24 meticulously restored tracks from 1918, the year that good news of peace was tempered by the realities of an influenza epidemic. The Armistice ending World War I came in November 1918, but at the same time the Spanish Influenza was ravaging cities at home and abroad. 1918: "Like the Sunshine After Rain" takes a look at American involvement in the war, Wilson's famous "Fourteen Points," and some recent scholarship on the causes and spread of the influenza--all set against the backdrop of the year's biggest hits. The 15th volume in our Phonographic Yearbook series includes wartime songs by John McCormack, Billy Murray, the Peerless Quartet, Henry Burr, Al Jolson, Arthur Fields, and others; but it also features many of the same artists singing songs to cheer up Americans during hard times. And tracks by Joseph C. Smith's Orchestra and the Original Dixieland Jazz Band point to where popular music was heading. As with other volumes, the CD comes with a full-color 24-page booklet featuring an interpretive historical essay, notes on the selections, full discographical information and a bounty of historic photos and illustrations.