I'm Ready If You Are Willing (Juke Box Pearls) / Various

I'm Ready If You Are Willing (Juke Box Pearls) / Various

• Shrink-wrapped

Owen Bradley, head of Decca Records in Nashville for years, would joke that he was charged with 'a country singer who wanted to go pop, and a pop singer who wanted to sing country.' The country singer was Patsy Cline. The pop singer was Mimi Roman. Changing her name from Rothman, she recorded for DECCA in New York and Nashville, but never got the all-important break. She even worked the grueling Philip Morris caravan, touring with legends like Carl Smith and Ronnie Self, and recorded right on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry. Somehow, it didn't work out for her, although her records have become highly collectible. For the first time, here is her story and here are her finest 25 tracks, all in one place. A little untold gem of Fifties musical history.