Hi Records was the label to be with in Memphis as the rockabilly '50s gave way to the sounds of the early 1960s. Not Sun, the label which brought Memphis music to the attention of the record buying public but which was losing its high profile in the market place. Not even Stax, which would come into its own as the '60s moved on. 
Hi Records remained king of the jukeboxes for several years, mining a vein of rocking bluesy instrumentals. These had commenced with SMOKIE by the Bill Black Combo, which hit the Top Twenty at Xmas 1959. The Combo continued with 18 more Hot Hundred entries over the next decade. Sax player Ace Cannon weighed in with TUFF and three other instrumental hits. Then came a new seam of novelty rockers by Jurhpin' Gene Simmons in the wake of his 1964 hit Hauted House. 
This double-album covers the early years of Hi Records when, apart from their instrumental groove, the label tried out many different sounds in rock and roll. Some were blues based, some rockabilly influenced and others less-interestingly pop-oriented.