First Lady Of Zither [Import]

• Track Listing

During a thirty-year career as America's only professional zither-player, German-born Ruth Welcome recorded extensively for Capitol Records, cutting eighteen LPs. Her repertoire consisted primarily of standards and show tunes, played in a style that would come to be known as "Mood Music" or "Easy Listening" and her albums would enjoy a huge surge of popularity during the late 90s "Easy" revival, and among the "Space Age" and "Bachelor Pad" niche markets. Long before signing for Capitol, in 1958, she'd contributed to an obscure, 10" LP, "Café Continental", in 1950. This compilation comprises her seven tracks from "Café Continental", plus her first two Capitol albums, "Hi-Fi Zither" (1958, which would later be reissued as "Third Man Theme And Other Zither Hits") and "At A Sidewalk Café" (1959), the latter recorded with The Milt Shaw Trio. This material is devilishly difficult to find elsewhere, on CD.