James Dean Era

James Dean came out of nowhere to become the consummate actor of his time and then vanished into his own immaculate myth. In that brief life, Dean was the drifting piece of antimatter which ignited the cultural Big Bang of the mid-’50s. He was the original rebel, the essence of cool and, most importantly, he was ROCK ‘N’ ROLL! Heck, it’s almost as if his death brought on rock ‘n’ roll. Elvis (who idolized Dean obsessively) hit the charts for the first time a mere 6 months after Dean’s death with Chuck Berry, Bill Haley, Buddy Holly and several others to follow. Like many times throughout history, an idol falls and the cultrure bursts into ecstatic whoops of song. James Dean Era is that jubilant memorial, the soundtrack to the quick life and fast times of America’s juvenile delinquent son. From the nuttiness of “Tutti Fruitti” to the irresistable “Maybelline,” it’s all right here and it all began with Dean. Appearing as bonus tracks are two ultra rare recordings of Dean playing the bongos, pounding out his affection for beatnik poetry and jazz culture like a coded message from beyond the grave. And if that wasn’t enough, here are three BEYOND rare, made for television movies starring James Dean that haven’t been viewed by the public since the year they were first aired, almost a half century ago. In them, Dean displays the effortless acting abilities that would soon make him a Hollywood legend!