Air Week: February 18-24, 2019

1949: Jukebox Rhythm Review, Pt. 1

Once again, it’s time to put the ol’ Rockola Jukebox in the spotlight as we blast back 70 years on our annual Jukebox Rhythm Review. Matt The Cat loads up the Juke with the biggest jukebox hits of 1949. This week, in part one, we’ll focus on the most requested records from the first half of 1949 and next week, we’ll cover the second half of the year. 1949 was a big year for artists’ debut records to go to #1, as exemplified in this week’s program by John Lee Hooker and Big Jay McNeely. Amos Milburn scores the first #1 of the year, while Paul Williams and Charles Brown score 2 of the biggest sellers. Sister Rosetta Tharpe hears music in the air, while Julia Lee gets a little bit naughty and Dinah Washington compliments her man with “You Satisfy,” a song she recorded in 1947, but not issued by Mercury until the spring of 1949. So fill your pockets with nickels and get ready to jive n’ wail to the biggest R&B tunes from the first half of 1949 on this week’s “Juke In The Back” with Matt The Cat.

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