Air Week: July 21-27, 2025

Atlantic Records was the most influential, significant and important independent record label to come out of the late-1940s, during a time when there were many great, small indie labels being born. What gave Atlantic the advantage over Specialty, Chess, Modern, Vee-Jay, Exclusive, King, etc is the breadth of material, variety of music styles and the sheer number of hit records that led to the Rock n’ Roll explosion of the mid-1950s. Matt The Cat and the “Juke In The Back” present this behemoth 14 part series celebrating the first 10 years of Atlantic’s existence: 1947-57. This week in part one, we’ll look at Atlantic’s first recordings from 1947-49, which mostly feature Jazz and Jazz-inspired Rhythm & Blues. Joe Morris had a killer group, highlighted by future jazz legends Johnny Griffin, Elmo Hope, Percy Heath and Philly Joe Jones. Tiny Grimes’ outfit rounded out Atlantic’s early instrumental offering, before “Stick” McGhee gave Atlantic its first hit record with his big #2 smash “Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee” in 1949. With the addition of Ruth Brown and her #4 hit, “So Long,” Atlantic was on its way in establishing itself as a Rhythm & Blues powerhouse. This program is highlighted by excerpts of an interview Matt The Cat conducted with Atlantic’s co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, a few years before his death in 2006. So buckle in and prepare yourself for an in-depth, 14 part look at the history of Atlantic Records, which could also be described as a look at the history of American Music itself.

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Air Week: July 14-20, 2025

Varetta Dillard might be a footnote in R&B and Rock n’ Roll history, having only scored 3 R&B charting records, but her body of recorded work speaks for itself. She was more than just a Ruth Brown impersonator, though she could sound a lot like her idol. Dillard was also part of pop culture, having waxed a tribute record to the recently deceased Johnny Ace (“Johnny Has Gone” in 1955) and making the top 10 with it. She scored 2 R&B shuffle hits with “Easy Easy Baby” in ’52 and “Have Mercy, Mr. Percy” in ’53. Both tunes are very catchy and are well-remembered today, but the other side of Varetta Dillard’s story is one of unfulfillment. The bosses at Savoy Records, her first label where she scored her 3 hits, and RCA subsidiary Groove Records, believed that Dillard had the sound and talent to crossover to pop. Both labels really tried to get a pop hit out of her, but it just wasn’t in the cards. This week, Matt The Cat loads up the ol’ Rockola with Varetta Dillard’s best remembered 78s from 1951-56 as we ponder one of R&B’s nearly-forgotten chanteuses on the “Juke In The Back.”

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Air Week: July 7-13, 2025

Tiny Bradshaw put in his time, spending 16 years of making music with various big bands, including his own, without ever scoring a national hit. But when things turned around for the drummer, pianist, composer and bandleader, his star began to rise. He scored a #2 R&B smash with “Well Of Well” in 1950, just as he was beginning his 9 year association with Cincinnati’s King Records. This would be his biggest hit and best seller, but not his best remembered. That distinction would go to his composition, “The Train Kept A-Rollin'” from ’51. Though his version didn’t make the national lists, it did inspire covers from Johnny Burnette’s Rock n’ Roll Trio, The Yardbirds and Aerosmith, making it a rock n’ roll classic. In all, Bradshaw scored 5 charting singles, but as Rock n’ Roll came into fashion in the mid-’50s, Tiny Bradshaw suffered a stroke that sidelined him from crossing over. Then a second stroke ended his life in 1958 at the age of 53. Though he’s not remembered much today beyond his jumpin’ composition, “The Train Kept A-Rollin’,” the “Juke In The Back” fills up the ol’ Rockola with a stack of Tiny’s prime shellac. Give a listen and cut a rug to a true originator. 

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Air Week: June 30-July 6, 2025

The Juke In The Back jumps into summer by spotlighting THE summertime holiday, the 4th of July. We’re diggin’ the 4th in song with tunes about summertime and the foods enjoyed in summer by Sam Cooke, Chuck Berry, The Basin Street Boys, Chris Powell (hot dog) and John Brim (ice cream). We’ll also focus on America’s pastime with R&B songs about Baseball, honoring some of the top players who crossed over from the Negro Leagues into the Major Leagues. Records from Buddy Johnson, Brownie McGhee and Jack Williams highlight the great Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby and Satchel Paige. Join Matt The Cat as we cruise America’s mighty highways jiving to summertime travel songs. So Grab some nickels, suntan lotion, a hot dog and meet us at the ballpark, where the Juke In The Back will be jumpin’! 

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Air Week: June 23-29, 2025

Lloyd Price would become one of the great hit-makers of early Rock n’ Roll, but this is the story of the “soul that came BEFORE Rock n’ Roll.” Lloyd was just a kid when bandleader and talent scout, Dave Bartholomew brought him to Cosimo Matassa’s J&M Studio in early 1952 to make a record of a tune he had heard Lloyd singing. “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” hit #1 during the summer of ’52, becoming an instant classic and contributing to the R&B foundation that would eventually lead to the birth of Rock n’ Roll. Matt The Cat presents clips from a lengthy interview with Lloyd Price from 2005 so that Lloyd can tell his story in his own words. He discusses how “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” was recorded, why he was drafted and sent to Korea and how is cousin Larry Williams almost took his song “Just Because” away from him. Lloyd was an entrepreneur, a record executive, a boxing promoter, a professional bowler as well as a R&B legend and early Rock n’ Roll icon. Hear his story and pay tribute to his life on this week’s “Juke In The Back.”

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Air Week: June 16-22, 2025

During the 1920s, Kansas City was the heart of Jazz and the epicenter of American Music. George E. Lee and His Novelty Singing Orchestra was one of the most popular bands in that town at that time. At the center of the band, playing piano and singing was Julia Lee, the sister of bandleader George E. Lee. Julia was a fantastic singer with a powerful voice. We begin this week’s program, dedicated to Julia Lee, with one of her earliest records, “He’s Tall, Dark And Handsome,” which was issued in early 1930 and showcases her singing style. Remembered today for her double entendre songs of the 1940s, Julia Lee was much more than that. Matt The Cat takes you through her early years in the Kansas City scene and then her rise to fame recording for Capitol Records in LA. She scored two #1 R&B records with 1947’s “Snatch and Grab It” and 1948’s “King Size Papa.” Each of those singles remained on the charts for over a half a year! She was so popular during the late 1940s that it’s hard for us today to truly appreciate her widespread success. “King Size Papa” and “I Didn’t Like It The First Time (The Spinach Song),” a tune probably about marijuana, actually crossed over into the Pop Chart! An amazing feat considering the slightly risque subject matter as well as the segregation of musical styles at the time. Showcasing the records and artists that time has somehow forgotten is exactly what the “Juke In The Back” is all about and this week is no exception as we highlight the wonderful career of Julia Lee. We lost her way too soon as she died at the age of 55 in 1958, but this week, her music lives again on the “Juke In The Back.” 

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Air Week: June 9-15, 2025

This week, the Juke In The Back is proud to honor the late, great Johnny Otis. He was a true renaissance man. Otis was a singer, songwriter, drummer, bandleader, talent scout, record label owner and radio / TV show host and that’s not everything he did. He was the son of Greek immigrants, growing up in a mostly Black section of Vallejo, CA during the 1920s and 30s. He not only absorbed Black Culture, he became a part of it, changing his last name to Otis in order to sound more black. He went from playing drums at the Club Alabam on Central Ave. in LA to opening his own Barrelhouse Club in Watts in 1947, creating a scene of his own. His first records were made just as the big bands were dying off and the jump combos were rising. Johnny Otis did not interpret rhythm and blues, Johnny Otis WAS rhythm & blues. From his first recordings for Leon Rene’s Excelsior Label in 1945 to his commercial breakthrough in 1949-50 for Herman Lubinsky’s Savoy Label to his great rock n roll success with “Willie And The Hand Jive” for Capitol in 1958, Johnny Otis did more than almost anyone to push Black Music into the mainstream, creating rock ‘n roll. Juke In The Back highlights the early part of Otis amazing career from 1945-1958. It s not an overstatement to say that the music we enjoy today is here because of what Johnny Otis recorded, played and produced in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This Juke is truly The Johnny Otis Show.

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Air Week: June 2-8, 2025

Boogie Woogie has the natural ability to make you wanna tap your toes, shake your hips and just all around feel good! The blues style of Boogie Woogie piano features a strong left hand, playing repeated bass lines, leaving the right hand free to improvise around the keys. This produces an uptempo, rollicking feel with a solid groove that makes you want to get up and dance. Men such as Pete Johnson, Albert Ammon, Meade “Lux” Lewis and Fats Domino dominated the field, but some of the best Boogie Woogie you’re ever going to hear was played by women. Hadda Brooks, Camille Howard, Dorothy Donegan and others not only held their own, but in many cases surpassed the men in their playing ability. Don’t let the piano fool ya, Boogie Woogie can also be played on other instruments as Matt The Cat features a few guitar and saxophone boogies to round out the program. So get ready to groove with a smile as the “Juke In The Back” jumps with some Boogie Woogie Rhythm & Blues! 

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Air Week: May 26-June 1, 2025

The Larks are one of the most influential and best sounding vocal groups of the early 1950s and yet, they are never remembered quite as well as many of their contemporaries. Last week in part 1 of our 2 part series, we showcased The Larks’ early recordings from 1950-52, including their only 2 charting singles, “Eyesight To The Blind” and “Little Side Car.” This week, as we pick it back up in 1952, the original Larks group disintegrates and members go off on their own. Allen Bunn leaves to pursue a solo career and will soon be know as Tarheel Slim. Bass singer David McNeil joins The Dominoes and Eugene Mumford joins the Golden Gate Quartet. In less than a year, Gene Mumford would return to secular music and form a few group out of members of the Golden Gate Quartet and beyond, calling it The Larks. This new Larks group bears little resemblance to the original, but they are loaded with talent. However, Bess Berman at Apollo Records was looking for more of a pop group, so the material the new Larks were presented with wasn’t very strong and they failed to score any hits. Still the music is captivating and worth hearing as Matt The Cat presents The Larks, Pt. 2 – 1952-55 on this week’s “Juke In The Back.”

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Air Week: May 19-25, 2025

The Larks are one of the most influential and best sounding vocal groups of the early 1950s and yet, they are never remembered quite as well as many of their contemporaries. That might be because they only had 2 charting singles and neither record sold well after its initial release. But don’t let the numbers fool you, the Larks were a top-notch group with outstanding leads provided by Eugene Mumford, Allen Bunn and David McNeil, who occasionally sang a solid bass lead. Matt The Cat presents part one of a two-parter on The Larks on this week’s “Juke In The Back.” This week, we’ll focus on the group’s gospel roots, their charting records and the very start of the original group falling apart. Along the way, they recorded “Eyesight To The Blind,” “Little Side Car,” “When I Leave These Prison Walls,” “My Reverie” and many other standouts. You won’t want to miss the tremendous music and eye-opening stories of one of R&B’s greatest vocal groups.

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