Air Week: February 6-12, 2023 Hadda Brooks Hadda Brooks is one of the most talented boogie woogie musicians of all-time, yet her name doesn’t come up nearly as often as Pete Johnson, Champion Jack Dupree or Professor Longhair. That’s a shame! This week, the “Juke In The Back” sets the record straight with a heavy […]

Air Week: January 30-February 5, 2023 Smiley Lewis There are so many forgotten legends along Rhythm & Blues’ evolutionary highway. This week, the “Juke In The Back” looks at the great Smiley Lewis, another influential force out of New Orleans that time has chosen to forget. Lewis was born Overton Lemons, but took the name […]

Air Week: January 23-29, 2023 Swing Time Records In the fall of 1949, Down Beat Records owner Jack Lauderdale had a problem. DownBeat Magazine was threatening to sue him over the use of the name. Unsure of a new name, Lauderdale decide to use Swing as a placeholder along with Swing Beat Records before finally […]

Air Week: January 16-22, 2023 1953 Jukebox Rhythm Review, Pt. 2 This week, the jukebox is in the spotlight as Matt The Cat takes you back 70 years and highlights the top jukebox hits of the second half of 1953. You’ll hear a lot more than just the big #1 R&B hits this week as […]

Air Week: January 9-15, 2023 1953 Jukebox Rhythm Review, Pt. 1 This week, the jukebox is in the spotlight as Matt The Cat takes you back 70 years and highlights the top jukebox hits of the first half of 1953. You’ll hear a lot more than just the big #1 R&B hits this week as […]

Air Week: January 2-8, 2023 Charles Brown: 1949-52 Charles Brown was the “King of Smoky Blues” for over 50 years. Growing up in Texas City, TX, he studied classical piano while focusing his interests on science, becoming a chemistry teacher for a short time. A move to Los Angeles in 1943, hooked him up with […]

Air Week: December 26, 2022-January 1, 2023 Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers This week’s “Juke In The Back” is dedicated to one of the true unsung heroes of 1940s and ’50s rhythm & blues, Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers. The group is mostly remembered as the springboard for vocalist/pianist Charles Brown and today they are generally only […]

Air Week: December 19-25, 2022 Rhythm & Blues Christmas, Pt. 2 (Leftovers & New Year’s Resolutions) Matt The Cat has dug up some more R&B Christmas treasures and added a few tunes about New Years for this week’s continuation of the “Juke In The Back” R&B Christmas Spectacular. The holiday juke is jumpin’ with cool […]

Air Week: December 12-18, 2022 Rhythm & Blues Christmas, Pt. 1 It’s the Holiday Season, so why not grab a glass of ‘nog, sit back and relax and dig on some great vintage Rhythm & Blues Christmas tunes. This entire “Juke In The Back” is loaded with fantabulous Christmas records from the late 1940s and […]

Air Week: December 5-11, 2022 Down Beat Records This week, “Juke In The Back” focuses on Down Beat Records, another of the early, small, independent R&B record labels. Afro-American businessman Jack Lauderdale founded the label in Los Angeles in 1947, after working the market as a small distributer. He built a roster of artists along […]