Air Week: February 23-March 1, 2026

Much has been written about the great R&B vocal groups of the 1950s. Many of the classic groups were either great musicians and vocalists and never had the recognition or record sales to back it up or these groups were thrown together, they couldn’t sing very well and scored one, solid hit that still spins in the eternal jukebox of public consciousness. The Moonglows were one of the few groups to come out of the post World War II, pre-Elvis era, who were extremely talented and had the sales figures and notoriety to back it up. Originally called The Crazy Sounds, Harvey Fuqua and Bobby Lester led The Moonglows to a #1 R&B smash in 1954 with “Sincerely” on Chess, but that was after a somewhat bumpy start on Alan Freed’s Champagne Records and Chicago’s Chance Records. This week, Matt The Cat presents part 1 of a 2 part feature on the fantastic Moonglows, covering their career from 1953 to 1955. Vocal harmony doesn’t get much sweeter than this, so don’t miss one note of this week’s “Juke In The Back” radio program.

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