Bill Justis

Bill Justis' "Raunchy," with its string-bending guitar riff and honking sax, is one of the classic rock & roll instrumentals. It was also one of the most successful, topping the Cash Box pop charts and the Billboard R&B charts in 1957. Raunchy: The Very Best of Bill Justis rounds up all of Justis' singles for the Sun Records subsidiary Phillips International and then some, clocking in with 19 tracks of rock instrumentals, easy listening sax solos with and without a vocal chorus, and a couple of actual vocal songs. The minor hit "College Man" has a brief vocal at the end, but "Midnight Man" and the calypso-flavored "Faraway" are sung start to finish by Justis himself. There are enough rockers here to satisfy "Raunchy" fans, but there are also some surprisingly diverse sounds in between. ~ Greg Adams, All Music Guide