invited to play on this album–Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, J.J. Cale, Michael McDonald, and the late Waylon Jennings–as "keepers of the fire." They're also premier custodians of loneliness and despair, the two emotions that lie at the heart of this hypnotic submersion into country/swamp blues. From the kickoff track, "Run for Cover," with Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns, these meditations on mourning–lost lovers, spiritual struggles, anxiety that knows no name and no bottom–grab the listener fast and pull him down into swirling dark waters.

Montana-born, honey-voiced singer Nicolette Larson headed west in 1974 and quickly became a member of the '70s California rock scene. She sang backup with Hoyt Axton and Commander Cody, did sessions with Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, and Neil Young, and landed a solo deal with Warner Bros., which, in late 1978, released her first single, "Lotta Love" (penned by her mentor Young). It went Top 10, spurred her debut album Nicolette to gold, and launched a promising career. She cut four albums for Warner Bros. and guested on records by others ranging from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to Van Halen. In Nashville, Larson starred in the musical Pump Boys And Dinettes and cut the album Say When, proving she was adept at country too. Sadly, Nicolette passed away in December 1997 of complications arising from cerebral edema; she was just 45. Now Rhino is proud to bring you the only collection devoted to this underappreciated artist's best solo recordings, The Very Best Of Nicolette Larson. Featuring the hit singles and key tracks from her nine albums released on Warner Bros., MCA, and Sony Wonder, it also includes previously unreleased live versions of "French Waltz" and "Baby, Don't You Do It".

As seen on PBS. Chet Atkins - Certified Guitar Player is a concert-tribute to Chet Atkins, performed by Chet and many giants in the music business: Mark Knopfler, The Everly Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Michael McDonald, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson, backed by Nashville's premier studio musicians. Great music, great fun, and a moving experience as a joyful document created about Chet Atkins' importance in the history of music, and to everyone on that stage. The CD: contains the entire soundtrack of the program above. It has all the music (17 songs), all the interplay between Chet and his fellow stars, and all the excitement felt by the audience that night.

"Funk This" is the 11th studio album by American singer Chaka Khan. It was first released by Burgundy Records on September 25, 2007 in the United States. On October 13, 2007 the album entered at its peak position of #15 on the Billboard 200 and #5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. On December 6, 2007, the album was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards, while "Disrespectful" was nominated for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Both nominations resulted in wins for Khan. By February 2008, "Funk This" had sold 160,000 copies in the US according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The deep, soulful voice of the Doobie Brothers, and one of the most popular songwriters and solo artists of the rock era.

"Amy Holland" is singer Amy Holland's self-titled debut album. The album was released on LP record in 1980, and was produced by Amy's future husband Michael McDonald. One of the songs on the album "How Do I Survive" (a song originally sung by The Paul Bliss Band) became a big hit and made it to the Top 30 chart. Amy Holland would often perform "How Do I Survive" live on music TV shows such as Music Fair (a Japanese music show) and Young Oh! Oh!. Those live performances of the song can be found on YouTube. Holland mostly recorded some song covers for this album, with one of them being Annette Hanshaw's 1928 jazz-standard "Forgetting You". The success of the song "How Do I Survive" helped Amy earn a Grammy Nomination for Best New Artist in 1981, but she did not win the award however. Some of the songs on the album have been written by Michael McDonald such as "Here In The Light" and "Show Me the Way Home". "How Do I Survive" was a hit peaking at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100. Three years later Amy would release another studio album called "On Your Every Word".

In the Spirit: A Christmas Album is everything a Michael McDonald fan could want from a holiday album by one of the greatest blue-eyed soul vocalists of all time. It's firmly within the tradition of latter-day Doobies records and early McDonald solo efforts, resulting in a really pleasing sound, equal parts classic soft rock and classy pop-soul, but there are some differences that give it its own character. First of all, there is a reason why the album is released on MCA Nashville, and there are some hints of contemporary country on songs like "On This Night" and in the arrangement of "Angels We Have Heard on High."

Working with producer Tommy Sims – the man who produced Eric Clapton's hit "Change the World" – evidently inspired Michael McDonald, since Blue Obsession is his best record in nearly ten years. Stylistically, it's similar to every record he's made since going solo in the early '80s – namely, it's a combination of adult contemporary ballads and lightly grooving, adult contemporary pop-soul – but the difference is that the quality of the material is uniformly strong. In addition to two covers ("Ain't That Peculiar," "Down By the River"), there's a selection of new songs largely co-written by McDonald and Sims. While there are no crossover pop hits on the level of "I Keep Forgettin'" or "Sweet Freedom," it's a strong collection of songs with only a few slow moments. It's a record that shows McDonald maturing quite gracefully.